GREEN
REVOLUTION IN INDIA – AGRICULTURE
News: M.S. Swaminathan: A timeline of the
Father of the Green revolution
What's
in the news?
●
From leading India’s Green Revolution to
pushing for recognition for India’s women farmers, here’s a timeline of eminent
agriculturist Dr M.S. Swaminathan’s illustrious life.
Key
takeaways:
●
As the Green revolution spread across
India, farmers across the nation began employing better irrigation methods,
cross-breeding in wheat crops and using higher quality of fertilisers, making
India self-sufficient and ending its dependency on grain imports.
Green
Revolution:
Backdrop:
●
In India, the green revolution was
launched under the guidance of geneticist Dr M. S. Swaminathan.
●
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.
Objectives:
●
The green revolution’s primary aim was to introduce
high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of cereals to alleviate poverty and
malnutrition.
Significance
of Green Revolution:
●
The Green Revolution within India led to
an increase in agricultural production, especially in Haryana, Punjab, and
Uttar Pradesh.
1.
Increased food production:
●
The Green Revolution led to a considerable
increase in food production, which helped in improving food security in India.
2.
Boosted economy:
●
The movement helped to boost the Indian
economy, with increased agricultural production contributing to economic
growth.
3.
Reduced poverty:
●
The Green Revolution in India contributed
to a reduction in poverty, particularly in rural areas. Hence, it helped
improve the standard of living for farmers.
4.
Increased employment opportunities:
●
The revolution created new employment
opportunities in agriculture and related industries, which helped tackle
unemployment.
5.
Self-sufficiency:
●
The Green Revolution helped India to
become more self-sufficient in food production, reducing the country’s
dependence on other countries for food.
The green revolution led
to the high productivity of crops through adapted
measures, such as:
●
Increased area under farming.
●
Double-cropping, which includes planting
two crops rather than one, annually.
●
Adoption of HYV of seeds.
●
Highly increased use of inorganic
fertilizers and pesticides.
●
Improved irrigation facilities.
●
Improved farm implements and crop
protection measures.
Criticisms
of Green Revolution:
1.
Water-intensive crops:
●
The crops introduced during the green
revolution were water-intensive crops.
●
About 3,500 litres of water is needed to
produce one kg of rice, compared to 1,350 litres for wheat and 900 litres for
maize.
●
To take Punjab’s example, the state
extracts 28 billion cubic metres (bcm) of groundwater annually, while its
annual recharge is 19bcm, which is unsustainable.
●
Tube wells have to dive deeper and deeper
to find water.
2.
Imbalanced and unsuitable production:
●
Punjab, Haryana and west Uttar Pradesh
were chosen or led to produce wheat and rice for the nation.
●
These states were relatively suitable for
wheat, but not rice.
●
The best states for rice were West Bengal,
Odisha, Bihar and Assam.
●
The three northern states were
incentivized for growing rice along with wheat because they had good
irrigation, unlike the eastern states which were largely rainfed.
3.
Soil pollution:
●
Chemicals have swallowed the soil’s innate
nutrients.
●
There has been a significant increase in
the usage of pesticides and India became one of the largest producers of
pesticides in the whole of Asia.
4.
Air pollution:
●
Air pollution introduced due to the
burning of agricultural waste is a big issue these days.
●
In the heartland of the green revolution,
Punjab, farmers are burning their land for sowing the crops for the next cycle
instead of the traditionally practiced natural cycle.
5.
Extinction of Indigenous Varieties of Crops:
●
Since the time of the green revolution,
there has been reduced cultivation of indigenous varieties of rice, millets, lentils,
etc.
●
In turn, there was increased harvest of
hybrid crops, which would grow faster.
●
Due to the green revolution, India lost
almost 1 lakh varieties of indigenous rice.
6.
Health Impacts:
●
Indiscriminate pesticide usage has led to
several health effects in human beings in the nervous, endocrine, reproductive,
and immune systems.
WAY
FORWARD:
1.
Crop Diversification:
●
Agriculture in green revolution states
cannot be saved unless a substantial part of rice cultivation is moved from
there to eastern states.
●
States want to diversify to other crops,
but they do not want their income to fall in the process.
●
It can be done only when the State builds
robust ecosystems for alternative crops as it had done for rice and wheat.
2.
Climate-resistant crops:
●
Addressing the challenges like water and
air pollution would require agricultural production focussed on the
water-energy nexus, making agriculture more climate resistant and
environmentally sustainable.
3.
Technological interventions:
●
Wider use of digital technology and
extension services will be helpful in information sharing and generating
awareness among the farmers.
4.
Need of Green Revolution 2.0:
●
India needs a second green revolution
along with the next generation of reforms with a view to make agriculture more
climate-resistant and environmentally sustainable.
5.
Supply-side interventions:
●
The need is supply-side interventions such
as higher public investment, storage infrastructure and promotion of food
processing.