Why don't farmers here burn straw anymore?
Core Reading
Every year during the wheat harvest season, straw burning is a headache in many places. Everyone knows that straw burning both pollutes the environment and wastes resources, yet it still cannot break out of the strange cycle of "banning burning every year, and still having to guard strictly every year." This summer, Bengbu in Anhui seized on the key issue of comprehensive straw utilization and adopted multiple measures, resolving the long-standing contradictions in straw recovery and utilization. Ninety percent of straw achieved comprehensive utilization.
Golden waves roll, wheat ears turn yellow. In past wheat harvest seasons, besides the joy of a bumper harvest, there was also the distress of straw burning. Many officials were stationed in the fields and slept at the field edges, guarding strictly, yet still could not guarantee that a fire would not be lit somewhere at any time.
However, recently, He Houhui, a village representative from Mohekou Village, Huaishang District, Bengbu, Anhui, told reporters, "This year, not a single wisp of smoke rose from the area under my responsibility. The deposit I paid earlier has been preserved, and I can even get a bit of reward." This summer, Bengbu in Anhui had not a single fire point, and 91.1% of straw achieved comprehensive utilization. On the one hand, burning was strongly banned and supervision strictly enforced; on the other hand, comprehensive utilization was promoted, opening channels to turn straw into "real gold." The long-standing difficult problem of straw burning is gradually being resolved.
Straw burning cannot be solved by simply banning it; opening up outlets benefits both farmers and purchasing brokers
In order to strictly prevent straw burning, Bengbu City divided each village into different areas. Members of the village two committees, village representatives, and Party members formed inspection teams, working in pairs on 24-hour duty. He Houhui was a member of an inspection team. Every day he had to conduct a full inspection of the area under his responsibility, promptly clear and transport straw piled at field edges and roadsides, publicize and promote techniques such as crushing and returning to the field and deep plowing and deep planting, and also implement corresponding fire prevention measures and strengthen safety supervision of temporary storage points and baling points.
"Every village, township, county, and district official paid a corresponding amount as a deposit, signed a letter of commitment, and took responsibility at each level." He Houhui explained, "Rewards for the good and penalties for the poor were implemented. Once a fire point appeared, the full deposit would be deducted, and the supervisory responsibility of the relevant person in charge would be pursued, with a 'one-vote veto' in the year-end assessment."
"Straw burning cannot be solved by simply banning it. More importantly, outlets must be opened up and channels for comprehensive straw utilization expanded," said Li Yong, deputy director of the Bengbu Municipal Agricultural Committee.
Zhou Guangtang, a villager from Mohekou Village, felt the benefits of not burning straw. "In the past, the piled straw was burned by ourselves. Not to mention the time and effort, sometimes the farmhouses beside the fields were also burned down, and quite a few accidents occurred," Zhou Guangtang said. Now, in the open area at the village entrance, bundles of baled straw are piled up like mountains. Straw purchasing brokers haul the straw away from here, sending it to power plants, cattle farms, and other places. In the fields, the crushed wheat stubble is mixed into the soft soil, giving off waves of wheat fragrance. Zhou Guangtang told reporters, "Crushers and balers advance rapidly without delaying the planting of the next crop. At the same time, the crushed straw melts into the land, and the baled straw is recycled, with obvious ecological and environmental benefits."
On the other hand, the brokers busy purchasing in the countryside can also gain considerable benefits. For example, Zhao Yongchuan, head of the Wanmeng Agricultural Machinery Farmers' Professional Cooperative in Sanpu Village, Huaishang District, Bengbu, purchases a large amount of straw every year. He has a clear account: one mu of land's straw can receive 20 yuan in government subsidy, and at 4-5 mu of land producing one ton of straw, purchasing one ton of straw can obtain 80-100 yuan in subsidy. Add to that the price of 280 yuan per ton sold to power plants, and on average one ton of purchased straw can bring in 360-380 yuan of income. "The cooperative bought more than ten sets of agricultural machinery including straw crushers. National, provincial, municipal, and county subsidies combined can reach 40% of the purchase cost," Zhao Yongchuan explained. Excluding costs for purchasing equipment, storage, labor, and other inputs, the net profit per ton of purchased straw can still be 100-150 yuan.
It is reported that this summer Bengbu City produced 1.69 million tons of wheat straw, of which 870,000 tons were utilized by returning to the field, 140,000 tons were utilized by half returning to the field, with a return-to-field utilization rate of 59.8%; 530,000 tons were utilized off the field, of which 200,000 tons were used for power generation, 140,000 tons for producing feed, 60,000 tons for making substrate, 40,000 tons for composting, and 90,000 tons for making fuel, with a utilization rate of 31.4%.
Straw utilization forms a circular industrial chain, turning waste into treasure, achieving a win-win for farmers and enterprises
How is the comprehensive utilization of purchased straw carried out?
The reporter learned that at the production plant of Anhui Laimujia Biotechnology Co., Ltd. in Huaiyuan County, Bengbu City, the comprehensive utilization of straw is forming a circular industrial chain: the straw recovered by the company is fermented after inoculation with bacteria, composted on site, and then made into organic fertilizer. The fertilizer is used to test mushroom substrate, and the substrate is sold to surrounding farmers. After the farmers produce mushrooms, they sell the spent mushroom substrate back to the company, and the company then uses the spent mushroom substrate containing a large amount of mushroom mycelium to cultivate and produce organic fertilizer with high nutrient content.
"If we only composted on site to make ordinary organic fertilizer, the selling price would be low, the company would have almost no profit to make, and there would not be much motivation to recover straw," said Zhang Congjun, chairman of the company. Now the mushroom substrate can be sold to farmers, driving farmers to increase income, and the company also has profit to make. At the same time, recovering spent mushroom substrate to make high-nutrient organic fertilizer means the selling price is also much higher than ordinary fertilizer.
"Straw recovery is good for ecological protection, but the difficulty of comprehensive straw utilization mainly lies in cost consumption. If the cost is too high, practical promotion will be affected," Zhang Congjun pointed out. The company's practice is not an isolated case. In making boards and biomass fuel, many efforts in comprehensive straw utilization have worked hard to reduce costs and turn waste into treasure.
"Under the conventional model, wood powder is the main raw material for wood-plastic board production, but on the one hand it wastes a large amount of forest resources, and on the other hand wood is relatively difficult to crush and has a high moisture content," said Wan Yuqing, general manager of Anhui Xuelang Bio-based Industrial Technology Co., Ltd. Now his company uses deeply processed straw powder as raw material, paired with a certain amount of recycled plastic and added injection agents. The wood-plastic boards produced are sturdy and durable, digest straw, and also reduce enterprise costs, achieving a win-win.
Reward and subsidy policies can mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties; farmers hope for greater subsidy intensity and more technical guidance
In order to better promote comprehensive straw utilization, Bengbu is also adopting a series of reward and subsidy policies.
Li Yong, deputy director of the Bengbu Municipal Agricultural Committee, told reporters that in terms of policy, for cooperatives and others purchasing professional machinery such as straw crushers and balers, the government will give priority to corresponding amounts of subsidies. "For enterprises using straw for high-temperature composting, fuel production, power generation, and so on, and for brokers participating in straw purchasing, the government will also give a certain amount of subsidy, so that enterprises do not lose money."
"The comprehensive utilization of straw often has low costs? No, the costs are often not low. Only by adopting positive incentives to help enterprises and relevant personnel reduce utilization costs can enthusiasm for collection, storage, and comprehensive utilization be mobilized," Li Yong said.
In this regard, Zhao Yongchuan hoped that government subsidies could be issued faster and support could be greater. "The cooperative invested about more than 10 million yuan last year. This year there was more rain, and both the amount of straw purchased and profits declined somewhat," Zhao Yongchuan said.
Li Yong pointed out that subsidies for the purchase of relevant agricultural machinery and for enterprises such as straw power generation should still be increased. "Overall, the number of agricultural machinery used for straw crushing, baling, and so on in the whole city is still somewhat low. More cooperatives, brokers, and others should be encouraged to purchase them, and through forms such as increasing subsidies, enterprises that digest straw should be allowed to make a profit."
Regarding returning straw to the field, Li Yong suggested that publicity and related technical guidance for returning straw to the field should also be increased. "In the short term, returning to the field helps increase soil organic matter, but long-term straw return can easily cause the soil quality to become loose, and some insect eggs attached to the straw can easily lead to soil pests and diseases. About every three years, the land should be deep plowed and deeply turned once, and in the daily process of returning straw to the field, pest and disease prevention and monitoring should also be strengthened."