Dr. Parveen Kumar
The second day of last month of the year celebrated as the National Pollution Control day is a day dedicated to awareness and sensitization of masses on a very important issue of pollution; having a very detrimental effect to all forms of life on this planet. At the same time, the day also reminds us of our role and responsibilities to control the menace of pollution in every form and that emanating from every source. Among the different sources of Pollution are industries, power plants, transport sector, improper waste management, domestic biomass fuel and agriculture. The major forms of pollution include water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, plastic pollution, soil contamination, radioactive contamination and thermal pollution.
Among the different types of pollution India, pollution arising out of agriculture has emerged as a significant challenge threatening existence of life and livelihood. The most polluted cities in India like Delhi, Patna, Faridabad etc. are surrounded by large farming areas. In the past few decades pollution from agriculture has been threatening all of us and has become a cause of worry for the agricultural scientists, policy makers and planners. Agricultural pollution refers to biotic as well as abiotic byproducts of farming practices that result in contamination or degradation of the environment and surrounding ecosystems, and/or cause injury to humans and their economic interests. As a result of various industrial activities and emissions from vehicles, pollutants like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and oxides of Nitrogen are released in the air. Improper waste management in the form of landfills and burning of garbage also leads to soil and air pollution. The pollution may come from a variety of sources, ranging from point source such as water pollution (from a single discharge point) to more diffuse, landscape-level causes, also known as non-point source pollution and air pollution. Once in the environment these pollutants can have both direct effects in surrounding ecosystems, i.e. killing local wildlife or contaminating drinking water and downstream effects such as dead zones caused by agricultural runoff is concentrated in large water bodies. In a 2023 report on the 25 most polluted cities, nine cities were from India. Different agriculture related pollutants further worsen the air quality of these cities. India is the world’s second-largest food producing country in the world. Agriculture leads to Pollution in the following ways:
GHGs and agriculture: Agriculture is an important source of GHG emissions. Agriculture related emissions from agriculture are mostly in the form of Methane, Nitrous oxide. According to the Global Carbon Atlas, India ranks third in total GHG emissions. Agricultural emissions in India are primarily from the livestock sector (54.6%) in the form of methane emissions due to enteric fermentation, use of nitrogenous fertilizers (19%), rice cultivation (17.5%), burning of crop residues (2.1%). Similarly soil dust arising out of ploughing and harvesting of crops also floats up in the air adding to air pollution. The soil dust accounts for a significant portion of PM 2.5 pollution, which has adverse effects on air quality and public health in the country.
Crop Residue burning: According to the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), India generates on an average 500 million ones of crop residue in a year. Although the majority of this crop residue is used as fodder, fuel or for other domestic and industrial purpose. There is still a surplus of 140 MT of which 92 MT is burnt every year. Burning of crop residues as has been noticed in several states of north India is also a major source of air pollution. It is responsible for air pollution, public health concerns, green house gas emissions, radiation imbalance and declining soil organic matter and soil productivity. Although, burning crop residues is a crime under section 188 of the IPC and under Air and Pollution Control Act, yet the practice is going on more so in Punjab and Haryana where farmers burn the residues of Kharif crops like Paddy as they consider it an obstacle for performing tillage and other agricultural related operations for the rabi season crops. The burning of crop residue or biomass burning usually is done after the wheat harvest in April-May and the rice harvest in October-November, mostly in the northwestern regions of the country. In Oct.-Nov. the smoke from crop residues burning mixes with the fog to come out with a deadly combination Smog which makes even breathing difficult.
Plant Protection Chemicals: Different types of chemical insecticides, pesticides and herbicides are applied to agricultural land to control insects, pests and unwanted plants that disrupt crop production by competing with main crop for nutrients and other resources. These persist and accumulate in soils and contaminate the soil thereby altering various soil microbial processes. With this, they also increase plant uptake of the chemical, and are toxic to soil organisms. Pesticides can also accumulate in animals that eat contaminated pests and soil organisms. In addition, pesticides can be more harmful to beneficial insects, such as pollinators, and to natural enemies of pests (i.e. insects that prey on or parasitize pests) than they are to the target pests themselves. Pesticide leaching occurs when pesticides mix with water and move through the soil, ultimately contaminating groundwater.
Chemical Fertilizers: Different types of chemical fertilizers that are used to provide crops with additional sources of nutrients, such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Nitrogen fertilizers supply plants with forms of nitrogen that are biologically available for plant uptake; namely NO3− (nitrate) and NH4+ (ammonium). This increases crop yield and agricultural productivity, but it can also negatively affect groundwater and surface waters, pollute the atmosphere, and degrade soil health. Not all nutrient applied through fertilizer are taken up by the crops, and the remainder accumulates in the soil or is lost as runoff. Nitrate fertilizers are much more likely to be lost to the soil profile through runoff because of its high solubility and like charges between the molecule and negatively charged clay particles. Besides these other chemical fertilizers also release many greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change.
Metals: The major source of heavy metals (e.g. lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury) in the agriculture production systems are fertilizers, organic wastes such as manures, and industrial byproduct wastes. Inorganic fertilizers especially represent an important pathway for heavy metals to enter soils. Besides, some farming techniques, such as irrigation, can lead to accumulation of selenium (Se) that occurs naturally in the soil, which can result in downstream water reservoirs containing concentrations of selenium that are toxic to wildlife, livestock, and humans. Steel industry wastes, which are often recycled into fertilizers due to their high levels of zinc (essential to plant growth), can also include the following toxic metals: lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and nickel. The most common toxic elements in this type of fertilizer are mercury, lead, and arsenic. These potentially harmful impurities can be removed during fertilizer production; however, this significantly increases cost of fertilizer.
Livestock: Ruminant like buffalo and cattle owing to their digestive process also emanate methane owing to enteric fermentation which is also a potent Green House Gas contributing to Global Warming. The methane emanating from ruminants constitute 14% of India’s total methane emissions. Due to enteric fermentation, the livestock in the country is responsible for generating 200 million tons of pollution each year. This is like the sky with as much pollution as over 30 million airplanes emit in a year. This adds to the problem of air pollution in India.
National Pollution Control Day: The National Pollution control day is celebrated every year on December 02 in the memory of the precious lives that were lost as a result of the accidental leakage of the poisonous Methyl Isocyanate gas from Union Carbide factory on the intervening night of Dec. 02 and 03 in 1984. For controlling agriculture pollution, there is an urgent need to promote sustainable farming practices, offering alternatives to crop residue burning, and improving livestock management are essential strategies, along with replacing chemical intensive agriculture with natural farming practices. On this day, let us commit ourselves to the cause of mother earth and protect its precious resources from all types of pollution.
The author writes on agriculture and social issues; can be reached at pkumar6674@gmail.com
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