Green Revolution in India: Origin, Effects and Disadvantages

Information about Green Revolution:

The term Green Revolution was first used on 8 March 1968 by US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator William S. Goud, who noted the proliferation of new technologies. The Green Revolution in India started in the year 1966 and due to this revolution Indian agriculture was transformed into an industrial system due to the use of modern methods and technology such as high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, tractors, irrigation facilities, pesticides and fertilizers. was transformed. ,

This revolution was first started by Nobel laureate Professor Norman Borlaug, but in India M.S. Swaminathan is considered its father. The Green Revolution is the result of the development method implemented in Indian agriculture, which replaced traditional agriculture in the form of modern technology in the 1960s. This revolution in India led to rapid development and within a short span of time it gave such amazing results that the country's planners, agricultural experts and politicians termed this unprecedented progress as 'Green Revolution'.

Green Revolution was also given the name because, as a result of this, Indian agriculture rose above the subsistence level and reached the surplus level. Food grain production increased in India, especially in rural states such as Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The major milestones in this undertaking were the development of high yielding varieties of wheat and rust resistant varieties of wheat. But, M.S. Agricultural scientists such as Swaminathan and social scientists such as Vandana Shiva believe that this created long-term social and financial problems for the people of Punjab and Haryana.

States affected by Green Revolution:

• Punjab
• Haryana
• Uttar Pradesh
• Madhya Pradesh
• Bihar
• Himachal Pradesh
• Andhra Pradesh
• Tamil Nadu

Improvements in agricultural production:

Increase in production and productivity: Due to the Green Revolution, the biggest advantage of the new development method implemented in Indian agriculture was that the area under crops started increasing in the country, due to which agricultural production and food grain production increased. Especially the production of wheat, millet, paddy, maize and jowar had increased in maximum quantity and as a result, India became self-sufficient in food grains.

In the year 1951-1952, the total production of food grains in the country was 5.09 million tonnes, which gradually increased to 23.38 million tonnes in 2008-2009. Similarly, the productivity per hectare has also improved substantially.

Change in the traditional form of agriculture: As a result of the Green Revolution, there has been a change in the traditional form of agriculture and farming has started to be done from a commercial point of view. Whereas earlier agriculture was done only to fill the stomach. There has been an increase in the production of sugarcane, cotton, jute and oilseeds in the country. Cotton production increased from 5.6 million bales in 1960–1961 to 27 million bales in 2008–2009. Similarly, the production of oilseeds increased from 7 million tonnes in 1960-1961 to 28.2 million tonnes in 2008-2009.

Similarly, the production of commercial crops like jute, sugarcane, potato and groundnut has also increased. At present, cultivation of horticulture crops, fruits, vegetables and flowers is also being promoted in the country.

Strengthening Industry-Industry Relations: New technology and modernization of agriculture have made the mutual relations between agriculture and industry stronger than ever before. Traditionally, although the forward-looking relationship between agriculture and industry was already strong, because many inputs are provided to industries by the agricultural sector. But the regressive relationship between the two was very weak, because industrially manufactured goods were of little use in agriculture.

But as a result of modernization of agriculture, now there has been a huge increase in the demand for industry-made inputs in agriculture, such as agricultural machinery and chemical fertilizers, etc. due to which the regressive relationship of agriculture has also been strengthened. In other words, the relations between agriculture and industrial sector have become stronger.

Improvement in the use of chemical fertilizers: Due to the new agricultural policy, there has been a rapid increase in the amount of chemical fertilizers consumed. The use of chemical fertilizers was two kg per hectare in 1960-1961, which has increased to 128.6 kg per hectare in 2008-2009. Similarly, the total consumption of chemical fertilizers in the country was 2.92 lakh tonnes in 1960-1961, which increased to 249.09 lakh tonnes in 2008-2009.

Establishment of Agricultural Service Centers: In order to develop the ability of commercial courage among the farmers, a plan has been implemented to establish Agricultural Service Centers in the country. In this scheme, first people are given technical training, then they are asked to set up service centers. For this they are given assistance from nationalized banks. So far, a total of 1,314 Krishi Seva Kendras have been established in the country.

Problems of Green Revolution:

Effect on limited crops: The effect of Green Revolution was limited to certain crops, such as wheat, jowar, millet etc. It has no effect on other crops. Even rice has been affected very little by this. Commercial crops are also unaffected by this.

Promotion of capitalist agriculture: High yielding varieties of seeds is a capital-intensive program, which requires huge investment in inputs like fertilizers, irrigation, agricultural machinery, etc. It is beyond the capacity of small and medium scale farmers to make huge investments. In this way, only those farmers who have private pumping sets, tractors, tube wells and other agricultural machinery are benefiting from the Green Revolution. This facility is available only to the big farmers of the country. Common farmers are deprived of these facilities.

No emphasis on the need for institutional reforms: The need for institutional reforms has been completely disregarded in the new development method. The most important component under institutional changes is the system of land holding. With its help, maximum production can be achieved by technological change. Land reform programs have not been successful in the country and the certainty of land holding has not been provided to lakhs of farmers even today.

The problem of labor-displacement: Labor-displacement has been encouraged as a result of agricultural mechanization used under the Green Revolution. This is also one of the reasons for the rural population migrating to the cities in search of employment.

Growing Inequality of Income: Technological changes in agriculture have had an adverse effect on income-distribution in rural areas. Dr. V.K. R. According to V. Rao, “It is now well known that with the so-called Green Revolution, which has helped in increasing the production of food grains in the country, inequality in rural income has increased, many small farmers have had to give up their tenancy rights and Social and economic tensions have increased in rural areas."

Lack of necessary facilities: In the absence of necessary facilities such as irrigation system, agricultural credit, economic holding and cheap inputs etc. for the success of Green Revolution, desired success is not being achieved in the field of agricultural development.

Regional imbalanced development: The impact of the Green Revolution is limited to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu etc. Due to its influence not being spread over the entire country, the country could not develop in a balanced way. Thus, the Green Revolution has been successful only to a limited extent.

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