Introduction
Green Revolution was a period when the productivity of global agriculture increased drastically as a result of new advances. During this time period, new chemical fertilizers and synthetic herbicides and pesticides were created. The chemical fertilizers made it possible to supply crops with extra nutrients and, therefore, increase yield. The newly developed synthetic herbicides and pesticides-controlled weeds, deterred or kill insects, and prevented diseases, which also resulted in higher productivity.
The beginnings of the Green Revolution are often attributed to Norman Borlaug, an American scientist interested in agriculture. In the 1940s, he began conducting research in Mexico and developed new disease resistance high - yield varieties of wheat. Due to the success of the Green Revolution in Mexico, its technologies spread worldwide in the 1950s and 1960s. The introduction of high - yielding varieties of seeds after 1965 and the increased use of fertilizers and irrigation provided the increase in production which improved agriculture in India.
The Green Revolution in India was a period when agriculture in India increased its yields due to improved agronomic technology. Green Revolution allowed developing countries, like India, to overcome poor agricultural productivity. In 1965 the government of Mrs. Indra Gandhi decided to take a major step on Agriculture condition. It started in India in the early 1960s and led to an increase in food grain production, especially in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh during the early phase. The main development was higher yielding varieties of wheat which were developed by many scientists, including American agronomist Dr. Norman Borlaug, Indian geneticist M. S. Swaminathan,
and others. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research also claims credit for enabling the Green Revolution, in part by developing rust resistant strains of wheat.
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| M. S. Swaminathan and Mrs. Indira Gandhi |
The main features for green revolution
1. Increased area under farmland: -
Although the area under cultivation was increasing ever since 1947; the green revolution accelerated it.
2. HYV seeds: -
High Yielding Variety Program (HYVP) was launched in 1966 especially on five crops viz. wheat, rice, pearl millet, maize and sorghum. For Wheat Sona, PB - 18 and Kalyan varieties were used; for Maize Ganga 101 and Ranjit varieties were used while for Jowar CSH2 was used mainly. Use of HYV seeds was the most scientific aspect for the Green Revolution. The role of Indian Agricultural Research Institute and agricultural universities should not be undermined in development of these seeds. We note here that the ICAR was originally established by the British in 1929 but had not done any significant research by 1960s. It was reorganized in 1965 and further in 1970s. Several new strains developed by it during 1960 and 1970s.
3. Use of chemical fertilizers
The green revolution truly began when in 1967; Indira Gandhi government had imported 18000 tonnes of HYV seeds from Mexico. These seeds needed chemical fertilizers to maximize yield. The per hectare use of chemical fertilizers skyrocketed in those years; and this was the reason that some call green revolution as a chemical revolution in effect. That also posed a challenge for government to make the chemical fertilizers affordable for the cultivators and government had to resort to fertilizers
subsidy.
4. Expansion of Irrigation: -
In 1951, the well irrigated area accounted for only 17-18% of the total cultivated area and majority of the farmers were dependent upon the rains. The government undertook many minor, major and multipurpose irrigation projects so that maximum area can be brought under irrigation. Dams were built to arrest large volumes of natural monsoon water which were earlier being wasted, simple irrigation techniques were also adopted.
5. Double Cropping: -
It was because of availability of the inputs and irrigation that the farmers could think of having two crops in a year. Thus, Double Cropping was the primary feature as well as outcome of the Green Revolution. Before that, one crop per year was a practice because there was only one monsoon rain per year.
Advantages of Green Revolution in India
1. Increase in Agricultural Production:
The introduction of Green Revolution in 1967-68 has resulted in phenomenal increase in the production of agricultural crops especially in food-grains. From 1967 onwards, the Green Revolution aimed at bringing about a Grain Revolution.
Among the food grains too, it is the wheat crop which drew maximum benefit from Green Revolution. The production of wheat increased by more than three times between 1967-68 and 2003-04 while the overall increase in the production of cereals was only two times. On account of this reason, it is said that the Green Revolution in India is largely the Wheat Revolution.
2. Prosperity of Farmers:
With the increase in farm production the earnings of the farmers also increased and they became prosperous. This has, especially, been the case with big farmers having more than 10 hectares of land.
3. Reduction in import of food-grains:
The main benefit of Green Revolution was the increase in the production of food-grains, as a result of which there was a drastic reduction in their imports. We are now self-sufficient in food-grains and have sufficient stock in the central pool. Sometimes we are in a position to export food-grains also.
The per capita net availability of food-grains has also increased from 395 grams per day in early 1950s to the level of 436 grams in 2003, this in spite of the rapid increase in population. In the words of Dantwala, Green Revolution has given a breathing time. As a result, there will be relief from anxiety of food shortage and the planners will concentrate more on Indian planning.
4. Capitalistic Farming:
Big farmers having more than 10 hectares of land have tended to get the maximum benefit from Green Revolution technology by investing large amount of money in various inputs like HYV seeds, fertilizers, machines, etc. This has encouraged capitalistic farming.
5. Ploughing back of profit:
The introduction of Green Revolution helped the farmers in raising their level of income. Wiser farmers ploughed back their surplus income for improving agricultural productivity. This led to further improvement in agriculture.
According to a study conducted by Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana farmers plough back about 55 per cent of their income for agricultural progress.
6. Industrial Growth:
Green Revolution brought about large scale farm mechanisation which created demand for different types of machines like tractors, harvesters, threshers, combines, diesel engines, electric motors, pumping sets, etc. Besides, demand for chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, weedicides, etc also increased considerably.
Consequently, industries producing these items progressed by leaps and bounds. Moreover, several agricultural products are used as raw materials in various industries. These industries are known as agro-based industries. Textile, sugar, vanaspati, etc. are some outstanding examples of agro-based industries.
7. Rural Employment:
While on one hand, large scale unemployment was feared due to mechanization of farming with the introduction of Green Revolution technology in India, there was an appreciable increase in the demand for labour force due to multiple cropping and use of fertilizers.
According to Gobind Thukral, “Green Revolution has generated lakhs of new jobs in Punjab. Almost 15 lakh poor people from the impoverished regions of Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Orissa work here. They not only earn their bread and butter, but take back home new ideas and technology”.
As per findings of Bhalla and Chadha in respect of Punjab, “The drive towards mechanization was caused mainly by the scarcity of labour and relatively high wage rate especially during peak agricultural operations.” During the last few years, a large number of farm labours have migrated from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh to Punjab where they find better opportunities of earning a
livelihood.
8. Change in the Attitude of Farmers:
The Indian farmer had remained illiterate, backward and traditional and had been using conventional methods of cultivation since the early times. But Green Revolution has brought about a basic change in his attitude towards farming. The way he has readily adopted the Green Revolution technology has exploded the myth that the Indian farmer is basically tradition bound and does not use new methods and techniques.
Trends in Agricultural Production and Productivity
Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries accounted for 13.7% of the GDP (gross domestic product) in 2013, about 50% of the workforce. The economic contribution of agriculture to India's GDP is steadily declining with the
country's broad-based economic growth. Still, agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio -economic fabric of India.
India exported $ 39 billion worth of agricultural products in 2013, making it the seventh largest agricultural exporter worldwide and the sixth largest net exporter. Most of its agriculture exports serve developing and least developed nations. Indian agricultural / horticultural and processed foods are exported to more than 100 countries, primarily in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, SAARC countries, the EU and the United States.
Food grain production in India:
India's overall food grains production in 2015-16 is expected to be higher than in the previous year despite poor monsoon rains and shortage of water in reservoirs and a warmer than - expected winter, the government said. It said in a statement that the second advance estimate of major crops showed food grains production to come in at 253,16 million tonnes against 252.02 million tonnes, an increase of 1.14 million tonnes. Total production of rice during 2015-16 is estimated at 103.61 million tonnes, which is lower by 1.87 million tonnes than its production of 105.48 million tonnes during 2014-15. Wheat production is estimated at 93.82 million tonnes, higher by 7.29 million tonnes than the production of 86.53 million tonnes in the previous year. Wheat production in 2015-16 is also higher by 2.29 million tonnes than its 5 years' average production, the statement said.
It estimated coarse cereals at 38.40 million tonnes, which is lower by 4,47 million tonnes as compared to the42.86 million tonnes during 2014-15. Total pulses production of 17.33 million tonnes during 2015-16 is marginally higher than the previous year's production of 17.15 million tonnes. With a decline of 1.17 million tonnes over the previous year production's total oilseeds production in the country during 2015-16 is estimated at 26.34 million tonnes.
Sugarcane production is estimated at 346.39 million tonnes, lower by 15.95 million tonnes from 2014-15. Production of cotton estimated at 30.69 million bales (of 170 kg each), lower by 4.11 million bales than the 34.81 million bales produced during 2014-15.
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