Green Revolution
“If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right in our country.”
– M. S Swaminathan
The term green revolution was first used by William Gaud and Norman Borlaug is the
Father of the Green Revolution
The Green Revolution was a period that began in the 1960s during which agriculture in India was converted into a modern industrial system by the adoption of technology, such as the use of high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, mechanised farm tools, irrigation facilities, pesticides and fertilizers. The main aim of Green Revolution was to make India self- sufficient when it came to food grains.
In the year 1965, the government of India launched the Green Revolution with the help of a geneticist, now known as the father of the Green revolution (India) M.S. Swaminathan. The movement of the green revolution was a great success and changed the country’s status from a food-deficient economy to one of the world’s leading agricultural nations. It started in 1967 and lasted till 1978.
Under premiership of Congress leader Lal Bahadur Shastri, the Green Revolution within India commenced in 1968, leading to an increase in food grain production, especially in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. Major milestones in this undertaking were the development of high-yielding varieties of wheat, and rust resistant strains of wheat.
The other practices include high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds, Irrigation infrastructure, use of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, consolidation of holdings, land reforms, improved rural infrastructure, supply of agricultural credit, use of chemical or synthetic fertilizers, use of sprinklers or drip irrigation systems and use of advanced machinery.
The Green Revolution in India was first introduced in Punjab in the late 1966-67 as part of a development program issued by international donor agencies and the Government of India. During the British Raj, India's grain economy hinged on a unilateral relation of exploitation. Consequently, when India gained independence, the weakened country quickly became vulnerable to frequent famines, financial instabilities, and low productivity. These factors formed a rationale for the implementation of the Green Revolution as a development strategy in India.
The Green Revolution yielded great economic prosperity during its early years. In Punjab, where it was first introduced, the Green Revolution led to significant increases in the state's agricultural output, supporting India's overall economy. By 1970, Punjab was producing 70% of the country's total food grains, and farmers' incomes were increasing by over 70%. Punjab's prosperity following the Green Revolution became a model to which other states aspired to reach.
Though the green revolution brought a fear of unemployment since much of the human work was now being done by machines. There was a surge in demand for labour force due to the use of fertilizers and multiple cropping. As per reports, more than 15 lakhs poor people from states like Bihar, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh found work in Punjab when the green revolutions started.However, despite the initial prosperity experienced in Punjab, the Green Revolution was met with much controversy throughout India. Some of the concerns raised about it are such that
• It caused greater environmental, financial and sociological problems like droughts, rural
indebtedness and farmer suicides. Reports have shown soil deterioration from the use of
chemicals which has led to the collapse of agricultural systems in many regions of the
country, and negatively affected the farmers, food and water supply.
• This Revolution had a considerable effect on human health.
• Regional disparities begin to ignite with the widespread Green Revolution. As it only
benefited areas like Punjab, Haryana, Western UP, Tamil Nadu where having good
irrigation and other infrastructure facilities were able to derive the benefits of the green
revolution and achieve faster economic development while the entire Eastern regionWest Bengal, Orissa, Assam, etc are completely untouched.
Though India has made a huge achievement in term of the Green Revolution, as it has provided an unprecedented level of food security. It has pulled a large number of poor people out of poverty and helped many non-poor people avoid the poverty and hunger they would have experienced had green revolution not taken place. However, factors other than guaranteeing food security, such as the environment, poor farmers, and their education about chemical know-how, received less attention.
As a way forward, authorities must more clearly target the poor to guarantee that new technologies help them more directly, and those technologies must also be more environmentally friendly.Taking lessons from the past, such programs must also ensure that all beneficiaries are included, as well as all regions, rather than focusing on a narrow field
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