GREEN REVOLUTION

Origin of Green Revolution

Huge increase in the production of food grains
especially wheat and rice
.

• Started from developing countries in 20th century
  .
• Norman Ernest Borlaug, American agricultural
  scientist, plant pathologist played
  a instrumental
  role in the advent of green revolution, known as
  the “Father of the Green Revolution”
  .
• Early dramatic successes were in Mexico and the
  Indian subcontinent
  .

Need for Green Revolution?

Multiple famines including the Bihar drought of 1966–
1967

• Decline in the food production
• National grain production dropped from 89.4 million tones
  in 1964-1965 to 72.3 in 1965–1966 – a 19% drop.
• In the face of the prevailing food crisis, the country was
  clearly vulnerable to external pressures and dependent on
  food, and aid.
• Indian government sought food and grain from the United States to
• provide replacement for damaged crops.
• This operated under the PL-480 law of the US. This law stipulated that
  any food aid was subject to India’s approval of US policies and almost
  becoming a ‘neo-colony’.

Green Revolution

In 1961
, India was on the brink of mass famine
.

• Norman Borlaug was invited to India by the adviser
  to the Indian Minister of Agriculture, DrM.S.Swaminathan
  
• Ford Foundation and Indian government
  collaborated to import wheat seed from the
  International Maize and Wheat Improvement
  Center
  
• Punjab was the first state chosen for the experiment,
  later extended to Haryana and Western UP.
• Instead of support to all agricultural areas, focus
  was now on well off areas with irrigation facilities.
  
  Key elements of the revolution :
• Also gave a guarantee to buy the produce of the
  farmers at a given price.
• Use of the latest technological and capital inputs
• Use of various mechanical machineries.
• Adoption of modern scientific methods of farming,
• Proper use of chemical fertilizers,
• Consolidation of land holdings,
• Use of high yielding varieties o

Impact of Green Revolution

Positive Impact

Economic

• Increased agricultural production
  : The
  production of wheat increased by more than
  three times between 1967
  -68
  .
• Reduced dependency on the imported grains
  .
• Capitalistic farming and investment in the
  agricultural sector

socio-cultural

-prosperity of farmers in case of green revolution areas

-increase in the per capita net availability of food-grains

-increased from 395 grams per day in early 1950s to the level of 436 grams in 2003

-favourable attitude towards agriculture

-social mobility of farmers

-emergence of rural agricultural middle classes

Political

• Rise of farmer leaders.
• Favorable agricultural policies like MSPs.

Negative Impact

social

Rich peasants and the large landholders were the major
beneficiaries.

• Polarisation between classes and regions.
• Pauperization of population, poor peasants become poorer
  and rich farmers become richer.
• Consumerism in the lifestyle

Environmental

Decreased groundwater level.

• Salinity in the areas of green revolution.
• Shift to monoculture cropping in favor of wheat
  and rice.
• Stubble burning is also seen as long term impact
  of green revolution.

economic

Rise in the fertilizer subsidy and cost.

• Mechanization of agriculture led to unemployment
  thus overburdening of other sectors.

The Green Revolution was initiated in the 1960’s to address the issue of malnutrition in the developing world. The technology of the Green Revolution involved bio-engineered seeds that worked in conjunction with chemical fertilizers and heavy irrigation to increase crop yields.