This is a general article about the agricultural initiatives in the mid 20th century.

For its role in

India, see Green Revolution in India. For the 2009-2010 protests in Iran, see Green Revolution
(Iran).
Green Revolution refers to a series of research, development, and technology transfer
initiatives, occurring between 1943 and the late 1970s, that increased industrialized agriculture
production in India; however, the yield increase has also occurred world wide.
The initiatives involved the development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains, expansion of
irrigation infrastructure, and distribution of hybridized seeds, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides
to farmers.
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."[1]

Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
○ 1.1 IR8 and the Philippines
○ 1.2 CGIAR
○ 1.3 Problems in Africa
• 2 Agricultural production and food security
○ 2.1 Technologies
○ 2.2 Production increases
○ 2.3 Effects on food security
• 3 Criticisms
○ 3.1 Food security
 3.1.1 Malthusian criticism
 3.1.2 Is food production related to famine?
 3.1.3 Quality of diet
 3.1.4 Political impacts
 3.1.5 Socioeconomic impacts
 3.1.6 Globalization
○ 3.2 Environmental impact
 3.2.1 Pesticides
 3.2.2 Water
 3.2.3 Biodiversity
 ○ 3.3 Health impact
 3.3.1 Pesticides and cancer
 3.3.2 Punjab case
 3.3.3 Organic farming
• 4 Norman Borlaug's response to criticism
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 Bibliography
• 8 External links

[edit] History
With the experience of agricultural development begun in Mexico by Norman Borlaug in 1943
judged as a success, the Rockefeller Foundation sought to spread it 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.[2] 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.[3]
India soon 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 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.[4] 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.[5] 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.
[edit] IR8 and the Philippines
In 1960, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines with Ford and Rockefeller

The introduction of high-yielding varieties of seeds after 1965 and the increased use of fertilizers
and irrigation are known collectively as the Green Revolution, which provided the increase in
production needed to make India self-sufficient in food grains, thus improving agriculture in
India. Famine in India, once accepted as inevitable, has not returned since the introduction of
Green Revolution crops. This movement is now under fire, and is blamed for the spread of Land
Degradation in India due to excessive use of fertilizers, pesticides, etc.[citation needed]
Of the high-yielding seeds, wheat produced the best results. Production of coarse grains- the
staple diet of the poor- and pulses -the main source of protein- lagged behind, resulting in
reduced per capita availability[citation needed]. All India Radio (AIR) played a vital role in creating
awareness for these methods. Along with high yielding seeds and irrigation facilities, the
enthusiasm of farmers mobilized the idea of agricultural revolution and is also credited to All
India Radio.

Contents
[hide]
• 1 Results
• 2 Environmental impact
• 3 References
• 4 See also

[edit] Results
The major benefits of the Green Revolution were experienced mainly in northern and
northwestern India between 1965 and the early 1980s; the program resulted in a substantial
increase in the production of food grains, mainly wheat and rice[citation needed]. Food-grain yields
continued to increase throughout the 1980s, but the dramatic changes in the years between 1965
and 1980 were not duplicated. By FY 1980, almost 75 percent of the total cropped area under
wheat was sown with high-yielding varieties. For rice the comparable figure was 45 percent. In
the 1980s, the area under high-yielding varieties continued to increase, but the rate of growth
overall was slower. The eighth plan aimed at making high-yielding varieties available to the
whole country and developing more productive strains of other crops[citation needed].
The Green Revolution created wide regional and interstate disparities[citation needed]. The plan was
implemented only in areas with assured supplies of water and the means to control it, large
inputs of fertilizers, and adequate farm credit. These inputs were easily available in at least parts
of the states of Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh; thus, yields increased most in these
states. In other states, such as Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, in areas where these inputs were
not assured, the results were limited or negligible, leading to considerable variation in crop yields
within these states. The Green Revolution also increased income disparities: higher income
growth and reduced incidence of poverty were found in the states where yields increased the
most and lower income growth and little change in the incidence of poverty in other states[citation
needed]
.
The Green Revolution has also been criticized as unsustainable. It requires immense amounts of
capital each year to purchase equipment and fertilizers[citation needed]. This may lead to a cycle of
debt if a farmer is unable to pay off the loans required each year. Additionally, the crops require
so much water that water tables in some regions of India have dropped dramatically[citation needed]. If
this drop continues, it is possible that the process of desertification may take place. Already, the
low water is starting the process of salinization. If continued, this would leave the land infertile,
spelling disaster for India.[citation needed]
In 2006, Dr Norman Borlaug, widely known as the 'Father of India's Green Revolution', was
presented India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, by India's ambassador in
Mexico City.[1][2]
[edit] Environmental impact
The environmental impact of excessive use to chemical fertilizers and pesticides was only
revealed as years passed by. In 2009, under a Greenpeace Research Laboratories investigation,
Dr Reyes Tirado, from the University of Exeter, UK, conducted a study in 50 villages in
Muktsar, Bathinda and Ludhiana districts that revealed chemical, radiation and biological
toxicity was rampant in Punjab. 20% of the sampled wells showed nitrate levels above the safety
limit of 50 mg/l, established by WHO. The study connected this finding with high use of
synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.[3] With increasing poisoning of the soil, the region once hailed as
the home to the Green revolution, now due to excessive use of chemical fertilizer, is being
termed the "Other Bhopal", and "even credit-takers of the Revolution have begun to admit they
had been wrong, now that they see wastelands and lives lost to farmer suicides in this “granary of
India".[4] For example, Buddha Nullah, a rivulet which run through Malwa region of Punjab,
India, and after passing through highly populated Ludhiana district, before draining into Sutlej
River, a tributary of the Indus river, is today an important case point in the recent studies, which
suggest this as another Bhopal in making.[5] A joint study by PGIMER and Punjab Pollution
Control Board in 2008, revealed that in villages along the Nullah, calcium, magnesium, fluoride,
mercury, beta-endosulphan and heptachlor pesticide were more than permissible limit (MPL) in
ground and tap waters. Plus the water had high concentration of COD and BOD (chemical and
biochemical oxygen demand), ammonia, phosphate, chloride, chromium, arsenic and
chlorpyrifos pesticide. The ground water also contains nickel and selenium, while the tap water
has high concentration of lead, nickel and cadmium.[6]
[edit] References
1. ^ 'Father of India's Green Revolution' given Padma Vibhushan Rediff.com, Ajit Jain in Mexico
City | 24 August 2006.
2. ^ Norman Borlaug, India's 'annadaata', dies at 95 The Times of India, Chidanand Rajghatta, 13
September 2009.
3. ^ "Uranium, metals make Punjab toxic hotspot".