Finally an authority figure has come forward to speak!
A number of top agricultural experts and academicians of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences have made it clear that straw burning will not pollute the air at all, and it can also help a lot to effectively suppress the pests and diseases on those crops and further improve our food production. Straw burning is expected to face the day when the ban will be lifted, which really gives a new hope to the majority of farmers!
During this year's National People's Congress and the National People's Congress, many experts strongly supported the practice of straw burning. In addition to the above, Cao Xiaofeng, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, expressed concern about the impact of the ban on straw burning on crops. Since 2019, she and other experts have been conducting research in many places across the country and found that straw returning to the field has increased the incidence of pests and diseases by 9.5% and 12.2%, respectively. Experiments in Zhejiang provide strong evidence that straw burning can effectively reduce pathogenic bacteria in rice in the field. This is good news for promoting the health management of paddy fields, and scientific research has provided us with more enlightenment and choices.
Many experts have suggested that more flexible strategies should be adopted for straw burning, especially in specific regions such as the Northeast. Pan Yuansong proposed that in Northeast China, orderly straw burning management should be implemented, giving priority to those dry straws with low moisture for burning, and trying to choose weather with better atmospheric diffusion conditions to minimize the impact on the atmospheric environment.
Cao Xiaofeng stressed that agriculture and environmental protection departments need to work together to guide the implementation and adjustment of straw returning policies based on scientific assessments. The formulation and improvement of policies and regulations also need to speed up and formulate clear straw treatment standards and norms. For those straws that are susceptible to diseases and pests and have adverse effects on grain production, they should be burned in a scientific, orderly and controllable way to reduce the risk of future pests and diseases.
For areas with fewer pests and diseases, Cao Xiaofeng believes that the technology of straw leaving the field or turning it deep into the soil should be widely promoted, so as to maximize the advantages of straw as organic fertilizer, so as to increase the fertility of the land.
Xu and other deputies to the National People's Congress suggested that government departments should increase support for the recycling of wheat, corn and soybean farmland. In addition, restrictions on straw burning should be lifted in a gradual and orderly manner, and clear steps and targets should be set to prevent uncontrollable chaos and fires from suddenly being lifted. The main body of agricultural planting also needs to strengthen the learning and popularization of ecological recycling agriculture knowledge, so as to promote the rapid and efficient development of modern agriculture.
Practices in Japan and other foreign countries
Our neighbors, Japan, as well as countries in Europe and the United States, do not completely ban straw burning, but prefer to implement it through strict regulations and guidance. They believe that the right amount of straw burning can not only reduce crop residues, but also bring benefits to land management, such as promoting fertility cycling and pest and disease control.
In contrast, straw burning in regions such as Northeast China is under relatively strict control. Although regional characteristics and agricultural structure determine that straw burning may be more conducive to farmland management in certain situations, considering environmental factors such as air pollution, straw burning still needs to be carefully promoted with a prudent attitude and scientific management plan.
With the support of many scientists, it is believed that through scientific management and rational utilization, the recycling and reuse of straw resources can be promoted, which can reduce the negative impact on the environment, increase the yield of crops, and promote the sustainable development of agriculture.