Burning straw and stubble brings little benefit and much harm.

During the harvest season, traveling through the districts of Tien Lu, Phu Cu, An Thi, or even in Hung Yen city, one can easily spot thick white smoke covering the fields.

During harvest season, traveling through the districts of Tien Lu, Phu Cu, An Thi, or even in Hung Yen city, one can easily spot thick white smoke covering the fields. This is the smoke from burning straw and stubble – a consequence of the farmers' habit of burning agricultural by-products after harvest. This seemingly harmless habit is actually posing many serious risks to public health and the environment.

Straw and rice stalks were burned indiscriminately, and white smoke covered the fields and the main road north of Pho Hien University area.

Burning straw: Convenient but harmful in the long run.
"After the harvest, the straw is left on the stubble. I let it dry for a day or two, then I gather it up and burn it to save time. We don't use straw for cooking anymore, and we're not raising cattle either, so what's the point of keeping it?" Mr. Le Van Tam, a farmer from Trung Nghia commune, Hung Yen city, frankly shared.
Mr. Tam's viewpoint is not uncommon. For many farmers, burning straw is a simple, time-saving, and labor-intensive way to clear the fields and prepare for the next crop. They even believe it helps eliminate residual disease-causing agents in the soil. However, behind that white smoke lies a long-term series of negative impacts.
Smoke from burning straw contains many pollutants such as CO₂, CO, and PM2.5 fine dust – ultrafine particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing pneumonia, asthma, and even cardiovascular disease. According to experts, PM2.5 is an "invisible killer" in the air, especially dangerous for young children, the elderly, and people with underlying health conditions.
Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Thanh, a resident of An Tao ward, Hung Yen city, expressed her frustration: “During the rice harvest season, every afternoon I have to close all the doors and windows and keep the air conditioner on constantly. The whole family struggles to breathe because of the straw smoke. The pungent, acrid smell clings to our clothes and bedding, and even our food tastes bad.”
Besides causing air pollution, thick smoke also reduces visibility, threatening traffic safety, especially on inter-village and inter-commune roads that cut across rice fields. Furthermore, burning straw depletes the soil's natural organic matter, making it dry, barren, and less able to retain moisture, thus reducing crop yields in the long run.

Farmers in An Vien commune (Tien Lu district) burn rice straw in their fields.

Lacking solutions, people still "burn for convenience."
Although many people are aware of the harmful effects of straw smoke, the reality is that they still lack suitable alternatives. Many households cannot afford to buy or rent straw baling and compacting machines. The reuse of straw for purposes such as mushroom cultivation, composting, or as biofuel remains fragmented and lacks a stable market. In particular, in many localities, awareness campaigns have been ineffective and have not reached the ingrained habits of farmers.

The amount of straw collected is still small and done manually.

According to Government Decree No. 45/2022/ND-CP, the act of burning crop residues outdoors in residential areas, airports, or major traffic routes can be fined from 2.5 to 3 million VND. However, in practice, enforcement is almost non-existent, rendering the legal regulation insufficient to deter such behavior.
Several models have shown significant effectiveness in replacing the practice of burning straw. For example, a model implemented by the Hung Yen Provincial Agricultural Extension Center in several communes. Participating farmers received technical training and support with Sumitri – a biological product used to treat straw and stubble directly in the fields. The results showed that straw and stubble decomposed quickly, the soil became more porous, rice plants grew better, and the cost of using pesticides was significantly reduced.

Most straw and rice stalks are still wasted or burned spontaneously.

However, this model has not been widely adopted. This is partly because people are still hesitant to change their habits, and partly because of a lack of funding and specific support mechanisms. To thoroughly address the problem of straw smoke, a decisive and coordinated effort from many sides is needed, such as: extensive public awareness campaigns, especially at the grassroots level, in coordination with associations and organizations to organize direct awareness sessions in the fields, distribute leaflets, and show videos guiding the smokeless processing of straw; support farmers in accessing straw baling and pressing machines, stubble cutting machines, as well as connecting them to markets for processed straw products; encouraging the circular economy through cooperatives that collect and process straw into fertilizer, fuel, bedding for livestock, construction materials, or mushroom growing materials; applying reasonable regulations, strengthening inspection and supervision in localities, and strictly punishing the burning of straw that affects the living environment and community safety.
Giving up a deeply ingrained habit is not easy. But if we continue to "burn for convenience," we are inadvertently turning fertile fields into sources of pollution. In the context of increasingly severe climate change, changing how we handle straw after harvest is not just an option, but an urgent necessity. Keeping fields clean, the air healthy, and public health safe – it's time to abandon the old ways and move towards new methods that are more environmentally friendly and beneficial to our own lives.

Vi Ngoan

Source: https://baohungyen.vn/loi-it-hai-nhieu-tu-viec-dot-rom-ra-3181862.html