Green Revolution: A Tale of Agricultural History

After Independence, India was not developed in terms of technology and innovation. From industries to farmers, everyone depended on conventional methods of getting their work done. This resulted in less productivity, lack of efficient use of factors of production, and time-consuming activity. The illiteracy rate in India was at its peak and introducing new methods, techniques and policies was no less than an ice-breaking challenge for the government, as well as the residents of India. But as there was a steep rise in the population of India, an urgent need for a method was needed which could fulfill the massive rising demand of the people.

Multiple wars, natural calamities, and the rising population of India only contributed to the depressing economic scenario of the nation. Majority of the resources that India treasured were utilized in relief camps where wars, famine, drought, and other natural calamities unleashed their cruel side. Since the illiteracy rate of the nation was already very low at that time, the majority of the population depended on agriculture for their livelihood.

Due to all these, the economy of India was shaken terribly. Money that could be used to boost the productivity of the agricultural sector served its purpose in wars and calamities. As a result, the agricultural sector of India suffered miserably. A need for modernization, along with technology, was needed to support the depletion seen in the agri-sector.

This is when the Green Revolution was introduced. The objective of this revolution was to implement the usage of modern methods and equipments in farming. This includes the utilization of pesticides, insecticides, modern tools of farming, tractors, irrigation facilities, to name a few. The revolution commenced in the year 1966, mainly under the leadership of agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan, also known as the father of Green Revolution - and the premiership of Indira Gandhi - a former Indian Congress leader. The revolution was undertaken with a vision of boosting the productivity of the agri-sector and removing the obstacles that hinder the growth of the sector. Punjab was the first state where the revolution was initiated.

The method of green revolution focused on three basic elements, that are:

1.   Using seeds with improved genetics (High Yielding Variety seeds).

2.   Double cropping in the existing farmland and,

3.   The continuing expansion of farming areas

The Green Revolution turned out to be a very effective development strategy since famines, droughts and other crises further made the economy of the nation vulnerable. It helped in raising the overall output index of agricultural products. Until 1967, the government majorly concentrated on expanding the farming areas. But the rapidly increasing population as compared to the overall food production called for a drastic and immediate action to increase yield which came in the form of the Green Revolution.

Let us dive deeper into the impacts received from the Green Revolution:

1.   The Green Revolution allowed us to see a rapid rise in overall agricultural production. Wheat benefited the most from the revolution. The production capacity was increased to 55 million tonnes in the early stage of the plan itself.

2.   The revolution not only raised the agricultural output but also inflated the per acre yield. In the case of Wheat, it rose from 850 kg per hectare to an incredible 2281 kg per hectare in its initial stage.

3.   The Green Revolution helped India to get back on its feet and be self-sufficient, reducing the bar of imports from other countries. Revolution helped to bridge the gap of rising demand due to increasing population and also stock it for times of emergency. Moreover, India also started exporting the excess of agri-outputs to other countries which is a major milestone earned.

4.   Farmers were majorly benefited from this revolution. Famers not only earned their livelihood but also prospered from it since the revolution resulted in bringing a significant rise in the income of farmers.

The Green Revolution truly brought the revolution to the agricultural sector, but it also negatively affected farming. Here are the negative impacts of the Green Revolution:

1.   Although the Green Revolution commenced throughout India, it's results were unbalanced from state to state. Different methods should be used for every state since land, water level, availability of electricity, etc. vary in every state. Moreover, since the revolution for a number of years remained limited to wheat production, its benefits were mostly accrued only to wheat-growing areas.

2.   The new technology which was asked to be used by farmers in the Green Revolution called for a hefty investment. Farmers who are financially stable and possess huge landholdings were at ease since they could easily invest the amount, whereas, for small scale farmers, who are more in numbers than wealthy farmers, it became arduous to implement new technology at such a costly investment.

3.   Degradation of soil occurred since new pesticides and insecticides were made up of harmful chemicals. Not only this, inadequate irrigation cover, shrinking farm size, failure to evolve new technologies, inadequate use of technology, declining plan outlay, unbalanced use of inputs, and weaknesses in the credit delivery system, ineffective use of factors of production, etc. affected agri-activities negatively.

The Green Revolution brought a revolutionary change in the agricultural sector, especially in the production of Wheat, and also helped to support the falling economy of India. But after all these decades, a new system, with a vision of truly empowering farmers, is needed to help boost the agricultural sector further.