Theme: What is the Green Revolution?
Part 1
Opening: The term Green Revolution refers to the shift in agricultural practices and the introduction of modern methods of farming to improve the yield of crops. It was started in Mexico in the 1940s with the help of Dr. Norman Borlaug, an American agricultural scientist. Dr. Borlaug helped to devise improved crop management practices in Mexico which in turn, enhanced agricultural production of wheat while also making the crop resistant to pests. This model was then replicated in Asia and Latin America in order to make countries self-sufficient in food grains. He is known as the ‘Father of Green Revolution”.
Part 2
While the farmers in independent India were cultivating grains, they faced harvest failures. Their dependence on the monsoons and lack of infrastructure that could give them the expected output from their lands gave rise to a shortage of food grains. The food grains thus produced weren’t enough to meet the increasing demands of a growing country. This led to a famine-like situation in 1960s India.
The Green Revolution was an effort aimed to combat this shortage and make India self-sufficient in the production of food grains. This movement was started in 1967 and lasted up till 1978. It was launched with the help of geneticist M. S. Swaminathan who later came to be known as the ‘father of Green Revolution in India”. He called upon Dr. Borlaug, who introduced high-yielding variety seeds of wheat developed by him in Mexico. These seeds had higher chances of success in regions that had enough water for irrigation. The states of Punjab and Tamil Nadu were included in the first phase due to the abundance of water in these areas. In the second phase, the Green Revolution was extended to other states and crops other than wheat were included. The Green
revolution focused mainly on wheat and rice. Cash crops like cotton and jute were not a part of the plan.
Part 3
The introduction of high-yielding variety seeds that required alternating amounts of water supply ensured that the crops gave a higher yield when irrigated properly. The Green Revolution vastly improved the inland irrigation systems around farms in India. With new irrigation facilities, farmers didn’t have to be dependent on monsoons anymore. This meant that they could grow more than one type of crop on the same farmland. The increased availability of modern agricultural tools like fertilizers increased the productivity of the farmlands while pesticides ensured that the crop was free from infestation, thereby reducing loss and damage to crops. Introduction of technology and machinery like drills, harvesters and tractors industrialized India’s agricultural sector and promoted commercial farming in the country. It was feared that the industrialization of farming would reduce the number of jobs. It, however, created more jobs in rural areas. This is because the supporting industries of transportation and food processing needed more people to handle the increase in food production. India soon became self-sufficient in food grains. There was enough to feed its population and to store grain in case of emergencies. It didn’t need to depend on imports to meet its demands anymore.