Green Revolution
The term green revolution was first used by William Gaud, and Norman Borlaug was the Father of the Green Revolution in the 1960s.
Green Revolution
The term green revolution was first used by William Gaud, and Norman Borlaug was the Father of the Green Revolution in the 1960s.
His efforts to develop High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of wheat led to his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.
M.S. Swaminathan was primarily in charge of the Green Revolution in India.
A significant increase in the production of food grains (especially wheat and rice) was brought about by the introduction of new, high-yielding variety seeds into developing nations beginning in the middle of the 20th century.
Its first notable success occurred in Mexico and the Indian subcontinent.
During the Green Revolution, which lasted from 1967–1968 to 1977–1978, India went from being a food-insecure country to one of the top agricultural nations in the world.
The three fundamental components of the green revolution methodology were:
- Using genetically modified seeds (High Yielding Variety seeds).
- Double cropping on the farmland that is now used,
- The ongoing growth of agricultural areas.
Objectives of the Green Revolution
- Short Term: The Revolution was started during the second Five Year Plan to address India's hunger crisis.
- Long Term: One of the long-term objectives was a comprehensive modernization of agriculture based on infrastructure, raw materials, rural and industrial development, etc.
- Employment: To hire both agricultural and industrial workers. Science works to fortify plants so that they can withstand adverse weather and disease.
- The globalization of agriculture entails the introduction of technology to underdeveloped nations and the establishment of numerous corporations in significant agricultural regions.
Important Crops in the Revolution:
- The principal crops were maize, wheat, rice, jowar, and bajra.
- Non-food grains were not covered by the new strategy's purview.
- The Green Revolution was built on wheat for a long time.
Background of Green Revolution in India
- An estimated 4 million people in eastern India died of starvation as a result of the Bengal Famine, which struck in 1943 and was the worst food crisis ever documented.
- Even after gaining independence in 1947, the government continued to place a strong emphasis on expanding the agricultural areas until 1967.
- Food production could not keep up with how quickly the population was expanding.
- The Green Revolution was prompted by the requirement for swift and drastic action to increase yield.
- In India, the "green revolution" helped transform agriculture into an industrial system through the use of HYV seeds, tractors, irrigation systems, pesticides, fertilizers, and other modern agricultural techniques and technology.
- The Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, as well as the US and Indian governments, all contributed to its funding.
- The production of wheat increased by more than three times between 1967–1968 and 2003–2004, whereas the overall increase in cereal production was only two times, making the Green Revolution in India largely the Wheat Revolution.
Positive Impacts of the Green Revolution
- Massive Increase in Crop Production: As a result, India produced 131 million tonnes of grain in 1978–1979, ranking it among the world's top agricultural producers.The amount of cropland planted with high-yielding wheat and rice varieties increased significantly during the Green Revolution.
- Reduced Food Grains Imports: India was able to produce sufficient amounts of food to meet its own needs and keep sufficient stock in the central pool. At times, India was even able to export food grains.
In addition, there are now net more food grains available per person.
- Farmers who adopted the Green Revolution benefited from an increase in income.To boost productivity, farmers reinvested their extra funds in their fields.The large farmers with more than 10 hectares of land benefited the most from this Revolution by investing a lot of money in various inputs like HYV seeds, fertilizer, machines, etc. Additionally, it promoted industrial farming.
- Industrial Development: As a result of the Revolution's extensive farm mechanization, a variety of machines, such as tractors, harvesters, threshers, combines, diesel engines, electric motors, pumping sets, etc., were in demand.
- Rural Employment: The use of fertilizer and multiple crops significantly increased the demand for laborers.The Green Revolution created numerous jobs for both industrial and agricultural workers through the building of related facilities like factories and hydroelectric power plants.
Negative Impacts of the Green Revolution
The Revolution has benefited all food grains, including wheat, rice, jowar, bajra, and maize, but it has not affected other crops, such as coarse cereals, pulses, and oilseeds.
Additionally, crucial commercial crops like cotton, jute, tea, and sugarcane were largely disregarded during the Green Revolution.Only five crops were included in the High Yielding Variety Programme (HYVP) coverage: wheat, rice, jowar, bajra, and maize.
As a result, the new strategy did not cover non-food grains.HYV seeds weren't yet developed or weren't good enough for farmers to take a chance on using them in non-food crops.
Regional Disparities:
- The Green Revolution's technological advances have led to a rise in regional and intraregional economic disparities.
- 60% of the cropped area is still unaffected, and only 40% of it has been affected so far.
- Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the south and Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh in the north are the areas that have been hit the hardest.
- The arid and semi-arid regions of Western and Southern India, as well as the Eastern region, which includes Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, and Orissa, have not been significantly impacted.
- The Green Revolution only had an impact on regions that were already in a better position agriculturally.
- The Green Revolution has exacerbated the problem of regional disparities as a result.
Excessive Chemical Use: The Green Revolution resulted in the widespread use of pesticides and synthetic nitrogen fertilizers in order to improve irrigation systems and crop varieties.
- However, little to no effort was made to educate farmers about the high risk associated with the frequent use of pesticides.
- Pesticides were typically applied to crops by untrained farm workers without any safety precautions or instructions.
- This pollutes the soil and environment and causes more harm to crops than good.
Water Use: When crops were first introduced during the Green Revolution, they drank a lot of water.
- The majority of these crops, which consumed nearly 50% of the water used by the typical diet, were cereals.
- Irrigation pumps and canal systems drained groundwater to supply crops like rice and sugarcane that needed a lot of water.
- Punjab is one of India's most water-scarce regions because of its extensive wheat and rice farming.
- The soil's nutrients were depleted by the repeated crop cycle that was required to ensure increased crop production.
- The demand for new seed varieties led to an increase in fertilizer use among farmers.
- The pH of the soil increased as a result of the use of these alkaline chemicals.
- The decline in yield was caused in part by toxic chemicals in the soil destroying beneficial pathogens.
Employment: With the exception of Punjab and, to a lesser extent, Haryana, farm mechanization brought on by the Green Revolution resulted in widespread unemployment among agricultural laborers in rural areas.
- The most adverse effects were felt by the working class and landless laborers.
Health Risks: The widespread use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides like triazophos, phosphate, phosphamidon, and monocrotophos has resulted in a number of serious diseases like cancer, renal failure, stillbirth, and birth defects.
Krishonnati Yojana: Green Revolution
In an effort to strengthen the agricultural industry, the Indian government launched the Green Revolution Krishonnati Yojana in 2005.
To boost farmers' incomes, the government intends to promote the agricultural and related sectors in a comprehensive and scientific manner.
- The mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
- National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
- National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
- Submission on Agriculture Extension (SMAE)
- Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP)
- Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)
- Sub-Mission on Plant Protection and Plan Quarantine (SMPPQ)
- Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics, and Statistics (ISACES)
- Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Cooperation (ISAC)
- Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Marketing (ISAM)
- National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGP-A)
The Evergreen Revolution: The Green Revolution's advances came at the expense of negative environmental consequences in regions with intensive cultivation. Dr. M. S. Swaminathan emphasized the necessity of the evergreen revolution.
Productivity must rise as part of the Evergreen Revolution, but in ways that are socially, economically, and environmentally responsible.
The evergreen revolution is incorporating ecological principles into the creation and adoption of technology.
