Agriculture in India

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A farmer woman reaping harvests. Majority of India's 1 billion population have

agriculture as their mainstay.

Agriculture in India is one of the most prominent sectors in its economy. Agriculture
and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounted for 18.6% of the GDP in
2005 and employed 60% of the country's population[1]. It accounts for 8.56 % of India’s
exports. About 43 % of India's geographical area is used for agricultural activity. Despite
a steady decline of its share in the GDP, agriculture is still the largest economic sector
and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of India.

The monsoons play a critical role in the Indian sub-continent's agriculture in determining
whether the harvest will be bountiful, average, or poor in any given year. The entire
rainfall in the sub-continent is concentrated in the few monsoon months.

Agriculture in India is constitutionally the responsibility of the states rather than the
central government. The central government's role is in formulating policy and providing
financial resources for agriculture. The government administers prices of essential
commodities to protect farmer's interests. It also administers other commodities which
are produced by government-controlled companies, like petroleum, coal, nitrogenous
fertilizers, etc. Other than these, most agricultural commodity markets operate under the
normal forces of demand and supply.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History of Indian agriculture

o 1.1 Green Revolution
o 1.2 Operation Flood
• 2 Production
• 3 Research
• 4 References

• 5 External links

[edit] History of Indian agriculture

Evidence of the presence of wheat and some legumes in the 6th millennium BC have
been found in the Indus Valley. Oranges were cultivated in the same millennium. The
crops grown in the valley around 4000 BC were typically wheat, peas, sesame seed,
barley, dates and mangoes. By 3500 BC cotton growing and cotton textiles were quite
advanced in the valley. By 3000 BC farming of rice had started. Other monsoon crops of
importance of the time was cane sugar. By 2500 BC, rice was an important component of
the staple diet in Mohenjodaro near the Arabian Sea.

The Indus Plain had rich alluvial deposits which came down the Indus River in annual
floods. This helped sustain farming that formed basis of the Indus Valley Civilization at
Harappa. The people built dams and drainage systems for the crops.

By 2000 BC tea, bananas and apples were being cultivated in India. There was coconut
trade with East Africa in 200 AD. By 500 AD, egg plants were being cultivated.

Paddy field in South India

Italic text==Agricultural movements==

[edit] Green Revolution

Main article: Green Revolution in India

After independence, considering India's growing population, the government took steps
to increase the food production. Yields per unit area of all crops have grown since 1950.
The 1970s saw a huge increase in India's wheat production. This is known as the Indian
Green Revolution. Reasons for the growth are the special emphasis placed on agriculture
and steady improvements in irrigation, technology, application of modern agricultural
practices and provision of agricultural credit and subsidies.

[edit] Operation Flood

Main article: Operation flood

Operation Flood was the name of a rural development programme started by the National
Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1970 with the objective of creating a nationwide
milk grid. This movement followed the and helped in alleviating poverty and famine
levels from dangerous proportions in India during the era. It resulted in India becoming
the largest producer of milk and milk products, so it is also called the White Revolution
of India.

[edit] Production
India is ranked second in the world in terms of agricultural output. India is the largest
producer in the world of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, turmeric and black
pepper. It also has the world's largest cattle population (193 million). India ranks second
worldwide in farm output. It is the second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar,
groundnut and inland fish. It is the third largest producer of tobacco. India accounts for
10 per cent of the world fruit production with first rank in the production of banana and
sapota.

See also: List of countries by agricultural output

Given below is a chart of trend of output of cereals and major foodgrains as published[2]
by the Department of Food and Public Distribution with figures in tonnes.

Year Cereals Rice Wheat Coarsegrains Pulses

2001–02 199,480,000 93,340,000 72,770,000 33,370,000 13,370,000

2004–05 192,730,000 87,800,000 73,030,000 31,880,000 13,670,000

Composition of India's total production (million tonnes) of foodgrains and commercial
crops, in 2003-04.

Despite high growth, international comparisons reveal that the average yield in India is
generally 30% to 50% of the highest average yield in the world.[3]

The low productivity in India is a result of the following factors:

• Illiteracy, general socio-economic backwardness, reforms and inadequate or

inefficient finance and marketing services for farm produce.
• The average size of land holdings is very small (less than 20,000 m²) and are
subject to fragmentation, due to land ceiling acts and in some cases, family
disputes. Such small holdings are often over-manned, resulting in disguised
unemployment and low productivity of labour.
• Adoption of modern agricultural practices and use of technology is inadequate,
hampered by ignorance of such practices, high costs and impracticality in the case
of small land holdings.
• Irrigation facilities are inadequate, as revealed by the fact that only 53.6% of the
land was irrigated in 2000–01,[4] which result in farmers still being dependent on
rainfall, specifically the Monsoon season. A good monsoon results in a robust
growth for the economy as a whole, while a poor monsoon leads to a sluggish
growth.[5] Farm credit is regulated by NABARD, which is the statutory apex agent
for rural development in the subcontinent.

In the last few decades several farmers have committed suicide especially in the states of
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala. Combating this has become a
major challenge for these governments. Some of the causes for the deaths include
indebtedness of small and marginal farmers and repeated crop failures.

Main article: Farmers' suicides in India

.

Bold text==Agriculture in the Indian states==

[[Image:Bold textPaddyandjuteBengal.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Freshly sown saplings of
paddy in West Bengal]]

About 70% population of the India is directly dependent on agriculture, also

agriculture is the main component for most of the state economies in India.

Historically, the Punjab region (the five rivers region) has been one of the most fertile
regions on earth. The region is ideal for wheat-growing. Punjab is called the "Granary of
India" or "India's bread-basket". It produces 60% of India's wheat, and 40% of India's
rice. The south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are also
major producers of rice, Andhra Pradesh being India's second biggest producer of rice.
These states are mostly irrigated by the rivers Krishna, Godavari and Cauvery.

Haryana is self-sufficient in food production and the second largest contributor to India's
central pool of food grains. Haryana contributed significantly to the Green Revolution in
India in the 1970s. The National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal, and the Central
Institute for Research on Buffaloes at Hisar are instrumental in development of new
breeds of cattle and propagation of these breeds through embryo transfer technology. The
Murrah breed of water buffalo from Haryana is world-famous for its milk production.

The high-altitude states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are ideal for
production of apples. Arunachal Pradesh also has a large number of fruit orchards. Tea is
the other produce of the high altitude regions of Assam, West Bengal (Darjeeling),
Tripura, Tamil Nadu (Ooty), Himachal Pradesh and Kerala. Assam produces some of the
finest and most expensive teas in the world (see Assam tea). However Assam tea is
grown at elevations near sea level, giving it a malty sweetness and an earthy flavor, as
opposed to the more floral aroma of highland (e.g., Darjeeling, Taiwanese) teas.

In the north-eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, shifting cultivation
known locally as jhum, was practised by the tribal groups, but that has come to be less
practised. In mountainous states like Sikkim, farming is done on terraced slopes. The
state has the highest production and largest cultivated area of cardamom in India.

Karnataka is the largest producer of coffee in India and accounts for 59% of the country’s
coffee production. It is grown moslty in the lower slopes of the Western Ghats in Kodagu
district. Karnataka is also the largest producer of sandalwood based products like
perfumes. Sandalwood comes from the dense forested areas of southern Karnataka. The
state is also the largest producer of raw silk and Mysore silk saris are famous. The other
state manufacturing silk is Tamil Nadu.

Rajasthan is among the largest producers of edible oils in India and the second largest
producer of oilseeds. The state is also the biggest wool-producing state in India.
Cardamom plantation, India

Kerala produces 96% of national output of pepper. It is also the largest producer of spices
which include cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Kerala is also the largest
producer of natural rubber in India (91%). The other state producing rubber is Tripura.

30 percent of Mizoram is covered with wild bamboo forests, and accounts for 40 percent
of India's 80-million-ton annual bamboo crop.

There has been an economic shift towards agriculture for some states like Bihar after the
mineral rich areas were carved out to form the new state of Jharkhand.

[edit] Research
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) established in 1905, was responsible
for the research leading to the "Green revolution" of the 1970s. The Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR) is the apex body in agriculture and related allied fields,
including research and education. The Union Minister of Agriculture is the President of
the ICAR. The Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute develops new techniques
for the design of agricultural experiments, analyses data in agriculture, and specializes in
statistical techniques for animal and plant breeding.

Prof. M.S. Swaminathan is known as "Father of the Green Revolution" and heads the MS
Swaminathan Research Foundation. He is known for his advocacy of environmentally
sustainable agriculture and sustainable food security.

[edit] References
1. ^ Cite error 8; No text given.
2. ^ All India Production of Foodgrains (July-June). NIC (2005-10-24). Retrieved on 2006-
07-24.
3. ^ Datt, Ruddar & Sundharam, K.P.M.. "28", Indian Economy, 485-491.
4. ^ Multiple authors (2004). "Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2004".
5. ^ Sankaran, S. "28", Indian Economy: Problems, Policies and Development, 492-493.
[edit] External links
• Gardening history timeline
• Commodities Trading in India
• Multi Commodity Exchange of India
• Indian agriculture industry
• Vels Farming Consultancy
• Agriculture Equipment market in India
• Seasons, Climate, Global Warming in India - Reference Links Students Project

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International Fund for Agricultural Development

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency

of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as
one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to
eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Seventy-five per cent of the world’s
poorest people, 800 million women, children and men, live in rural areas and depend on
agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods. It was established in 1977 in
response to famine in the Sahel.

IFAD’s activities are guided by the Strategic Framework for IFAD 2007-2010: Enabling
the Rural Poor to Overcome Poverty.

Goal

IFAD's goal is to empower poor rural women and men in developing countries to achieve
higher incomes and improved food security.

Objectives

IFAD will ensure that poor rural people have better access to, and the skills and
organization they need to take advantage of:
 • Natural resources, especially secure access to land and water, and improved
natural resource management and conservation practices
• Improved agricultural technologies and effective production services
• A broad range of financial services
• Transparent and competitive markets for agricultural inputs and produce
• Opportunities for rural off-farm employment and enterprise development
• Local and national policy and programming processes

All of IFAD's decisions - on regional, country and thematic strategies, poverty reduction
strategies, policy dialogue and development partners - are made with these principles and
objectives in mind. As reflected in the strategic framework, IFAD is committed to
achieving the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the target to halve the
proportion of hungry and extremely poor people by 2015.

Underlying these objectives is IFAD’s belief that rural poor people must be empowered
to lead their own development if poverty is to be eradicated. Poor people must be able to
develop and strengthen their own organizations, so they can advance their own interests
and dismantle the obstacles that prevent many of them from creating better lives for
themselves. They must be able to have a say in the decisions and policies that affect their
lives, and they need to strengthen their bargaining power in the marketplace.

Working in partnership to eradicate rural poverty

Through loans and grants, IFAD works with governments to develop and finance
programmes and projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves.

Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$9.5 billion in 732 programmes
and projects that have reached more than 300 million rural poor people.

But this represents only part of the total investment in IFAD programmes and projects. In
the past 29 years, a further US$16.1 billion in cofinancing has been contributed by
partners. Governments and other financing sources in recipient countries have
contributed almost US$9.0 billion, while another US$7.1 billion has been contributed by
external cofinanciers, including bilateral and multilateral donors. This represents a total
investment of some US$25.6 billion, and means that for every dollar IFAD invested, it
was able to mobilize almost two dollars in additional resources.

IFAD tackles poverty not only as a lender, but also as an advocate for rural poor people.
Its multilateral base provides a natural global platform to discuss important policy issues
that influence the lives of rural poor people, as well as to draw attention to the centrality
of rural development to meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

Membership in IFAD is open to any State that is a member of the United Nations or its
specialized agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Governing Council
is IFAD’s highest decision-making authority, with the 165 Member States each
represented by a governor and alternate governor. The Council meets annually. The
Executive Board, responsible for overseeing the general operations of IFAD and
approving loans and grants, is composed of 18 members and 18 alternate members. The
President, who serves for a four-year term (renewable once), is IFAD’s chief executive
officer and chair of the Executive Board. The current President of IFAD is Lennart
Båge,who was re-elected for his second four-year term in 2005.

Green Revolution
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the Green Revolution of the 20th century. For the earlier
medieval Green Revolution, see Muslim Agricultural Revolution.

The Green Revolution was the worldwide transformation of agriculture that led to
significant increases in agricultural production between the 1940s and 1960s. This
transformation occurred as the result of programs of agricultural research, extension, and
infrastructural development, instigated and largely funded by the Rockefeller Foundation,
along with the Ford Foundation and other major agencies.[1] The Green Revolution in
agriculture helped food production to keep pace with worldwide population growth. It
has had major social and ecological impacts.

The term "Green Revolution" was first used in 1968 by former USAID director William
Gaud, who noted the spread of the new technologies and said, "These and other
developments in the field of agriculture contain the makings of a new revolution. It is not
a violent Red Revolution like that of the Soviets, nor is it a White Revolution like that of
the Shah of Iran. I call it the Green Revolution."[2]

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History
o 1.1 Mexican roots
o 1.2 Indian success
o 1.3 CGIAR
o 1.4 Problems in Africa
• 2 Agricultural production and food security
o 2.1 Technologies
o 2.2 Production increases
o 2.3 Effects on food security
• 3 Criticisms of the Green Revolution
o 3.1 Food security
 3.1.1 Malthusianism assumptions of the Green Revolution
 3.1.2 Is food production actually related to famine?
  3.1.3 Food production versus quality of diet
o 3.2 Social impacts
 3.2.1 Political impacts
 3.2.2 Socioeconomic impacts
 3.2.3 Globalization
o 3.3 Environmental impacts
 3.3.1 Pesticides
 3.3.2 Water issues
 3.3.3 Biodiversity
• 4 Norman Borlaug's reply to the alternative interpretations of the Green Revolution
• 5 See also
• 6 Bibliography

• 7 References

[edit] History
[edit] Mexican roots

The Green Revolution began in 1943 with the establishment of the Office of Special
Studies, which was a venture that was a collaboration between the Rockefeller
Foundation and the presidential administration of Manuel Avila Camacho in Mexico.
While Camacho's predecessor Cárdenas promoted peasant subsistence agriculture
through policies of land reform, Avila Camacho's primary goal for Mexican agriculture
was to aid in the nation's industrial development and economic growth.[3] US Vice
President Henry Wallace, who was instrumental in convincing the Rockefeller
Foundation to work with the Mexican government in agricultural development, saw
Camacho’s ambitions as beneficial to U.S. economic and military interest.[4]

J. George Harrar, who would later become president of the Rockefeller Foundation,
headed the Office of Special Studies. Its lead scientists included Norman Borlaug, Edwin
Wellhausen, and William Colwell. Researchers from both the United States and Mexico
were involved in this program. The main initiative of the Office was the development of
high-yielding maize and wheat varieties. Borlaug received the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize
for his work on wheat breeding.

The Mexican national government invested heavily in rural infrastructure development,

and the adoption of new seed varieties became widespread. Mexico became self-
sufficient in wheat production by 1951 and began to export wheat thereafter. In 1901, the
Mexican population was 13.6 million; by 2005, it had increased to 103.3 million.[5]

[edit] Indian success

Main article: Green Revolution in India

With the experience of agricultural development judged as a success, the Rockefeller
Foundation sought to spread the Green Revolution to other nations. The Office of Special
Studies in Mexico became an informal international research institution in 1959, and in
1963 it formally became CIMMYT, The International Maize and Wheat Improvement
Center.

In 1961 India was on the brink of mass famine. Norman Borlaug was invited to India by
the adviser to the Indian minister of agriculture M. S. Swaminathan. Despite bureaucratic
hurdles imposed by India's grain monopolies, the Ford Foundation and Indian
government collaborated to import wheat seed from CIMMYT. Punjab was selected by
the Indian government to be the first site to try the new crops because of its reliable water
supply and a history of agricultural success. India began its own Green Revolution
program of plant breeding, irrigation development, and financing of agrochemicals.[5]

India soon adopted IR8 - a rice variety developed by the International Rice Research
Institute that could produce more grains of rice per plant when grown properly with
fertilizer and irrigation. In 1968, Indian agronomist S.K. De Datta published his findings
that IR8 rice yielded about 5 tons per hectare with no fertilizer, and almost 10 tons per
hectare under optimal conditions. This was 10 times the yield of traditional rice.[6] IR8
was a success throughout Asia, and dubbed the "Miracle Rice."

In the 1960s, rice yields in India were about two tons per hectare; by the mid-1990s, they
had risen to six tons per hectare. In the 1970s, rice cost about $550 a ton; in 2001, it cost
less than $200 a ton. India became one of the world's most successful rice producers, and
is now a major rice exporter, shipping nearly 4.5 million tons in 2006.[6]

Famine in India, once accepted as inevitable, has not returned since the introduction of
Green Revolution agriculture.

[edit] CGIAR

An international group coordinating the efforts of the local groups was formed in 1971
under the urging of the Rockefeller Foundation. The Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research, CGIAR, has added many research centers throughout the world.

CGIAR has responded, at least in part, to criticisms of Green Revolution methodologies.

This began in the 1980s, and mainly was a result of pressure from donor organizations.[7]
Methods like Agroecosystem Analysis and Farming System Research have been adopted
to gain a more holistic view of agriculture. Methods like Rapid Rural Appraisal and
Participatory Rural Appraisal have been adopted to help scientists understand the
problems faced by farmers and even give farmers a role in the development process.

[edit] Problems in Africa

There have been numerous attempts to introduce the successful concepts from the
Mexican and south Asian projects into Africa. These programs have generally been less
successful, for a number of reasons. Among these is widespread corruption, insecurity, a
lack of infrastructure, and a general lack of will on the part of the governments.

A recent program in western Africa is attempting to introduce a new high-yield variety of

rice known as "Nericas". Nericas yields about 30% more rice under normal conditions,
and can double yields with small amounts of fertilizer and very basic irrigation. However
the program has been beset by problems getting the rice into the hands of farmers, and to
date the only success has been in Guinea where it currently accounts for 16% of rice
cultivation.[8]

[edit] Agricultural production and food security

[edit] Technologies

The projects within the Green Revolution spread technologies that had already existed,
but had not been widely used outside of industrialized nations. These technologies
included pesticides, irrigation projects, and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer.

The novel technological development of the Green Revolution was the

production of what some referred to as “miracle seeds.”[9]

Scientists created strains of maize, wheat, and rice that are generally referred to as HYVs
or “high-yielding varieties.” HYVs have an increased nitrogen-absorbing potential
compared to other varieties. Since cereals that absorbed extra nitrogen would typically
lodge, or fall over before harvest, semi-dwarfing genes were bred into their genomes.
Norin 10 wheat, a variety developed by Orville Vogel from Japanese dwarf wheat
varieties, was instrumental in developing Green Revolution wheat cultivars. IR8, the first
widely implemented HYV rice to be developed by IRRI, was created through a cross
between an Indonesian variety named “Peta” and a Chinese variety named “Dee Geo
Woo Gen.”[10]

With advances in molecular genetics, the mutant genes responsible for reduced
height(rht), gibberellin insensitive (gai1) and slender rice (slr1) in Arabidopsis and rice
were identified as cellular signaling components gibberellic acid (a phytohormone
involved in regulating stem growth via its effect on cell division) and subsequently
cloned. Stem growth in the mutant background is significantly reduced leading to the
dwarf phenotype. Photosynthetic investment in the stem is reduced dramatically as the
shorter plants are inherently more stable mechanically. Assimilates become redirected to
grain production, amplifying in particular the effect of chemical fertilizers on commercial
yield.

HYVs significantly outperform traditional varieties in the presence of adequate irrigation,

pesticides, and fertilizers. In the absence of these inputs, traditional varieties may
outperform HYVs.
[edit] Production increases

Cereal production more than doubled in developing nations between the years 1961 –
1985.[11] Yields of rice, maize, and wheat increased steadily during that period.[11] The
production increases can be attributed roughly equally to irrigation, fertilizer, and seed
development, at least in the case of Asian rice.[11]

While agricultural output increased as a result of the Green Revolution, the energy input
into the process (that is, the energy that must be expended to produce a crop) has also
increased at a greater rate,[12] so that the ratio of crops produced to energy input has
decreased over time. Green Revolution techniques also heavily rely on chemical
fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, some of which must be developed from fossil fuels,
making agriculture increasingly reliant on petroleum products.[13] Proponents of the Peak
Oil theory fear that a future decline in oil and gas production would lead to a decline in
food production or even a Malthusian catastrophe.[14]

[edit] Effects on food security

Main article: Food security

The effects of the Green Revolution on global food security are difficult to understand
because of the complexities involved in food systems.

The world population has grown by about four billion since the beginning of the Green
Revolution and most believe that, without the Revolution, there would be greater famine
and malnutrition. India saw annual wheat production rise from 10 million tonnes in the
1960s to 73 million in 2006.[15] The average person in the developing world consumes
about 25% more calories per day now than before the Green Revolution.[11] Between
1950 and 1984, as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, world
grain production increased by 250%.

The production increases fostered by the Green Revolution are widely credited with
having helped to avoid widespread famine, and for feeding billions of people.[16]

[edit] Criticisms of the Green Revolution

[edit] Food security

[edit] Malthusianism assumptions of the Green Revolution

These assertions of success generally assume some variation of the Malthusian principle
of population. Such concerns often revolve around the idea that the Green Revolution is
unsustainable[17][18][19], and argue that humanity is currently in a state of overpopulation
with regards to the sustainable carrying capacity of the earth.

Malthusianism has been evident throughout the history of the Green Revolution. The
team sent to survey Mexican agriculture in 1941 for the Rockefeller Foundation cited the
high birth rate and relative inadequacy of its agriculture as a cause for concern.[20] In
1959, the Ford Foundation carried out a study in India that stated the nation’s population
would outstrip its food supply by 1966, although the validity of its methodology was a
subject of criticism.[21] At Borlaug's Nobel acceptance speech he stated, "...we are dealing
with two opposing forces, the scientific power of food production and the biologic power
of human reproduction."[22]

[edit] Is food production actually related to famine?

To some modern Western sociologists and writers, increasing food production is not
synonymous with increasing food security, and is only part of a larger equation. For
example, Harvard professor Amartya Sen claimed large historic famines were not caused
by decreases in food supply, but by socioeconomic dynamics and a failure of public
action. [23] However, economist Peter Bowbrick has accused Sen of misrepresenting
historical data, telling out right lies and being wrong on his theory of famines. In fact
Bowbrick argues that Sen's views coincide with that of the Bengal government at the
time of the Bengal famine of 1943 and the policies Sen advocates failed to relieve the
famine.

[edit] Food production versus quality of diet

Some have challenged the value of the increased food production of Green Revolution
agriculture. Miguel A. Altieri, a self-proclaimed "agroecologist" and peasant-advocate,
writes that the comparison between traditional systems of agriculture and Green
Revolution agriculture has been unfair, because Green Revolution agriculture produces
monocultures of cereal grains, while traditional agriculture usually incorporates
polycultures.[24] Additionally, some claim traditional systems of agriculture that were
displaced by the Green Revolution such as the chinampas in Mexico or raised-field rice
farming in Asia can be highly-productive.[25] Critics point out that these traditional forms
of agriculture produced less food than Green Revolution crops, and were prone to famine,
as evidenced by the frequency of famine in these communities.

There are several claims about how the Green Revolution may have decreased food
security for some people. One such claim involves the shift of subsistence-oriented
cropland to cropland oriented towards production of grain for export and/or animal feed.
For example, the Green Revolution replaced much of the land used for pulses that fed
Indian peasants for wheat, which did not make up a large portion of the peasant diet.[26]
Also, the pesticides involved in rice production eliminated fish and weedy green
vegetables from the diets of Asian rice farmers.[27] Critics of this view counter that this
presupposes an inherent superiority of subsistence living, which tends to be romanticized
in rich Western countries.
[edit] Social impacts

[edit] Political impacts

The Green Revolution is unpopular among many leftists because of it's context within the
Cold War.

A major critic of the Green Revolution, the US investigative journalist Mark Dowie,
writes that the primary objective of the program was a Cold War geopolitical one:
providing food for the populace in underdeveloped countries which thus brought social
stability and weakened the fomenting of communist insurgency. Citing internal
Foundation documents, he states that the Ford Foundation had a greater concern than
Rockefeller in this area.[28]

Additionally, it is maintained elsewhere that there is a significant amount of evidence

suggesting the Green Revolution had the effect of weakening socialist movements in
many nations. In countries like India, Mexico, and the Philippines, technological
solutions were sought as an alternative to expanding agrarian reform initiatives, the latter
of which were often linked to socialist politics.[29]

[edit] Socioeconomic impacts

The transition from traditional agriculture in which inputs were generated on-farm to
Green Revolution agriculture, which required the purchase of inputs, lead to the
widespread establishment of rural credit institutions. Smaller farmers often went into
debt, which in many cases result in a loss of their farmland.[30] The increased level of
mechanization on larger farms made possible by the Green Revolution removed an large
source of employment from the rural economy.[31] Because wealthier farmers had better
access to credit and land, the Green Revolution increased class disparities. Because some
regions were able to adopt Green Revolution agriculture more readily than others (for
political or geographical reasons), interregional economic disparities increased as well.

The new economic difficulties of small holder farmers and landless farm workers led to
increased rural-urban migration. The increase in food production led to a cheaper food for
urban dwellers, and the increase in urban population increased the potential for
industrialization.

[edit] Globalization

In the most basic sense, the Green Revolution was a product of globalization as
evidenced in the creation of international agricultural research centers that shared
information, and with transnational funding from groups like the Rockefeller Foundation,
Ford Foundation, and USAID. Additionally, the inputs required in Green Revolution
agriculture created new markets for seed and chemical corporations, many of which were
based in the United States. For example, Standard Oil of New Jersey established
hundreds of distributors in the Philippines to sell agricultural packages composed of
HYV seed, fertilizer, and pesticides.[32]

[edit] Environmental impacts

[edit] Pesticides

Green Revolution agriculture increased the use of pesticides, which were necessary to
limit the high levels of pest damage that inevitably occur in monocultures.

[edit] Water issues

Irrigation projects have created significant problems of arsenic contamination,

salinization, waterlogging, and lowering of water tables in certain areas.[33]

[edit] Biodiversity

The spread of Green Revolution agriculture affected both agricultural biodiversity and
wild biodiversity. There is little argument that the Green Revolution acted to reduce
agricultural biodiversity, as it relied upon just a few high-yeild varieties of each crop.
This has led to concerns about the susceptibility of a food supply to pathogens that cannot
be controlled by agrochemicals, as well as the permanent loss of many valuable genetic
traits bred into traditional varieties over thousands of years. To address these concerns,
massive seed banks such as CGIAR’s International Plant Genetic Resources Institute
(now Bioversity International) have been established.

There are varying opinions about the effect of the Green Revolution on wild biodiversity.
One hypothesis speculates that by increasing production per unit of land area, agriculture
will not need to expand into new, uncultivated areas to feed a growing human population.
A counter-hypothesis speculates that biodiversity was sacrificed because traditional
systems of agriculture that were displaced sometimes incorporated practices to preserve
wild biodiversity, and because the Green Revolution expanded agricultural development
into new areas where it was once unprofitable or too arid.

Nevertheless, the world community has clearly acknowledged the negative aspects of
agricultural expansion as the 1992 Rio Treaty, signed by 189 nations, has generated
numerous national Biodiversity Action Plans which assign significant biodiversity loss to
agriculture's expansion into new domains.

[edit] Norman Borlaug's reply to the alternative

interpretations of the Green Revolution
Norman Borlaug has dismissed most claims of critics, but does take certain concerns
seriously. He states that his work has been "a change in the right direction, but it has not
transformed the world into a Utopia". Of environmental lobbyists he has stated, "some of
the environmental lobbyists of the Western nations are the salt of the earth, but many of
them are elitists. They've never experienced the physical sensation of hunger. They do
their lobbying from comfortable office suites in Washington or Brussels. If they lived just
one month amid the misery of the developing world, as I have for fifty years, they'd be
crying out for tractors and fertilizer and irrigation canals and be outraged that fashionable
elitists back home were trying to deny them these things".

[edit] See also

[edit] Agriculture
Main article: Agriculture in India

Composition of India's total production (million tonnes) of foodgrains and commercial

crops, in 2003–04.

India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry,
logging and fishing accounted for 18.6% of the GDP in 2005, employed 60% of the total
workforce[4] and despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, is still the largest
economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development
of India. Yields per unit area of all crops have grown since 1950, due to the special
emphasis placed on agriculture in the five-year plans and steady improvements in
irrigation, technology, application of modern agricultural practices and provision of
agricultural credit and subsidies since the green revolution. However, international
comparisons reveal that the average yield in India is generally 30% to 50% of the highest
average yield in the world.[5]

India is the largest producer in the world of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger,
turmeric and black pepper. It also has the world's largest cattle population (193 million).
It is the second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut and inland fish. It is the
third largest producer of tobacco. India accounts for 10% of the world fruit production
with first rank in the production of banana and sapota.

Research and development

The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) established in 1905, was responsible
for the research leading to the "Indian Green Revolution" of the 1970s. The Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is the apex body in agriculture and related
allied fields, including research and education. The Union Minister of Agriculture is the
President of the ICAR. The Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute develops new
techniques for the design of agricultural experiments, analyses data in agriculture, and
specializes in statistical techniques for animal and plant breeding. Prof. M.S.
Swaminathan is known as "Father of the Green Revolution" and heads the MS
Swaminathan Research Foundation. He is known for his advocacy of environmentally
sustainable agriculture and sustainable food security.