Green Revolution The term "Green Revolution" is a general one that is applied to successful agricultural experiments in many
Third World countries. It is NOT specific to India. But it was most successful in India. In agriculture; it is a popular term for the change in the methods of arable farming in Third world countries. The purpose being providing enhanced quality food, though with heavy investment in chemicals and machinery It. was initiated in 1940’s and 1950’s,but abandoned by some countries in 1980’s.Much of the food produced is exported as cash crops, as a result local food requirements were not met. The green revolution tended to benefit primarily those landowners who could afford the investment necessary for such intensive agriculture. Without a dosage of 70-90kg. /154-198 lb. of expensive nitrogen fertilizers per hectare, the high yield
varieties will not grow properly. Hence, rich farmer tend to obtain bigger yields while small holders are unable to benefit from the new methods. In terms of production the green revolution was initially successful in S-E Asia; India doubled its wheat yield in 15 years, and the rice yield in the Philippines rose by 75%. However yields have leveled off in many areas. Some countries that could not afford the dams, fertilizers and machinery, have adopted intermediate technologies. However, the term "Green Revolution" is applied to the period from 1967 to 1978. Between 1947 and 1967, efforts at achieving food self-sufficiency were not entirely successful. Efforts until 1967 largely concentrated on expanding the farming areas. Population was growing at a much faster rate than food production. This called for drastic action to increase yield. The action came in the form of the Green Revolution. The “Green Revolution’ in India which was started by Swaminathan and his team (Sivarman and Subramanian) has changed the image of India from a country living on imports (specially from U.S.A under concessional PL 480 project) in to a food grain exporting country. The identification of dwarf Mexican wheats like Sonora, Erma Roja in 1962-62 crop season (the author of the Mexican dwarf wheat being Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaugh from Mexico) and semi dwarf rice varieties Taichung Native –1 followed by IR 8 etc. were identified by rice scientists. After importing large quantities of seed followed to trigger off the “Wheat Revolution”. India ever achieved before the “Wheat Revolution” was 12.3 million tonnes in1964-65 with the conventional tall varieties. The “Wheat Revolution “ started in 1967-68 with a production jump of 4 million tonnes to touch 16.5 million tones. By 1970-71 the wheat production doubled to 24 million tonnes and reached 73.5 million tonnes by 2001-02 making India the second largest producer of wheat in the world. It has also built an unprecedented buffer stock of wheat of 25 million tonnes by 2001.This was possible through adoption of semi dwarf, non-lodging fertilizer responsive high
yielding varieties during sixties. It is cautioned by scientists against exploitative agriculture for immediate profits and recommended scientific agriculture. The “Green Revolution” (i.e. the exploitative agriculture) if carried out with immediate profit motive results in the following consequences: a). If intensive cultivation of land is done without conservation of soil fertility and soil structure would ultimately lead to springing up deserts. b). The irrigation without arrangements for drainage would result in soils getting alkaline or saline. c). The indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides may cause cancer and other diseases. It is emphasized by agriculture scientists that ecofriendly agriculture (“ever green revolution”) essentially rests on sustainable management of natural resources, which include soil, water, biodiversity, forest coverage, renewable energy sources and animals in agriculture to restore “Biodynamic Farming” that enhances livelihood security.