Prof. M S Swaminathan, the father of Green Revolution, has objected to people blaming farmers for the smog and high levels of pollution in New Delhi.

Instead of blaming them, the governments in the North should work with farmers to set up Rice BioParks, where farmers can convert stubble into income and employment.

“We should stop blaming farmers since it will take us nowhere. Instead, we should propose methods which are economically and ecologically desirable,” the agricultural scientist has said.

He asked the Northern States to take a cue from the farmers in the South where farmers don’t resort to burn their stubble but turn covert it to use as animal feed.

In a series of Tweets on Monday, he said the country needed to adopt a “do-ecology approach with farmers to convert rice stubble into income rather than making them agents of eco-disaster.”

“The air pollution in Delhi has become a matter of public health concern nationally and internationally. Farmers are being blamed by many including the Chief Minister of Delhi for burning stubble and thereby causing atmospheric pollution,” he said.

Talking of Rice BioParks, he said the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation had recently set up a Rice BioPark at Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

The rice biopark shows how stubble can be utilized to make products including paper, cardboard and animal feed, he said.