Once, I had a discussion with a group of farmers from the tribal communities of Jawhar taluka. We discussed their agricultural practices, methods of cultivation, and harvesting. From the discussion, I found that the tribal farmers face water supply problems in their agriculture fields and are struggling with electricity facilities. To cope with the electricity issues, they are using oil engines on a rental basis. The tribal farmers depend on tenant bullocks for ploughing their lands for cultivation. They are also facing shortages of fertilizers and insufficient supply during the right time. The tribal cultivators have limited capacity for investment in their agriculture fields. Additionally, there is a lack of awareness about improved farming practices, degradation of land due to high rainfall and runoff, low water availability during the post-monsoon season, and poor soil fertility status and use of fertilizer. According to them, the cost of seeds and fertilizer is high, and there is also insufficient support from government institutions.
After listening to all of these issues, one thing was bothering me. ‘As per the World Bank, India is a global agricultural powerhouse. It is the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses, and spices, and has the world’s largest cattle herd (buffaloes), as well as the largest area under wheat, rice and cotton. It is the second largest producer of rice, wheat, cotton, sugarcane, farmed fish, sheep & goat meat, fruit, vegetables and tea. The country has some 195 m ha under cultivation of which some 63 percent are rainfed (roughly 125m ha) while 37 percent are irrigated (70m ha). In addition, forests cover some 65m ha of India’s land.’ Still, the tribal as well as rural farmers in India are facing the above issues.
Later, I remembered that in the 1960s, the Green Revolution began to address these issues. The Green Revolution was a period that began in the 1960’s during which agriculture in India was converted into a modern industrial system by the adoption of technology, such as the use of high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, mechanized farm tools, irrigation facilities, pesticides, and fertilizers. Mainly led by agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan in India, this period was part of the larger Green Revolution endeavour initiated by Norman Borlaug, which leveraged agricultural research and technology to increase agricultural productivity in the developing world. Varieties or strains of crops can be selected by breeding for various useful characteristics such as disease resistance, response to fertilizers, product quality and high yields.
Have you ever considered what has transpired 64 years after the Green Revolution, like myself?
The word “Green Revolution” was coined by William S. Gaud of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1968, for the introduction of new technology and policies implemented in the developing nations with aids from industrialized nations between the 1940s and the 1960s to increase the production and yield of food crops [7, 8]. Many high-yielding varieties (HYVs) were introduced as part of the Green Revolution to increase agricultural productivity.
Agricultural development and food security have been the major concerns of India since independence. The emphasis given has, however, varied with the result that the development of the agricultural sector has witnessed its peaks and troughs intermittently. The First Five Year Plan kept at its core the development of agriculture as its primary focus. Despite this, during the Second Plan, India faced severe food shortage. To deal with this problem, in 1958, India invited a team of experts (led by Dr. S.E. Johnson of US Department of Agriculture) to examine the causes of food grain shortages and suggest remedial measures. The team [in its report entitled “India’s Food Problem and Steps to Meet It” (1959)] recommended that India should focus more on those areas where the potential of raising agricultural productivity was high. Consequent to this, some already developed regions were selected for intensive cultivation to grow more food grains. Later in 1960s, two major programmes viz. Intensive Agriculture Area Programme (IAAP, 1961) and Intensive Agriculture District Programme (IADP, 1964) were launched. These two programmes made large investments in irrigation, fertilizer, agricultural R&D, education, and extension services which together led to achieve a period of high growth in productivity and production in Indian agriculture, popularly referred to as the green revolution (GR).
As stated before, India faced severe food shortages during 1950s and 1960s and had to import food grains. India was desperate to overcome shortages of food grains as early as possible. As a result, on the recommendations of Ford Foundation team of agricultural experts, India adopted the new agricultural strategy to grow more food grains, especially wheat and rice, in selected agriculturally developed regions. In the 1960s, the Ford Foundation with the approval of the Indian government initiated the Intensive Agricultural Area Program (IAAP) with better technological inputs to raise agricultural productivity. The emphasis was on concentrating more on those areas where the potential of agricultural development was high in order that rapid increase in food grains production could be achieved. Essential inputs and services were provided to the farmers in these selected districts.
Dr. Norman Borlaug and Dr. M. S. Swaminathan (agricultural scientists) and Shri. C. Subramanian, the then Minister of Agriculture had been the key persons in bringing the new agricultural technology to India. The main objective of the new strategy was to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains by providing access to farmers the necessary inputs and services. This was done by establishing significant agricultural research, extension and marketing infrastructure under massive public investment in areas of: (i) surface and groundwater irrigation, (ii) manufacturing agricultural equipment and fertilizers, (iii) establishment of Agricultural Price Commission, (iv) nationalization of private banks and (v) setting up of cooperative credit institutions to provide credit facilities to the farmers. In addition, advent of tube-well technology during this period also became instrumental in contributing to the raising of agricultural productivity and changing the cropping pattern especially in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. Within a short span of time, the wheat revolution spread over the entire North India and tremendously increased the production and productivity of wheat crop. Later on, a similar revolution occurred in rice crop. The green revolution technology, in spite of its severe criticism on the issues related to equity, ecology and environment, thus made remarkable contribution in transforming the Indian economy from its notorious ship-to-mouth food-deficit status to that of not only a food-self-sufficient country but even a food-surplus country.
In conclusion, the effects of the green revolution are persisting. The green revolution, which was beneficial in ensuring food security, has unintended but harmful consequences on agriculture and human health. This requires new interventions to be tested and piloted before implementation, and continuous evaluation of the harms and benefits should guide the implementation. An already fragile food system is affected due to the aftermaths of the green revolution. The potential negative impacts are not part of the discourse as it can affect the narratives of development and prosperity. Developments introduced due to necessity may not be sustainable in the future. Organic ways of farming need to be adopted for sustainable agricultural practices.
Farmers from rural and tribal India need a new agricultural transformation to address its current challenges. An updated “Green Revolution” can aid in the development of climate-resilient crops, that require less water and fertilizers, and are resistant to diseases. By investing in research and development of new technologies, India can achieve a more sustainable and profitable agriculture sector. Farmers must know what to plant, how to manage their crops during various growth stages under different stress scenarios, and when to sell their products. Agriculture today and in the future cannot be the same as it was in the past.
I believe that an inclusive approach should be taken when designing and implementing policies for what could be considered the face of the new Green Revolution 2.0. It’s important to improve production and post-harvesting technologies in tribal and rural areas. Additionally, promoting less water-intensive crops in areas with low water levels is crucial. The program should prioritize capacity building for farmers to grow less water-efficient crops, diversify income sources through farm and non-farm activities, adopt sustainable and technology-based practices, and ensure the sufficient distribution and availability of government schemes that benefit farmers. There should be a greater focus on environmentally and health-friendly initiatives to reduce the usage of chemicals and fertilizers like organic farming or plant-based pesticides. The program should also focus on involving multidisciplinary organizations such as NGOs or NPOs, research organizations, and international organizations to develop innovative ideas and design research-based interventions, schemes, or policies.
References:
- https://idc.icrisat.org/idc/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/JSW-Jawahar.pdf
- https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2309073.pdf
- https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/05/17/india-agriculture-issues-priorities
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution_in_India#:~:text=India’s%20Green%20Revolution.-,M.%20S.,the%20Green%20Revolution%20in%20India
- https://journalofethnicfoods.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42779-019-0011-9
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7611098/
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