The Green Revolution’s Impact on Indian Native Crops

The phrase “Green Revolution” refers to rapid increases in wheat and rice yields in developing countries driven by improved varieties paired with increasing usage of pesticides and fertilizers.

William Gaud coined the term “green revolution,” and Norman Borlaug is considered the “Father of the Green Revolution.”

M.S. Swaminathan, the father of the Green Revolution (India), helped the Indian government initiate the Green Revolution in 1965. The green revolution campaign was a huge success, transforming the country from a food-insecure economy to one of the world’s leading agricultural nations. It began in 1967 and continued until 1978.

In India, the Green Revolution increased agricultural productivity, particularly in Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. The development of a high-yielding variety of wheat seeds and rust-resistant wheat strains was a significant milestone in this project.

The green revolution technique was founded on three fundamental elements:

1. Use better genetics seeds (High Yielding Variety seeds).
2. Cropping twice on existing acreage and,
3. Farming land continues to expand.

Green Revolution Schemes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Green Revolution Umbrella Scheme — ‘Krishonnati Yojana’ in the agriculture sector for three years, from 2017 to 2020, with a Central Share of Rs. 33,269.976 crores. The initiative intends to boost farmers’ income through improving productivity, production, and produce returns.

The 11 schemes that comprise the Green Revolution’s Umbrella Schemes are as follows:

Integrated Development of Horticulture -

It seeks to boost the sector’s overall growth, raise output, improve nutritional security, and increase financial assistance to home farms.

National Mission on Oil Seeds and Oil Palm-

It attempts to increase wheat, pulses, rice, coarse cereals, and commercial crops in a sustainable manner. It also seeks to reduce imports while increasing domestic production of vegetable and edible oils.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture -

It promotes sustainable agricultural approaches best suited to the African continent’s unique agroecology, with a focus on integrated farming, effective soil health management, and resource conservation technology synergy.

Agriculture Extension Submission-

This programme seeks to strengthen the continuous extension mechanism of state governments, local governments, and others in order to achieve food security and farmer socioeconomic empowerment

Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material –

This attempts to increase seed production and storage while also promoting innovative methods and technology in seed production, processing, and testing. It also aspires to modernise seed production, storage, quality, and certification infrastructure.

Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation –

The initiative intends to expand agricultural mechanization’s reach to small and marginal farmers, as well as to places with limited farm power availability. It also intends to establish centres for high-tech and valuable farm equipment, as well as to assure performance testing and certification at specified testing facilities.

Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plan Quarantine –

The aim is to protect our agricultural bio-security from incursions and spread of alien species, and to facilitate exports of Indian agricultural commodities to global markets.

Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics, and Statistics –

The OSRO aims to undertake the agriculture census, undertake research studies on agro-economic problems of the country and study the cost of cultivation of principal crops.

Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Cooperation-

It also aims to ensure the supply of quality yarn at reasonable rates to weavers and to assist cotton growers in obtaining a remunerative price for their produce.

Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Marketing –

The Indian government has undertaken an ambitious plan to create a nationwide marketing information network for agricultural products. The scheme’s goal is to encourage new technology and competitive alternatives in agricultural marketing infrastructure. It also intends to unify markets by creating a uniform online market platform to allow pan-India agricultural commodity commerce.

National e-Governance Plan-

The National Agriculture Information and Communications Technology Centre (NACICT) has been established by the Indian government to improve farmers’ access to information and services. It aims to bring farmer-centric and service-oriented programmes; improve access and efficiency of extension services; and build on, enhance, and integrate existing initiatives.

Characteristics of the Green Revolution

1. High Yielding Variety of seeds was introduced into Indian agriculture.
2. The HYV seeds were more effective and successful with the wheat crop in places with abundant irrigation.
3. As a result, the Green Revolution first concentrated on areas with stronger infrastructure, like Tamil Nadu and Punjab.
4. The high-producing variety seeds were sent to additional states during the second phase, and crops other than wheat were included in the plan.
5. Crops cultivated from HYV seeds require a lot of water, and farmers can’t rely on the monsoon. As a result, the Green Revolution enhanced irrigation systems surrounding fields in India. Proper watering is the most crucial condition for high-producing variety seeds.
6. Cotton, jute, oilseeds, and other commercial and cash crops were not included in the plan. The green revolution in India was primarily focused on food grains such as wheat and rice.
7. Green revolution expanded the availability and usage of fertilizers, weedicides, and insecticides in order to prevent crop damage or loss.
8. It also aided in the promotion of commercial farming in the nation with the introduction of machinery and technology such as harvesters, drills, tractors, and so on.

The Green Revolution’s Impact on India

1. The biggest beneficiary of the revolution was Wheat Grain. The production increased to 55 million tonnes in the early stage of the plan itself.
2. It also increased per Acre yield and per hectare yield for crops such as wheat from 850kg/hectare to 2281kg/ha in its early stages.
3. Instead of relying on food grain imports from other nations, India began exporting agricultural production. With the onset of the Green Revolution, India achieved self-sufficiency and became less reliant on imports. The country’s output was sufficient to fulfil its needs and to store for emergencies.
4. The Green Revolution in India benefitted the country’s farmers greatly.
5. The emergence of the revolution alleviated the people’s anxiety that commercial farming would lead to unemployment. However, the outcome was quite different: there was an increase in rural employment.
6. Transportation, irrigation, food processing, marketing, and other tertiary sectors offered job possibilities for the workers.

Green Revolution’s Negative Effects

1. Agriculture growth is being slowed owing to insufficient irrigation coverage, falling farm size, inability to evolve new technologies, insufficient application of technology, reducing plan expenditure, imbalanced input utilization, and problems in the credit delivery system.
2. The new technology introduced during the revolution necessitated large expenditures that were out of reach for the majority of small farmers.
3. Inequalities in interpersonal relationships between large and small-scale farmers The new technology introduced during the revolution necessitated large expenditures that were out of reach for the majority of small farmers.
4. Geographical disparities resulted from the evolution’s regional spread. The green revolution’s advantages remained concentrated in the places where the new technology was deployed.
5. Farmers with big farmlands continued to achieve higher absolute income growth by reinvesting revenues in farm and non-farm assets, acquiring land from smaller cultivators, and so on.

Conclusion

India has made a significant contribution to the Green Revolution by providing an unparalleled degree of food security.

It has lifted many poor people out of poverty and assisted many non-poor people to escape the poverty and hunger that would have resulted if the green revolution had not occurred.