The Indian franchise of Finnish company Fortum, has collaborated with Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar to produce textile fibres with the use of paddy straw, which is usually burnt by farmers causing air pollution.
The University has already started working on paddy straw management and the collaboration will provide Fortum with better understanding of the properties of rice-straw and other agri-biomass, their availability, socio-economic impact, probable supply chain and other possible areas of support in the state.
According to Professor K.P. Singh, Vice Chancellor of HAU, this collaboration will give more thrust to the university’s crop residue management programme. The University is striving for the proper management of crop residue as well as fair value of everything coming out of the farm.
He further adds that there is a serious problem of managing paddy straw in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Some farmers burn crop residues causing environmental pollution.
Sanjay Aggarwal, Managing Director of Fortum India Pvt. Ltd. stated that 50 million tonnes of agro-biomass is burnt every year in the above three states of North India. The company intends to convert this agricultural waste into valuable products, providing solutions to reduce pollution, which will help the local communities to become self-sufficient and raise their standard of living.
