Green Revolution in India

by Devender

0 1600

Green Revolution was an extraordinary expansion in the production of food grains (particularly wheat and rice) that brought about a huge part from the presentation into agricultural nations of new, high-yielding assortments, starting during the twentieth century.

Green Revolution in India

It was introduced in India to reduce the dependence of India on foreign countries for food grains. It was aimed at making India a self-dependent and self-sustained nation when it comes to food grains availability.

Conditions that prevailed before the introduction of the Green revolution:

Indian agriculture was only focused on institutional reforms and not on a technological base whereas the rise in population and huge outlays towards planned industrialization put a lot of pressure on the agriculture sector and the demand for food grains increased.

To tackle this shortage problem, the government had to import a lot of food from foreign countries
The food prices rose very high following the wars with China in 1962, with Pakistan in 1965, and the drought of 1965-66
The output of agriculture fell down and the USA sent inferior quality seeds during a shortage of food, under PL-480 Scheme because of India’s stand on Vietnam & India’s denial of accepting an economic policy package
The Indian government made economic self-reliance & food self-sufficiency their top priority due to the grim Scenario of the 1960s

Government’s positive initiative during Green Revolution Period:

The government started investing in the agriculture sector even more and doubled the institutional finance in this sector from 1968 to 1973. The government set up the Agricultural price commission aiming to provide assure sustained remunerative prices to farmers.

Farmers were provided public investment, institutional credit remunerative prices & new technologies
The result of these efforts by the government was that the rate of increase in the gross irrigated area rose from 1 million hectares per annum to about 2.5 million hectares per annum during the pre-Green revolution in the 1970s

Green Revolution's positive impact:

The production of food grains rose significantly and by the 1980s, India didn't only become self-sufficient in food but also became able to export food to pay back the loans and to provide loans to other countries.

It maintained the agricultural growth rates plus it generated a rapid increase in the marketable surplus of food grains
India got freedom from the import of food for food security
To get maximum results, small farmers applied more inputs per unit of land compared to large farmers
Small farmers then became more confident & able
Hence, they didn't sell their lands to large farmers in distress
It increased the employment opportunities not only in the agriculture sector but also in nonagricultural rural & semi-urban employment through the development of agro-industries, transport industry, and other agriculturally allied sectors
The income of the farmers increased which also brought the increase in demand for consumer durables like radios, watches, TVs, Sewing machines, etc.
The stocks of food grains increased which helped government to launch employment generating and poverty alleviation programs in backward areas
Green revolution also helped in decreasing poverty in rural areas by increasing food availability and decreasing the prices of food
It also generated employment in the agricultural sector & agriculturally allied areas

Green Revolution's negative impact:

It led to excessive use of chemical fertilizers & pesticides and groundwater for irrigation. It also led to plateauing of the growth rates in areas like Punjab & Haryana. Tenants and sharecroppers were the only losers.

It rose the feeling of regionalism which divided the nation into developing and backward states
To please the farming community in the Green Revolution belt, many politicians provided free electricity or subsidy on it to farmers which led to misuse of it
It affected the overall Indian economy