Study of Agro-Waste Management by Farmers in the State of Maharashtra

Abstract

India ranks second in the world in farm produce. Indian economy depends substantially in Agriculture, thus indicating the importance of Farmers and Agriculture. Nearly 58 percent of the rural population in India depends on Agriculture as a primary source of living. India is the second largest producer of fruits in the world and the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spice and spice products. But after the production, there might be the residues which are non-product outputs of production which is called as agro-waste. Managing this agro-waste in well planned manner is very important in the current Indian scenario. The agro-waste produce in the farm must be managed in very economical and efficient way. The agro-waste is also considered as a second source of income for the farmer which leads to generate revenue from the waste. The waste produce from the farm is used to generate energy, fuel, compost etc.  But, most of the farmers prefer burning agro-waste in their farm for quick disposal which is identified as a major health hazard and leads to a regional source of pollution. Also burning agro-waste causes loss of vital components in the soil such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and potassium from the top soil layer, making the soil less fertile and unviable for agriculture in the long run. The waste produce from the crop residues is also called as biomass which has an interdependent relationship with ecosystem from production to disposal and has physicochemical properties. The present paper is an attempt to understand various ways the farmers are using to manage agro-waste in their farm.

Keywords: Agro-waste, Farmers, Agriculture, Crops, Biomass

Cite this Article

Vinita Gaikwad, Pankaj Mudholkar, Rasika Phatak. Study of Agro-Waste Management by Farmers in the State of Maharashtra. Research & Reviews: Journal of Crop Science and Technology. 2019; 8(1): 24–29p.