Stubble-Based Business Ideas & Startups That Will Help Reduce Pollution

If you are into the agricultural world then you will have an idea of what stubble is. It is the cut stalks of cereal plants that are left sticking out of the ground after rain is harvested. After they are plucked it generates huge crop residue.

Burning of stubbles has created huge pollution in Delhi for many years. It has had heavy effects on the air quality of the affected areas in the state.

Fortunately, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute came out with PUSA which is a bio-enzyme as the solution for stubble burning. As soon as this chemical is sprayed, the composition present inside this product starts to decompose the stubble in 20-25 days. It further turns the stubble into manure, which further improves the quality of the soil for further harvesting. 

It is called stubble burning, which is the practice of setting fire to the straw stubble that remains after grains have been harvested. Unfortunately, this technique is still used by states in India that harvest such crops.

As a businessman, one can get into this situation and can help the environment not get polluted. Many farmers have started collecting agro-waste from the lands and selling them to various districts in Rajasthan. 

Moreover, there are many uses of stubble. It can be removed by baling straw after harvest and baled straw can be used in animal bedding, mushroom compost, and in livestock feed as well. These are some of the uses of stubble after they are plucked out and it can be a good business idea for the ones who are willing to use them further. 

Business Ideas with Stubble - No More Pollution by Stubble Burning

People have started coming out with great ideas to not burn stubble for air pollution. Similarly, CEO Arpit Dhupar and CGO Anand Bodh got the idea for a start-up to reduce air pollution by inventing Dharaksha.

The purpose of Dharaksha tech is to cut off the crop stubble waste into finer pieces for the process, then hydrate them by adding water and a nutritious paste is made from it. This is then transferred into bags and steamed for sterilization.

After a few steps, mycelium starts eating the material as its food is all over the bag. It further grows in the bag and takes its shape. 

This was a great business idea for Arpit Dhupar and Anand Bodh. If you are innovative then you can surely come up with more such great ideas to reduce stubble burning. Here are some amazing business ideas with stubble:-

• You can make tableware 
• Make paper-related products 
• It can be turned into pellets for use as fuel, fodder, and biogas
• You can even compost, biochar, and slurry it for better soil quality 
• It can be used for power generation 
• It can be used for packing materials 

What Products Can Be Made with the Help of Crop Stubble? 

No waste product should go to waste instead we can reuse them for different purposes. The same can be done for stubble which is creating huge air pollution in many eastern states of India.

Many concerned people and businessmen have already started creating new products using stubble and earning a good amount from it.

You can use it to better the quality of the soil where it grew. It all depends on your creativity, the more creative you are the better products you can make out of crop stubble. 

Here are some products that you can make from crop stubble:-

• Fibre 
• Skin care products (with full types of machinery and equipment)
• Manure 
• Wood-based products 

Existing Startups That Are Using Stubble to fuel up their Business

Looking at the huge waste from stubble burning, many businessmen have come up with innovative ideas. Today, these businesses have grown so huge that they are earning more than one can imagine. Here are some of the startups that are currently working on stubble as their primary product:-

• Dharaksha - It is a deep-tech material startup that focuses on the quality of the soil. 
• Moksh - A Chandigarh-based startup machine that turns stubble into biofuel. Back in 2022, this startup came out with Moksh 2.0 which is a better version of the standard ones. 
• Farm2Energy - It is a startup by Sukhbir Singh Dhaliwal who is helping farmers by bailing the stubble from fields free of cost. 
• BiofuelCircle - This Pune-based company which was founded by Suhas Baxi and Ashwin Save is an online marketplace that connects the rural marketing community with industry producers for the sale of biomass and associated commodities. 

Advantages of Stubble-Based Businesses

Every business or startup that comes up with new ideas to reduce the burning of pollution has different advantages. But, the overall goal of all these businesses is to reduce the air pollution that is created after the burning of stubble every year. 

For example, Dharaksha is a machine that focuses on the quality of the soil. Moksh is a machine which turns stubble into biofuel. BiofuelCircle has helped more than 1500 farmers to earn for themselves by selling stubble. 

Disadvantages of These Businesses

Here are the disadvantages of stubble:-

• Stubble makes it difficult to plant seeds for the next crop and it disturbs the growing cycle
• Burning of stubble not only pollutes the air but, it highly affects the soil quality as well. The added carbon in the stubble burning along with the heat produced reduces the soil fertility and increases erosion. 
• The raw material is not always available for the businesses 
• Businesses dealing with stubble must have proper storage