Green Revolution in India

Let’s read this article on Green Revolution in India…

Historical context:

India is predominantly an agrarian economy. During the British Colonial rule, about 85% of the country’s population lived mostly in villages and derived livelihood directly and indirectly from agriculture. However, despite the huge indulgence of the population in this occupation, the agricultural sector remained underdeveloped.

The stagnation in the agricultural sector was caused mainly because of following reasons:

• Zamindari System – This system was implemented by the colonial government in the then Bengal Presidency and other areas wherein land was concentrated in the hand of a few intermediaries who did nothing to improve the condition of agriculture.
• Low Agricultural Productivity and Huge Population – The agricultural productivity remained low which was insufficient to feed a large population.
• Mass Poverty and Famine Conditions – The people under colonial-era were suffering from intense poverty and widespread famine. They had not enough income to invest in agriculture to enhance productivity.
• Commercialization of Crops – British government forced the farmers to grow commercial crops such as Indigo and cotton for their home industries. This resulted in the scarcity of food grain crops and further aggravated poverty and reduce the fertility of the soil.

During 1950 India’s foodgrain production was about 45 million tons and that was limited to a few food crops only which were unable to fulfill the demand of the growing population, resulting in a food security crisis.

Under these depressing conditions, India signed a pact with the USA government for importing food grains through the PL480 agreement. However, the agreement increased the import pressure and further drought led years of 1955-56 and 1956-57  resulted in the first Balance of Payment (BoP) crisis in India.

In such a scenario, India realized to become self-sufficient in food grains and from their idea of Green revolution coined.

What is meant by Green Revolution?

Green Revolution introduced the use of high-yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds in farming practices. HYV seeds are seeds of better quality compared to traditional seeds. These seeds were developed by scientists to improve food supplies and reduce famine in developing countries. These HYV seeds can produce up to ten times more crops than regular seeds from the same patch of land.

How it was implemented?

It was implemented in India in the late 1960s by M.S. Swaminathan.  He is known as the father of the Green Revolution in India. In 1958, the Indian government invited a team from the Ford Foundation of the USA to suggest an improvement in Indian Agriculture. In 1962-63, the Intensive Area Development Programme (IADP) was launched in 7 districts as a pilot project. Later Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP) was launched in 114 districts of India. After its commendable success Green Revolution was introduced in India during the 1960s.

Objectives of Green Revolution:

• To address India’s hunger crisis and fulfill the food demand of the growing population by ensuring food security among citizens.
• To enhance agricultural productivity and improve the yields per crop.
• To reduce dependence on food imports and saving of forex reserves, curb the BoP crisis in India.
• To develop a class of entrepreneurs among farmers.
• Generate employment in both the agricultural and industrial sectors.
• Globalization of the agricultural world.
• To promote the concept of multiple crop farming on the same area of land.
• To promote modernization in agriculture by new farm machines, high yielding seeds, and chemical fertilizers, etc.

Impacts of Green Revolution:

Positive Impacts-

• Exponential Increase in Crop Productivity-

Green Revolution resulted in the fast growth of farm productivity. The crop yield per acre of land rises. During the late 1970s, India was established as the world’s biggest producer of agricultural crops. It was mainly due to HYV seeds which produce a much greater amount of grains from a single plant than traditional seeds.

• Boost to Agricultural Employment & Industrial Jobs-

There was a surge in demand for farm laborers, sharecroppers, etc. due to surplus production and multiple cropping. The Green Revolution created plenty of jobs not only for agricultural workers but also for industrial workers by providing raw materials and creating related facilities like factories and power stations.

• Reduced Import of Foodgrains-

India became self-sufficient in foodgrains and in a position to export foodgrains. The per capita availability of foodgrain has also increased. Today, India is a major exporter of wheat, rice, and other commercial crops in the World. It helps many underdeveloped nations to eradicate their hunger crisis through food security. 

• Development of Food Processing Industries-

With the increased production capacity of farm areas, there was a development of Food Processing Industries which further induced the demand for agricultural raw materials and improved the condition of farmers. It purchased their surplus crop production and processed them further to provide long-term use of the agricultural commodities.

• Development of Infrastructure-

Green Revolution has a direct impact on the development of infrastructure like warehouses for hoarding of surplus foodgrains, port facilities for the export of agricultural commodities, canals, and handpumps to ensure irrigation facilities, roads, etc. 

• Provide Social Benefit-

Green Revolution eradicate widespread poverty, reduced famine conditions, enhance the income of the farmers, provides food security, helps in combating malnutrition, etc. 

Negative Impacts-

• Restricted to a Few Crops only-

Various non-food grains were left out. Although major food grains including wheat, rice, jowar, and bajra had gained from Green Revolution, other crops such as coarse grains, pulses, cotton, jute, tea, and, sugarcane, etc. were left out from the ambit of the Green Revolution.

• Depletion of Water Table and Reduce in Soil Fertility-

The crops introduced during Green Revolution are water guggling crops that required a huge amount of water. This resulted in depletion of the water table and a water crisis in India. Further excessive use of chemical fertilizers reduced the fertility of the soil, making it prone to other crops production and creating a problem of water and soil pollution.

• Aggravated Regional Disparities-

Green Revolution is limited to a few plain regions of India such as Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh. It has given birth to growing regional disparities in the country. Other areas remained in the same situation and did not develop as needed.

Conclusion:

Overall Green Revolution was a major achievement and placed India among the world’s largest exporters of food grains. It transformed India from a food-dependent to a food-sufficient country and from a food deficit to a food surplus country. It showed a remarkable success in crop productivity and provide a better opportunity to the farmers of the country. 

Thank you.

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