“GREEN REVOLUTION: IT’S

ACHEIVEMENTS AND FAILURES”

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

NAME: HARMANJOT SINGH GULSHAN KUMAR
ROLL NO.: 190/19 (PROFESSOR)
SECTION: D
BCOM-LLB
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my

teacher Prof. Gulshan Kumar, who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project on Green Revolution,
who also helped me in completing my project. I came to know
about a lot of new things I am really thankful to them. Secondly I
would also like thank my friends who helped me a lot in finalizing
this project within the limited time frame.

Harmanjot Singh
BCOM-LLB
 CERTIFICATE

I Harmanjot Singh, student of Section D of BCOM-LLB

hereby certify that the project was undertaken by me. The original
and genuine investigation has been carried out to investigate
about the subject matter and related data collection and
investigation is completely solely.
 OBJECTIVE

The main objective of this project to understand the agriculture

history of India and to show that the major step of Green
Revolution had significant affects both positive as well as
negative on Indian agriculture history.

And one of the main aim to understand that Green Revolution was
initiated in diverse country like India that methods, schemes, and
strategies was used at that time bring India from biggest food
crises.
 INDEX

SRO. INDEX PAGE NO.

1. Introduction 1-2
2. Features of Green Revolution 3-3
3. Methods used in Green Revolution 4-4
4. Schemes under Green Revolution 5-8
5. Positive Impacts in India 8-11
6. Demerits of Green Revolution 12-16
7. Need for Second Green Revolution 16-16
8. Analysis & Conclusion 17-18
9. References 19-19
 INTRODUCTION
India holds the second-largest agricultural land in the world, with 20 agro-climatic
regions and 157.35 million hectares of land under cultivation. Thus, agriculture plays
a vital role with 58% of rural households depending on it and agriculture accounts
for 18% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) even though India is no longer an
agrarian economy. A report by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and
Farmers Welfare estimates that the food grain production in India will be 279.51
million tons during the 2017–18 crop year. Although India is self-sufficient in food
production, its food production between 1947 and 1960 was so bad that there were
risks for the occurrence of famine and World War 2. Therefore, the Green
Revolution was initiated in the 1960s in order to increase food production, alleviate
extreme poverty and malnourishment in the country, and to feed millions.

The term green revolution was first used by William Gaud and Norman Borlaug. In
the year 1965, the government of India launched the Green Revolution with the help
of a geneticist, now known as the father of the Green revolution (India) M.S.
Swaminathan. He played the key role in initiating the green revolution in India. The
movement of the green revolution was a great success and changed the country’s
status from a food-deficient economy to one of the world’s leading agricultural
nations. It started in 1967 and lasted till 1978.

It was initiated in different phases the first phase was in mid-60s to mid-70s, in this
phase main focus was on two crops i.e. wheat and rice and this was implemented on
three states i.e. Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. And 2 nd phase of green

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revolution was from mid-70s to mid-80s and in this phase focused was shifted from
two main crops to all types of crops and this was implemented on all types of regions
of the country.

The Green Revolution within India led to an increase in agricultural production,

especially in Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Major milestones in this
undertaking were the development of a high-yielding variety of seeds of wheat and
rust-resistant strains of wheat.

J. G. Harrar, "The green revolution is the phrase generally used to describe the
Spectacular increase that took place during 19687-68 and is continuing in the
production of food grains in India".

The Green Revolution is referred to as the process of increasing agricultural

production by incorporating modern tools and techniques. Green Revolution is
associated with agricultural production. It is the period when agriculture of the
country was converted into an industrial system due to the adoption of modern
methods and techniques like the use of high yielding variety seeds, tractors,
irrigation facilities, pesticides, and fertilizers. Until 1967, the government majorly
concentrated on expanding the farming areas. But the rapidly increasing population
than the food production called for a drastic and immediate action to increase yield
which came in the form of the Green Revolution.

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 FEATURES OF GREEN REVOLUTION
1. Introduced High Yielding Variety seeds in Indian agriculture.

2. The HYV seeds were highly effective in regions that had rich irrigation facilities
and were more successful with the wheat crop. Therefore, the Green Revolution
at first focused on states with better infrastructure such as Tamil Nadu and
Punjab.

3. During the second phase, the high yielding variety seeds were given to other
states, and crops other than wheat were also included in the plan.

4. The most important requirement for the high yielding variety seeds is proper
irrigation. Crops grown from HYV seeds need good amounts of water supply and
farmers could not depend on monsoon. Hence, the Green Revolution has
improved the irrigation systems around farms in India.

5. Commercial crops and cash crops such as cotton, jute, oilseeds, etc. were not a
part of the plan. Green revolution in India mainly emphasized food grains such
as wheat and rice.

6. To enhance farm productivity green revolution increased the availability and use
of fertilizers, weedicides, and pesticides to reduce any damage or loss to the
crops.

7. It also helped in promoting commercial farming in the country with the

introduction of machinery and technology like harvesters, drills, tractors, etc.

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 METHODS OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION
There were three basic elements:

1. Expanding farming areas – Post-independence, India needed to expand

its cultivable land to meet the rising demand.

2. Double-cropping on the existing farmland – Since India had only one

rainy season every year, farmers in the country practiced one crop season per
year. However, the Green Revolution introduced huge irrigation projects to
make water available for another crop. Hence, farmlands now had tow crop
seasons per year.

3. Using better seeds – The Indian Council for Agricultural Research, which
the British had established in 1929, was reorganized in 1963 and 1975. The
Council developed new strains of high yield variety seeds, mainly wheat and
rice and also millet and corn.

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 SCHEMES UNDER GREEN REVOLUTION
Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Umbrella Scheme Green Revolution –
‘Krishonnati Yojana’ in the agriculture sector for the period of three years from 2017
to 2020 with the Central Share of Rs. 33,269.976 crore. The Umbrella scheme Green
revolution- Krishonnati Yojana comprises 11 Schemes under it and all these
schemes look to develop the agriculture and allied sector in a scientific and holistic
manner so as to increase the income of farmers by increasing productivity,
production, and better returns on produce, strengthening production infrastructure,
reducing the cost of production and marketing of agriculture and allied produce. The
11 schemes that are part of the Umbrella Schemes under the Green revolution are:

1. MIDH – Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture – It aims to

promote the comprehensive growth of the horticulture sector, enhance the
production of the sector, improve nutritional security, and increase income
support to household farms.

2. NFSM – National Food Security Mission – This includes NMOOP –

National Mission on Oil Seeds and Oil Palm. The aim of this scheme is to
increase the production of wheat pulses, rice, coarse cereals and commercial
crops, productivity enhancement, and area expansion in a suitable manner,
enhancing farm level economy, restoring soil fertility and productivity at the
individual farm level. It further aims to reduce imports and increase the
availability of vegetable oils and edible oils in the country.

3. NMSA – National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture – the aim is to

promote sustainable agriculture practices that are best suitable to the specific
agro-ecology focusing on integrated farming, appropriate soil health
management, and synergizing resource conservation technology.

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4. SMAE – Submission on Agriculture Extension – this scheme aims to
strengthen the ongoing extension mechanism of State Governments, local
bodies, etc. achieving food security and socio-economic empowerment of
farmers, to forge effective linkages and synergy amongst various stake-
holders, to institutionalize program planning and implementation mechanism,
support HRD interventions, promote pervasive and innovative use of
electronic and print media, interpersonal communication, and ICT tools, etc.

5. SMSP – Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material – This aims to

increase the production of quality seed, to upgrade the quality of farm-saved
seeds and increase SRR, strengthen the seed multiplication chain, and
promote new methods and technologies in seed production, processing,
testing, etc., to strengthen and modernize infrastructure for seed production,
storage, quality, and certification, etc.

6. SMAM – Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization – aims to increase

the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers and to the
regions where availability of farm power is low, to promote ‘Custom Hiring
Center’s to offset the adverse economies of scale arising due to small
landholding and high cost of individual ownership, to create hubs for hi-tech
and high-value farm equipment, to create awareness among stakeholders
through demonstration and capacity building activities, and to ensure
performance testing and certification at designated testing centres located all
over the country.

7. SMPPQ – Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plan Quarantine – the

aim of this scheme is to minimize loss to quality and yield of agricultural crops
from insects, pests, weeds, etc., to shield our agricultural bio-security from
the incursions and spread of alien species, to facilitate exports of Indian
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 agricultural commodities to global markets, and to promote good agricultural
practices, particularly with respect to plant protection strategies and strategies.

8. ISACES – Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics, and

Statistics – this aims to undertake the agriculture census, undertake research
studies on agro-economic problems of the country, study the cost of
cultivation of principal crops, fund conferences, workshops, and seminars
involving eminent agricultural scientists, economists, experts so as to bring
out papers to conduct short term studies, improve agricultural statistics
methodology and to create a hierarchical information system on crop
condition and crop production from sowing to harvest.

9. ISAC – Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Cooperation aims to provide

financial assistance for improving the economic conditions of cooperatives,
remove regional imbalances, to speed up cooperative development in
agricultural processing, storage, marketing, computerization, and weaker
section programs; ensuring the supply of quality yarn at reasonable rates to
the decentralized weavers and help cotton growers fetch a remunerative price
for their produce through value addition.

10.ISAM – Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Marketing – this scheme aims

to develop agricultural marketing infrastructure; to promote innovative
technologies and competitive alternatives in agriculture marketing
infrastructure; to provide infrastructure facilities for grading, standardization,
and quality certification of agricultural produce; to establish a nationwide
marketing information network; to integrate markets through a common
online market platform to facilitate pan-India trade in agricultural
commodities, etc.

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 11.And, NeGP-A – National e-Governance Plan aims to bring farmer-centric
& service-oriented programs; to improve access of farmers to information and
services throughout the crop-cycle and enhance the reach and impact of
extension services; to build upon, enhance and integrate the existing ICT
initiatives of the Centre and States; to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of
programs through providing timely and relevant information to the farmers
for increasing their agriculture productivity.

POSITIVE IMPACT OF GREEN REVOLUTION IN

INDIA
1. Increase in Agricultural Production:

The aim of the Green Revolution was to make India self-sufficient in the field of
food grains production. Hence HYVP was restricted to only five crops - Wheat, Rice,
Jowar, Bajra, and Maize. Non-food grains were excluded from the ambit of the new
strategy. There was a remarkable increase in food grains production. The Green
Revolution resulted in a record grain output of 281.37 million tons in 2018-19. This
established India as one of the world's biggest agricultural producers. But the Green
Revolution has been largely confined to Wheat crop neglecting the other crops. Most
of the HYV seeds are related to wheat crop and a major portion of chemical fertilizer
are also used in wheat cultivation. Therefore, the Green Revolution can be largely
considered as a wheat revolution. The production of wheat increased to 100 million
tons in 2018-19 from just 11 million tons in 1960.
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2. Increase in Agricultural Productivity of land:

Not just limited to agricultural output the revolution also increased per Acre yield.
Green Revolution increased the per hectare yield. Yield agricultural land improved
by more than 30% between 1947 and 1979. per hectare of In the case of wheat, the
per hectare yield increased from 850 kg/hectare to 2281 kg/hectare by 1990.

3. Change in Cropping Pattern:

Firstly, the proportion of cereals in the food grains output has increased and the
proportion of pulses has declined. Secondly, the proportion of wheat cereals has
increased while that of coarse grains has declined

4. Employment Generation:

Initially, it was feared that commercial farming would leave a lot of the labour force
jobless. Many laborers from poor states migrated to regions where commercial
farming was adopted. They not only carn their bread and butter but take back home
new ideas and technology.

The Green Revolution created plenty of jobs not only for agricultural workers but
also for industrial workers by creating related facilities such as factories,
transportation, food processing, marketing, and hydroelectric power stations.

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5. Prosperity of Farmers:

With the increase in farm production, the earnings of the farmers also increased and
they became prosperous. It enabled them to shift to commercial farming from only
sustenance farming. This change was noted in the case of big farmers having more
than 10 hectares of land.

6. Reduction in import of food-grains:

The aim of the Green Revolution was to make India self-sufficient in the field of
food grains production. The goal was achieved with a surplus. It resulted in a drastic
reduction in their imports. Now India is self-sufficient in food-grains and has
sufficient stock in the central pool (the stock in case of emergencies). In some food
grains, India is in a position to export food-grains also.

7. Per-Capita Availability of Food:

In spite of the rapid increase in the population in the period, the per capita net
availability of food-grains has also increased from 395 per day in the early 1950s to
the level of 436 grams in 2003.

8. Commercialization of Farming:

Big farmers having more than 10 hectares of land invested a large amount of money
in various inputs like HYV seeds, fertilizers, machines, etc. Their objective was to
earn more profit by the sale of food grains. This has encouraged capitalistic farming.

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Wiser farmers ploughed back their surplus income for improving agricultural
productivity.

9. Attitudinal Change in Farmers:

The Indian farmer due to illiteracy, backwardness used conventional methods of

cultivation since the early times. The Green Revolution has brought about a basic
change in his attitude towards farming. They started using technology and modern
methods of farming. They have shifted their vision to commercial farming from
earlier sustenance farming.

10. Industrial Growth:

The Green Revolution has benefited the industrial development. Many industries
producing agriculture, machinery, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, etc.,
have come up to meet the growing demand for these commodities. Similarly, it
created job opportunity in servicing of this machinery. Several agricultural products
are used as raw materials in various industries called agro-based industries. E.g.
Textile, sugar, Vanaspati, etc. Thus the input to agro-based industries increased.

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 DEMERITS OF GREEN REVOLUTION
Green Revolution is a unique event in the agricultural history of Independent India.
This has saved us from the disasters of hunger and starvation and made our peasants
more confident than ever before. But it has its own inherent deficiency segments.
Some of the demerits or problems of Green Revolution are briefly discussed as
under:

1. Regional Disparities:

Green Revolution technology has given birth to growing disparities in economic

development at interred and intra-regional levels. It has so far affected only 40 per
cent of the total cropped area and 60 per cent is still untouched by it. The most
affected areas are Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh in the north and
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the south.

It has hardly touched the Eastern region, including Assam, Bihar, West Bengal and
Orissa and arid and semi-arid areas of Western and Southern India. In short, Green
Revolution affected only those areas which were already better placed from
agricultural point of view. Thus the problem of regional disparities has further
aggravated as a result of Green Revolution.

The ratio between the lowest and highest yield- rates among the states for the 1975-
78 period amounted to 1: 3.2 in paddy, 1 : 3.7 in wheat, 1 : 3.4 in cereals, 1 : 3.2 in
pulses, 1 : 3.2 in food grains, 1 : 3.0 in oilseeds, 1: 3.2 in sugarcane, 1 : 4.9 in cotton
and 1 : 1.6 in jute. Study of some sample surveys recently conducted by the Indian
Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI) revealed that the single most

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important factor is the ‘input differential which alone can explain extreme yield
variations even under similar physical and cultural conditions.

According to a study by Bhalla and Alagh, 69 districts with a relatively high

productivity levels account for 20 per cent of the cultivated area and 36 per cent of
output, consume 44 per cent of fertilizers, employ 50 per cent of tractors and 45 per
cent of irrigation pumps and have 38 per cent of India’s gross irrigated area.

Regional disparities in crop yields can be reduced by evolving suitable disease

resistant high-yield strains of paddy for most eastern parts and by developing
irrigation facilities and a suitable dry farming technology for the arid and semi-arid
western and southern regions. Regional and interstate disparities was very much
involved. Small farmers could not get much benefit as big farmers and they do not
have money to afford such expensive technology.

2. Inter-Crop Imbalances:

The effect of Green Revolution is primarily felt on food-grains. Although all food-
grains including wheat, rice, jowar, bajra and maize have gained from the Green
Revolution, it is wheat which has benefited the most. It has wrested areas from
coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds. The HYV seeds in latter crops have either not
been developed so far at all, or they are not good enough for farmers to risk their
adoption.

Consequently, their cultivation is fast becoming uneconomic and they are often
given up in favor of wheat or even rice. The result is that an excess of production in
two main food-grains (wheat and rice) and shortages in most others today prevail
side by side.

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Major commercial crops like cotton, jute, tea and sugarcane are also almost
untouched by the Green Revolution. The rate of growth in production of pulses has
declined from 1-39 per cent per annum in the pre-Green Revolution period to only
0–79 per cent per annum during the period from 1967-68 to 1994-95. This is not
good for a balanced growth of Indian agriculture. Central Government has taken
some steps to remove these imbalances.

3. Increase in Inter-Personal Inequalities:

It has been observed that it is the big farmer having 10 hectares or more land, who
is benefited the most from Green Revolution because he has the financial resources
to purchase farm implements, better seeds, fertilizers and can arrange for regular
supply of irrigation water to the crops.

As against this, the small and marginal farmers do not have the financial resources
to purchase these farm inputs and are deprived of the benefits of Green Revolution
Technology. There were about 1,053 lakh holdings in India in 1990-91 out of which
only 1.6 per cent exceeded 10 hectares in size.

Francine R. Rankel has concluded from his study of Ludhiana (Punjab), West
Godavari (Andhra Pradesh), Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu), Palghat (Kerala) and
Bardhaman (West Bengal) that the greater beneficiaries are those farmers who own
10 to 12 hectares of land. Similar conclusion was drawn by G.R. Saini from his study
of Ferozepur (Punjab) and Muzaffamagar (U.P.). G.S. Bhalla and G.K. Chadha have
found out that Green Revolution has benefited the farmers in general but one-third
of them are small farmers with 2.5 acres of land and are living below poverty line.
(Poverty line is measured at Rs. 15.90 per capita monthly expenditure at 1960-61
prices and is inflated with consumer price index for agricultural labourers).

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Another 24.0 per cent of the farmers own 2.5 to 5.0 acres of land and they are also
living below poverty line. The land holdings are generally small in rice producing
areas and the economic position of the farmers living in those areas is extremely
miserable. In short, Green Revolution has made the rich richer and rendered the poor
poorer resulting in wide-spread social and economic tensions.

4. Other Problems:

Agriculture under Green Revolution has not grown at a rate which was expected in
the beginning. The differential rates of growth of different crops and their regional
variations have already been discussed. Some scholars have expressed serious
doubts about the capability of HYV seeds itself.

Analyzing the role played by miracle seeds in the Green Revolution, Vandana Shiva
says that the term HYV is a misnomer. In actuality, these seeds are highly responsive
to certain key inputs such as fertilizer and irrigation and as such they should have
been called highly responsive varieties. Shiva says that there is increasing evidence
that the indigenous varieties could also be high yielding given the required doses of
inputs.

According to Shiva, “the inevitability of the Green Revolution option was built on
neglecting the other avenues for increasing production that is more ecological such
as improving mixed cropping systems, improving indigenous seeds and improving
the efficiency of use of local resources.” Vandana Shiva further comments that
having destroyed nature’s mechanisms for controlling pests through the destruction
of diversity, the miracle seeds’ of the Green Revolution became mechanisms for
breeding new pests and creating new diseases”.

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In a case study of Punjab, M.K. Sekhon and Manjeet Kaur of P.A.U. Ludhiana have
warned against the excessive use of groundwater, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
This will lead to large scale depletion of groundwater and will adversely affect the
health of soil.

Need for Second Green Revolution:

The time is now ripe for Second Green Revolution.

 India has tremendous export potential in agriculture in present era of

globalization.
 In Second Green Revolution emphasis should be laid on:
a) Nonfood grains
b) Improving global market opportunities
c) Improving rural infrastructure
d) Improving irrigation, rural roads and rural electrification.

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 ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION

From this study we can tell that India need to change its existing policy and ensures
the farmers on different crops so that different types of crops can also beneficial for
country as well as for farmers. As a technological innovation, the Green Revolution
replaced "one way of life in another in short span of two decades”. The lesson
learned from this green revolution should enable policy makers to reduce the adverse
effects of the coming Bio revolution based on genetic engineering. Following are
the points to be consider:

 The Green Revolution was a major achievement for many developing countries
and gave them an unprecedented level of national food security.
 It represented the successful adaptation and transfer of the same scientific
revolution in agriculture that the industrial countries had already appropriated for
themselves.
 The Green Revolution also lifted large numbers of poor people out of poverty
and helped many non-poor people avoid the poverty and hunger they would have
experienced had the Green Revolution not occurred.
 The largest benefits to the poor were mostly indirect, in the form of lower food
prices, increased migration opportunities, and greater employment in the rural
nonfarm economy. The direct benefits to the poor through their own on-farm
adoption, greater agricultural employment, and empowerment have been more
mixed and depend heavily on local socioeconomic conditions.

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But we also need to understand that this revolution had major negative impact on
environment and on human life especially the area like Punjab was drastically
effected by it. And most important this revolution was only for short span of time. It
need to ensure that food security must also ensure nutrition security of the nation.

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 REFERENCES

BOOKS:

1. Puri V.K. and Misra S.K., Indian Economy its development

experience (Himalaya Publishing House, 35th edition, 2017)

WEBSITES:

1. https://journalofethnicfoods.biomedcentral.com
2. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/from-110000-
varieties-of-rice-to-only-6000-now/article3284453.ece
3. http://agricoop.nic.in/sites/default/files/Krishi%20AR%202017-18-
1%20for%20web.pdf

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