UNIVERSIDADE ABERTA ISCED (UNISCED)

FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DE EDUCAÇÃO

CURSO DE LICENCIATURA EM ENSINO DE GEOGRAFIA

Subject: English

Topic: Green revolution: use past, present and future forms

Name: Horácio Alberto Rassane

Cod: 81230867

Nampula, May, 2023

 UNIVERSIDADE ABERTA ISCED (UNISCED)
FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DE EDUCAÇÃO
CURSO DE LICENCIATURA EM ENSINO DE GEOGRAFIA

Subject: English

Topic: Green revolution: use past, present and future forms

Evaluative character work developed in

the field to be submitted from the
degree course in Geography teaching of
the UnISCED.
Tutor:

Name: Horácio Alberto Rassane

Cod: 81230867

Nampula, May, 2023

Index
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 4
Definition of Green Revolution ................................................................................................. 5
The History and Development of the Green Revolution........................................................... 5
Impact of Green Revolution on Environment ........................................................................... 6
Loss of Biodiversity .................................................................................................................... 6
Greenhouse gas emissions ........................................................................................................ 7
Dependence on non-renewable resources ............................................................................... 7
Land degradation ...................................................................................................................... 7
Features of the Green Revolution ............................................................................................. 8
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 12
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 13
Introduction

This current chapter gives the brief history about the Green Revolution. Green
Revolution refers to the development in the field of agriculture for improving
production by introducing usage of High Yield Variety (HYV) seeds, fertilizers and
modern machinery and tools. The production of food within India was insufficient in
the years from 1947 to 1960 as there was a growing population and food availability
was only 417 g per a day per person. Many farmers were in debt, and they had become
landless laborers. Political situations that prevailed also had a negative impact on the
food system. There was a severe shortage of food crops as well as commercial crops.
Although there are many studies that focused on this topic, this paper makes an effort to
inform policy by asserting that many interventions, beneficial for the shorter term, such
as the green revolution , without the consideration of ecological principles, can be
detrimental and irreversible in the long run.
General Aim:
To increase food items production and make it sufficient to feed
everyone.
Specific Aims:
To increase income and employment and support rural development.
To achieve self–sufficiency in the production of food crops.
To introduce HYV seeds, fertilizers and irrigation projects.
To globalize the agricultural world and increase productivity.
To implement the usage of modern technology and techniques in
farming.
Research Methodology
The research of the present article became possible due to the use of document data that
will be described in the bibliography and it illustrates about what is concerns on the
wanted topic.

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Definition of Green Revolution

Green Revolution, great increase in production of food grains

(especially wheat and rice) that resulted in large part from the introduction into
developing countries of new, high-yielding varieties, beginning in the mid-20th century.
Its early dramatic successes were in Mexico and the Indian subcontinent. The new
varieties require large amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to produce their
high yields, raising concerns about cost and potentially harmful environmental effects.
Poor farmers, unable to afford the fertilizers and pesticides, have often reaped even
lower yields with these grains than with the older strains, which were better adapted to
local conditions and had some resistance to pests and diseases.
The History and Development of the Green Revolution
Norman Ernest Borlaug, (born March 25, 1914, near Saud, Iowa, U.S.—died
September 12, 2009, Dallas, Texas), American agricultural scientist, plant pathologist,
and winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1970. Known as the “Father of the Green
Revolution,” Borlaug helped lay the groundwork for agricultural technological advances
that alleviated world hunger.
Borlaug studied plant biology and forestry at the University of Minnesota and earned a
Ph.D. in plant pathology there in 1942. He began working with the DuPont Company in
1942 but was soon recruited as a research scientist in charge of wheat improvement for
the Rockefeller Foundation’s Cooperative Mexican Agricultural Program in Mexico,
where he worked from 1944 to 1960. Seeking to assist impoverished farmers who
struggled with diseased and low-producing crops, Borlaug experimented with novel
varieties of wheat, creating disease-resistant strains that could withstand the harsh
climate. That work was founded on earlier discoveries of ways to induce genetic
mutations in plants, and his methods led to modern plant breeding.
The Green Revolution resulted in increased production of food grains
(especially wheat and rice) and was in large part due to the introduction into developing
countries of new, high-yielding varieties, beginning in the mid-20th century with
Borlaug’s work. At a research station at Campo Atizapan, he developed a short-
stemmed (“dwarf”) strain of wheat that dramatically increased crop yields. Previously,
taller wheat varieties would break under the weight of the heads if production wa
increased by chemical fertilizerss. Borlaug’s short-stemmed wheat could withstand the
increased weight of fertilized heads and was a key element in the Green Revolution in
developing countries. Wheat production in Mexico multiplied threefold owing to this
and other varieties.
Following Borlaug’s success in Mexico, the Indian and Pakistani governments
requested his assistance, and with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation and
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Borlaug began
his agricultural revolution in Asia. With India and Pakistan facing food shortages due to
rapid population growth, the importation of Borlaug’s dwarf wheat in the mid-1960s
was responsible for a 60 percent increase in harvests there, helping both countries to
become agriculturally self-sufficient. His work in developing countries, especially on

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the Indian subcontinent, is estimated to have saved as many as one billion people from
starvation and death.
Borlaug also created a wheat-rye hybrid known as triticale, and his methods were used
by others to develop new varieties of highly productive rice. The increased yields
resulting from Borlaug’s new strains empowered many developing countries, though
their use required large amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These high-
yielding crops raised concerns about cost and potentially harmful environmental effects,
though Borlaug argued that uncontrolled population growth had necessitated such
production methods. Although newer varieties of food grains have been developed to be
high-yielding and also resistant to local pests and diseases, modern agriculture has yet
to achieve environmental sustainability in the face of an ever-growing human
population.
. Impacts of Green Revolution
Green revolution was highly successful as agricultural production of most of countries
increased. India which was once dependent on import of food grains for satisfying need
of its population gradually become exporter of food grains. Green revolution has both
its positive and negative effects. India adopted IR8 –a semi-dwarf rice variety
developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) that could produce more
grains of rice per plant when grown with certain fertilizers and irrigation. In 1968,
Indian agronomist S.K. De Data 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. IR8 was a success throughout
Asia, and dubbed the "Miracle Rice". IR8 was also developed into Semi-dwarf IR36. 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
under $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.

Impact of Green Revolution on Environment

The green revolution has some negative impacts on environments which can be
discussed under following headings.
Loss of Biodiversity
The spread of Green Revolution agriculture affected both agricultural biodiversity and
wild biodiversity. There is little disagreement that the Green Revolution acted to reduce
agricultural biodiversity, as it relied on just a few high-yield varieties of each crop. For
example, before the revolution, it is speculated that there were over 3000 variants of
rice. Now it is estimated that only ten modified variety of rice is used. 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 Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research’s
(CGIAR) International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (now Biodiversity
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,

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uncultivated areas to feed a growing human population. However, land degradation and
soil nutrients depletion have forced farmers to clear up formerly forested areas in order
to keep up with production. 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. For example, the development of wheat varieties tolerant to acid soil conditions
with high aluminum content, permitted the introduction of agriculture in sensitive
Brazilian ecosystems as Cerrado semi-humid tropical savanna and Amazon rainforest in
the geo-economics macro region of Centro-Sul and Amazônia. Before the Green
Revolution, other Brazilian ecosystems were also significantly damaged by human
activity, such as the once 1st or 2nd main contributor to Brazilian mega diversity
Atlantic Rainforest (above 85% of deforestation in the 1980s, about 95% after the
2010s) and the important xeric scrublands called Caatinga mainly in the Northeastern
Brazil (about 40% in the 1980s, about 50% after the 2010s-deforestation of the Caatinga
biome is generally associated with greater risks of desertification). 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.
Greenhouse gas emissions
According to a study published in 2013 in PNAS, in the absence of the crop germplasm
improvement associated with the Green revolution, greenhouse gas emissions would
have been 5.2-7.4 Gt higher than observed in 1965–2004.
Dependence on non-renewable resources
Most high intensity agricultural production is highly reliant on non-renewable
resources. Agricultural machinery and transport, as well as the production of pesticides
and nitrates all depend on fossil fuels. Moreover, the essential mineral nutrient
phosphorus is often a limiting factor in crop cultivation, while phosphorus mines are
rapidly being depleted worldwide. The failure to depart from these non sustainable
agricultural production methods could potentially lead to a large scale collapse of the
current system of intensive food production within this century.
Land degradation
Land degradation is also one of the major negative impacts of green revolution. The
Global Land Assessment of Degradation (GLASOD) mapping exercise of Old man et
al. (1991) found that 43% of South Asia’s agricultural land was degraded to some
degree. Young (1993) subsequently revisited these estimates using additional national
data, claiming the problem was actually more severe and that nearly three quarters of
the agricultural land area was degraded to some extent, and that 40% was moderately or
severely degraded. Degradation associated with irrigation accounts for 23% of the total
degraded area and for 25% of the moderately or severely degraded area. For India,
Senegal and Abrol (1994) estimated that 64% of the land area is degraded to some
extent, with 54% moderately to severely degraded. 8. Impact on Health The
consumption of the pesticides used to kill pests by humans in some cases may be
increasing the likelihood of cancer in some of the rural villages using them. Poor

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farming practices including non-compliance to usage of masks and over-usage of the
chemicals compound this situation. In 1989, WHO and UNEP estimated that there were
around 1 million human pesticide poisonings annually. Some 20,000 (mostly in
developing countries) ended in death, as a result of poor labeling, loose safety standards
etc. 9. Pesticides and cancer Long term exposure to pesticides such as organchlorines,
creosote, and sulfate has been correlated with higher cancer rates and organchlorines
DDT, chlordane, andlindane as tumor promoters in animals. Contradictory
epidemiologic studies in humans have linked phenoxy acid herbicides or contaminants
in them with soft tissue sarcoma (STS) and malignant lymphoma, organochlorine
insecticides with STS, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), leukemia, and, less
consistently, with cancers of the lung and breast, organophosphorous compounds with
NHL and leukemia, and triazine herbicides with ovarian cancer. 10. Punjab case Punjab
pioneered green revolution among the other states transforming India into a food-
surplus country. The state is witnessing serious consequences of intensive farming using
chemicals and pesticide. A comprehensive study conducted by Post Graduate Institute
of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has underlined the direct relationship
between indiscriminate use of these chemicals and increased incidence of cancer in this
region. An increase in the number of cancer cases has been reported in several villages
including Jhariwala, Koharwala, Puckka, Bhimawali, and Khara. Environmental activist
Vandana Shiva has written extensively about the social, political and economic impacts
of the Green Revolution in Punjab. She claims that the Green Revolution's reliance on
heavy use of chemical inputs and monocultures has resulted in water scarcity,
vulnerability to pests, and incidents of violent conflict and social marginalization. In
2009, under a Greenpeace Research Laboratories investigation, Dr Reyes Tirado, from
the University of Exeter, UK conducted the study in 50 villages in Muktsar,
Bathindaand Ludhiana districts revealed chemical, radiation and biological toxicity
rampant in Punjab. Twenty percent of the sampled wells showed nitrate levels above the
safety limit of 50 mg/l, established by WHO, the study connected it with high use of
synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.
Features of the Green Revolution
Given below are the features of the Green Revolution:
• The most effective feature of all was the introduction of HYV seeds in Indian
agriculture. The seeds proved to be highly effective in the regions with fluent irrigation
facilities, thus, the first stage was focused on Punjab and Tamil Nadu.
• In the second stage of the scheme, other states were included too and seeds for various
crops other than wheat were used.
• This Revolution initiated the use of an inland irrigation system as the country cannot
depend only on monsoon for their water needs.
• The plan majorly focused on the production of food grains like wheat, rice, and
commercial crops like jute, cotton, oilseeds etc. were prohibited from the plan.
• It promoted the use of fertilizers and manures whereas limiting the use of pesticides
and weedicides in order to avoid any sort of crop damage.

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• The use of technologically advanced machinery like tractors, drills, harvesters, etc was
implemented.
Causes of Green Revolution
The following are the main causes of green revolution:
Irrigation:
Better irrigation facilities are responsible for green revolution. In 1965-66, 22 hectares
area had irrigation facility: while 76 hectares area got this facility in year 2002-03.
Tube well irrigation has rapidly increased.
Agricultural Machinery:
In Punjab, the agriculture is mechanised. Tractors, harvesting combines, tube wells and
pumping sets and threshers etc. are intensively used in Punjab. Punjab has largest
number of tractors. In 1966, there were 10 thousand tractors, while in 2002-03, it
increased to 3.54 lakhs.
Fertilizers:
The use of chemical fertilizers has increased the production of food grains to large
extent. In 1965-66 chemical fertilizers were used 97 thousand tones. In 2002-03, their
use increased to 1441 thousand tones.
High Yielding Variety of Seeds (HYV):
The use of HYV seeds have played major role in increasing agricultural production. For
example, per hectare yield of wheat has increased from 1200 kgms to 4500 kgm. In case
of rice the yield increased from 1000 kgms to 3500 kgms. So HYV seeds has increased
the production tremendously.
Plant Protects
There was no arrangement to protect the plants against disease in previous times. So
crops were damaged on large scale. Now there are proper arrangements to protect the
plants against diseases and pests. Pesticides are sprayed to protect the plants. Plant
clinics are opened to provide expert advice to farmers against diseases.
Research:
Punjab Agricultural university (PAU) Ludhiana has done a lot of research on
agricultural problems. The university provided better quality seeds for wheat, rice,
cotton, gram, maize, sugarcane and oilseeds. The university organises Melas twice a
year in order to provide knowledge of new agricultural techniques Kisan to farmers.
New Techniques
Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana has been imparting training to farmers under
Intensive Agriculture District programme (lADP). Under this programme, much
attention is paid to crop rotation, chemical fertilizers, use of HYV seeds and water etc.

9
Marketing Facilities:
Previously marketing facilities were inadequate. Farmers had to sell their produce in
unregulated markets and got less price of their produce. Now the Govt. has provided
marketing facilities to farmers. Now 144 Regulated markets have been set-up in Punjab.
Farmers can now store their produce in warehouses and cold storages and can get
remunerative price of their produce.
Multiple Cropping:
Proper arrangement of irrigation and used HYV seeds, enabled the farmers to grow
more than one crop in a year. For example in wheat and rice rotation, Moon and
sunflower can be sown in same field. Due to multiple cropping production of food grain
has increased tremendously. In 2002-03, multiple cropping was done in an area of 3600
thousand hectares.
Price Incentive:
Rich harvest can bring down price. To avoid this prices of various agricultural produces
are fixed by ‘Agriculture Cost and Price Commission’ Govt. buys agriculture produce at
minimum price fixed by commission through agencies like Food corporation of India,
Market and Puns up etc. So farmers get minimum support price fixed by commission.
Efforts:
Under five Year Plans, govt. has made many efforts for agricultural development.
During Eighth Plan, Govt. has to spend RS. 590 core on agricultural development and
RS. 644 core on irrigation.
Other Reforms:
State Govt. has done a lot to develop the agricultural production. The scattered holdings
of the farmers have been consolidated in one large holding. The Farmer can arrange for
irrigation facilities on the large holding.
Credit facilities:
More credit facilities have been provided to farmers. In past money lenders provide
credit to farmers at a very high rate. Now Agricultural Development Banks and Co-
operative credit societies provide loan facilities to farmers. In 2003, these facilities
increased to 605 cores. Cheap credit facilities enabled farmers to buy more HYV seeds,
machines and chemical fertilizers.
Land Reclamation:
The Govt. has done efforts to make the uncultivable land to cultivable. The land
development and Reclamation corporation was established to make the land cultivable.
In 1990-91, 25,600 hectares of land made fit for agriculture. In 1996-97, 20,000
hectares land was reclaimed.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The following are the major advantages and disadvantages of the green revolution in
India Causes of Green Revolution
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Advantages
• It also helps us with predictable yields.
• Reduced production costs and resulted in cheaper food prices.
• The agricultural industry was able to produce much larger quantities of food.
• An increase in productivity made it possible to feed the increasing population
Disadvantages
• Decreased the quality of the soil.
• Had a few side effects on health.
• The use of chemical fertilizers and synthetic herbicides increased environmental and
soil pollution.
• This excessive use also led to the erosion of soil.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, the Green Revolution saved over a billion of people all over the world
from famine and provided more food sources. It can be well said that the Green
Revolution aimed at putting an end to the food supply problem at a global level.
Although, it had some negative effects on the environment, such as using high levels of
pesticides and chemicals.
The effects of the Green Revolution are persisting. This requires new interventions to be
tested and piloted before implementation, and continuous evaluation of the harms and
benefits should guide the implementation. There is a need for a system approach in
dealing with food insecurity and malnutrition and other similar issues. The Green
Revolution was brought in to reduce the problem of reduced yield. Now, there is a green
revolution 2 that is planned. Before such interventions are taken , environmental risk
assessments and other evaluation studies should be conducted for a sustainable future.

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Bibliography

Yields vs. Land Use.” How to Green Revolution enabled us to feed a growing
population”. Our world in data. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
Gaud, William S. (8 March 1968), “the Green Revolution Accomplishments and
Apprehensions”. Bio world. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
Farmer, B. H. (1986). “Perspectives on the Green Revolution in south Asia”. Modern
Asia studies. 20(1): 175_ 99.
Hurt, the Green Revolution in the global south, P. 161.
Pimental. D. (1996). “Green Revolution agriculture and chemical hazards”. The science
of the total Environment. 188.
Norman. J. Church (1 April 2005). “Why our food is so dependent on oil”
Sharma, B.D., Mukhopadhyay, S.S., 1999. Land cover and land use: Punjab
perspectives. In: Proceedings of the International Seminar on Historical Perspectives of
Land-use Land-cover Change in South Asia for the Study of Global Change, April 11–
13, 1999. NPL, New Delhi.
Young A. 1993. Land Degradation in South Asia: Its Severity, Causes, and Effects
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