Smoke from burning straw is a source of air pollution. This occurs in many parts of the country immediately in the wake of the wheat harvest.

When some parts of Beijing were enveloped in smoke last month, government departments in neighbouring Hebei Province issued documents requiring local township government to ban the burning of straw.

Administrative bans may be effective for a given period of time, but this won't be long unless farmers are taught how to process straw in a more environmentally friendly way. These methods must also be convenient and affordable, otherwise they will be ignored.

It was reported on Monday that a new invention can produce a kind of biological oil from straw. The oil, after being further processed, can be a substitute for gasoline and diesel. A scientist was quoted as saying that 60 kilograms of oil can be produced from 120 kilograms of straw in an hour.

Even if this technology proves practical, it will take some time before it can be used across the country's vast rural regions. But at least it provides the possibility of an alternative way to deal with this troublesome straw.

In fact, some other technologies already exist that can process straw in an efficient and environmentally friendly way.

A type of stove was invented several years ago that uses the heat from burning straw for cooking and heating. The carbon from the burnt straw can be used as fertilizer.

Other technologies exist which allow farmers to plant mushrooms in the straw or make plant pots and handicrafts from it.

Then why do many farmers still choose to burn it?

The simple answer is because it remains the easiest and cheapest means of disposing of it. Farmers need money to buy the above-mentioned technologies. They also need time and money to get training in how to use it. When they cannot afford these alternatives, their only option is to set light to the straw.

Therefore, officials simply slapping a ban on burning straw will do very little to solve this problem. Grass-roots government officials need to do more to help farmers process their straw in a less harmful way.

These officials have been taught about the concept of scientific development. Now is not the time for them to mull it over in their offices, now is the time for them to roll their sleeves up and do something about it.

The best way in which these officials could prove that they understand this concept would be to help farmers get their hands on technology to process this problematic straw in a way that benefits both the environment and themselves.