Green Revolution Essay for Students and Children

Green Revolution Essay

Green revolution is defined as the set of technological U improvements such as implementation of High Yielding Variety (HYVP) through expansion of the farming area, double-cropping, and utilisation of high yielding variety seeds for cereals, specifically for dwarf wheat and rice plants, chemical fertilizers and agro-chemicals, controlled water-supply with improved irrigation methods like drip irrigation etc. and new techniques of cultivation, including mechanization made in the agricultural sector between the 1930s and 1960s. It brought about significant improvements in the agricultural sector by increasing the production required to make India self sufficient in food grains and other crops like sugarcane, oilseeds, pulses, jute and cotton. Prior to India, the technique was adopted by various other countries like Mexico, Taiwan and Brazil but, none recorded such level of success that India did during the time.

Norman Borlaug was the name behind this revolution that outnumbered India in the food grain production. He was proudly known as the “Father of Green Revolution” and was honoured with the Noble Prize in 1960 for saving billions of people dying out of starvation and hunger.

At the time of independence, in spite of trade and other restrictions on export and import due to fear of competition from the outside world, Indian government and the Ford Foundation joined forces to import wheat from International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Initially the state of Punjab was selected to be the first site to try the new crops production due to the availability of water sources and its success in agricultural sector in the past. As a result, the rice yields in India increased to about two tons per hectare in the 1960s; by the mid-1990s, the production rose to six tons per hectare and soon India became one of the world’s most successful rice producers in the world. It became the largest exporter of food grains in the world from being an importer and presently, it is the major rice exporter, shipping approximately 4.5 million tons in 2006.

Green revolution had a widespread impact on the development of the economy. It not only sufficed self sufficiency in the country but also created plenty of job opportunities in the agricultural and industrial sector by creating dams, establishing factories, hydro-electric power stations, etc for enhancing the water supply and led to improvement in the living standards of the rural people. Indian government was able to pay back the entire loan taken from the World Bank and other affiliates, thereby improving the credit worthiness of the country outdoors.

In one of the speeches, Manmohan Singh outlined the contribution of green revolution in the growth of the nation by stating the estimated increment in the percentage of GDP due to its introduction (about 7%). It led to decrease in the poverty ratio of the country, thereby making them economically stable. Efforts are still being made to adopt improved technologies for the expansion of the agricultural sector and the relative output. The government of India also provides subsidies to the farmers on the purchase of seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and other farm equipments. Also, they are motivated to try and implement new methods of farming and irrigation to help boost the agriculture sector by provision of loans and Kisan Credit Cards.

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