Fortum India, Haryana Agricultural University Collaborates to Make Fiber from Paddy Straw

Fortum India has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University to make textile fibre from paddy straw

"It is noteworthy that there is a serious problem of managing paddy straw in the states of Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh as the burning of crop residues result in environmental pollution," said the official statement.

K P Singh, vice-chancellor of the University said, “This will give more thrust to the University's crop residue management programme. The University is striving not only for the proper management of crop residues but also for the fair value of everything coming out of the farm.”

Sanjay Aggarwal, managing director of Fortum India said that in the Delhi region, 50 million tonnes of agro-biomass is burned every year. "We intend to convert this agricultural waste into valuable products, provide solutions to reduce pollution.”

He further added that his company will work with the University to make textile fiber from paddy straw, to make bio-plastics and to establish bio-refinery in the future.