Introduction  –

How has the Green Revolution changed agriculture in India?

History of Green Revolution –

The population of India was increasing very fast and food production was not happening accordingly. The result of this was starvation and unbalanced production results in the whole country. On the other hand, after the Second World War, communism and capitalism conflict started. In view of which America started giving basic food grains like wheat to India, which was a political move and threatened to stop providing this service during Pakistan war. Taking a lesson from which Lal Bahadur Shastri’s government decided to make changes in the agriculture sector.

Industrial revolution and scientific change completely changed the way of life of human society. The maximum results of which we got to see in Europe and America. We first get to see the beginning of the Green Revolution from Mexico, which was very successful In which an attempt was made to increase production by using chemical method and by producing species not seeds.

There was a huge difference between India’s population and food production, which became a matter of concern. American agricultural modifiers such as Norman Borlaug made this amendment through the Rockefeller Foundation for this. Its most successful use was made in Mexico and India and ended the problem of India. In this critics believe that this technique has less advantage and more harm, which we will analyze further.

Green Revolution in India –

The 1960s had been a tumultuous one for India, with wars with China and Pakistan and famine on the other hand, plunging India’s economy into a double crisis. It is not that the agricultural production in India was not doing well, but since America started giving extra secondary wheat to India. This became the reason, except for its production, the farmers started focusing on other production.

Due to which the whole production system changed and suddenly America started threatening to stop this export completely. Due to this, the Government of India took a concrete decision and this was the reason why the important decision of the Green Revolution was taken.  Which is this policy was determined under the guidance of Norman Borlaug of America, behind which there have been many political reasons. Due to this, the government got a great deal of success in ending the problem of hunger in India and the production of products like wheat and rice increased in large quantities.

Hybrid seed varieties and chemical farming have been an important component of this policy and with this modern means like tractors started being used in the agriculture sector. States like Punjab and Haryana took maximum advantage of this Green Revolution as these were already the richest states in India for agricultural environment. Under this scheme, the government provided a basic price to wheat and rice, which benefited the farmers of Punjab and Haryana. The rest of the states also started taking wheat and rice production in large quantities, but they could not compete with these states.

Norman Borlaug & Green Revolution –

Norman Borlaug was an American citizen and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his special achievement in the Green Revolution. He was an agricultural scientist and the whole world gave him the title of “Father of Green Revolution” in the field of agriculture. Norman Borlaug made many amendments to increase production in the agricultural sector to end world hunger at the ground level. As a result of which he successfully used it in Mexico, seeing that he was invited to it in India.

Norman Borlaug received his PhD in plant biology and forestry at the University of Minnesota in 1942 and went on to work as a scientist at Duepoint Company. He went on to make amendments to increase the production capacity of wheat for the Rockefeller Foundation. They chose Mexico first for this modification and successfully increased production.

Norman Borlaug at the Campo atizapan Revision Center developed the highest yielding variety of wheat. Earlier, the wheat variety used to break due to reasons when it got bigger, The developed species grew smaller than this but gave more production. This was the most important achievement of the Green Revolution, in which this small species was able to produce large quantities with the use of chemical fertilizers. Norman Borlaug’s help was taken to do the same experiment in India and the Green Revolution made a success.

Importance of Green Revolution in India –

During the Second World War in British India, millions of people died of starvation in Bengal, which made it difficult to depend on exports. The policy which was made in British India was made keeping in view the interest of the British, in which the agricultural policy was made according to the raw material that the British felt for production. In the first two five year plans after the independence of India. Instead of strengthening the agricultural sector, industrialization was given priority in developing.

The result of which was the increase in the population and the production of production for the food security of the people equal to it. It was inviting the crisis of starvation. It is not that without the Green Revolution agricultural production was not happening. But the production, which should have been more was not happening and other production was being done in large quantities. Therefore, the need to formulate a properly planned agricultural policy was felt by the Government of India.

In this Green Revolution, the northern states like Punjab, Haryana took the most important part and the farmers of these states also got more benefit from it. These farmers got security to produce by getting the basic price for wheat and rice. Other states have tried to copy the model of Punjab and Haryana but they did not succeed in it. Due to the favorable natural conditions in the state of Punjab and Haryana, he was able to succeed in this.

India’s Liberal Policy and Green Revolution  –

After successfully completing the first round of Green Revolution, in the post-1990 economic crisis, the Government of India decided to make changes in its economic policy as directed by the World Bank. This period was the second phase of the Green Revolution, in which changes are seen in the agriculture sector through the private sector. In the first phase, an attempt was made by the government to eliminate zamindari, but in the second phase, a policy was made to open the market and make agricultural production based on demand and supply.

India is already cultivated in a traditional way, in which, according to Adam Smith. There was never an attempt to trade surplus production in India, otherwise India could have become a world superpower in the 15th century. But the system of taking production according to its need was not in the agricultural system of India. Therefore, it did not develop even though more than 70 percent of the economic output was based on agriculture. After the Green Revolution, the cost of production started increasing. On which the prices of electricity and seeds in an open economy depended on the fluctuations of the market.

The agricultural sector was not seen from a commercial point of view beforehand, so no training or tradition was created in the Indian society about how it should be planned while doing farming. As a result of which suicide of farmers, this issue increased the most after the second Green Revolution. It was difficult for ordinary farmers to compete with them from the agricultural sector of the corporate sector. Therefore, this second phase of the Green Revolution is considered to be the worst time for the farmers.

Intellectual Property Acts & Green Revolution –

At the second stage of the Green Revolution, laws such as intellectual property through privatization were enacted. The seed used for production through patents was registered as private property, resulting in Huawei competing with ordinary farmer corporate companies.

The intellectual property which should be used for the benefit of the society started being used for the purpose of making profit, but some positive results are also seen. Due to which the society starts producing good seeds, which is the result of market competition. The objective of food security due to intellectual property policy seems to be a very difficult task which the government will have to fulfill in a balanced manner.

With the corporate sector coming into the agriculture sector and all,  commodities being dependent on the price market. It becomes very difficult for ordinary farmers to compete with the corporate sector. In the second phase, the results of the Green Revolution were seen by the farmers, this is the reason that in 2020. The Government of India had brought in the agricultural laws, it failed to gain the trust of the farmers.

Farm Laws 2020 & Controversies –

The most important role in the Green Revolution was played by the states of Punjab and Haryana and fulfilled the food security of India. Due to chemical farming, there were consequences on water pollution and on the fertile capacity of the land. These farmers had to bear the cost. After 1990, in the second phase of the Green Revolution, farmers had suffered a lot through privatization and farming had become a harmful activity. Mainly from this experience, the farmers of these two states opposed the government’s agriculture law with full force. .

Opening of the market through privatization in the agricultural sector was the result of the changed policy of the 1990s. As long as there was the privatization of government companies and banks, it did not have any result on the people. But when the policy of privatization started making changes in the agriculture sector, everyone knew its consequences. Even the farmers of Punjab and Haryana cannot stand in front of big corporate companies. They know that and being the richest farmer of India, they could do this movement for a long time.

By taking the government into confidence, these farmers will have to understand how important the agricultural law is, for which some changes have to be made. Then they should be done with consent. If only the capitalist class is benefiting from privatization, then by balancing it, the farmers will have to be given confidence and they will have to be developed. We have to see that international pressure and politics should not harm the country or the farmers of the country.

Benefits of Green Revolution –

• The most important benefit of the Green Revolution is that after 1960, the production of wheat has increased seven times in the next ten years and has become completely self-sufficient by the year 2000.
• Due to the weakening of the system of planned production in the agricultural sector, there was frequent famine before 1960 and the lives of millions of people were at stake only due to starvation.
• In British India, the production, which was taken in the interest of the British government, the same tradition was seen till 1960. It was stopped and the production, which the country needed by the government was being implemented through MSP.
• Before 1960, the farmers who were becoming financially weak, they started becoming economically capable, in which the farmers of Punjab and Haryana got the maximum benefit.
• Before the Green Revolution, it was completely dependent on the import of food products, it was closed.
• Due to Green Revolution, modern items like tractor, electricity and motor started being used in agriculture, due to which less workers started working with more efficiency.
• Industrialization had been introduced in India earlier and it also needed some basis which it felt due to the demand in the agricultural sector and due to both the sectors. India’s economic system benefited in a way.
• Despite the use of machines in the agriculture sector, due to the economic ability of the farmers, a large amount of employment was created in Punjab and Haryana. From areas like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, which started farming due to the increase in chemical fertilizers and other work.

Disadvantages of Green Revolution –

• The Green Revolution helped in increasing the production of wheat and rice, but the use of chemical fertilizers gave further results on the production capacity of the land.
• Before the Green Revolution, the fertilizers used for agriculture were available naturally, which had to be bought, which increased the cost of production.
• Due to lack of proper training on how much chemical manure should be used, it got mixed in the water of the land and the rivers, which resulted in a lot of dangers which a state like Punjab has suffered.
• The entry of privatization into the agricultural sector along with the Green Revolution gave the farmers a competitor who was much more powerful than them.
• Only Punjab and Haryana got the maximum benefit of the Green Revolution, the rest of the states did not benefit from it. Because of this, there is a big difference between the farmers of other states and the farmers of Punjab and Haryana.
• Seeds were created that could be used only once, before natural seeds could be used multiple times.
• Due to the increase in the additional expenditure of farmers for things like seeds, fertilizers, production expenses increased. But only wheat and rice were protected for production and the rest of the production was unsafe.

Features of Green Revolution –

• The Green Revolution was started in India with the help of Norman Borlaug, who was an American scientist.
• The impact of communism did not affect India, so as a strategy, this campaign was carried out in collaboration with the United Nations for Food Security in India.
• Chemical fertilizers, fertilizers and modern machinery were used in the Green Revolution.
• Seeds were used which could produce many times the normal seed and such seeds were prepared which had less height and could withstand the weight of the upper part to be produced.
• Due to chemical fertilizers, the production was protected and the risk which remained in agriculture was worked out.
• The Green Revolution was mainly implemented in two phases, in which the second phase was implemented during the liberalism of 1990.
• The farmers of Punjab and Haryana got the maximum benefit from the Green Revolution because they were more developed due to the geographical conditions being favorable for farming from the beginning and getting government security production.
• In the third phase, the Green Revolution was started by enacting an agricultural law in 2020, but due to a lot of opposition from the farmers, the Government of India had to withdraw these laws.

Conclusion –

Thus we have seen that food security was the established factor because of the Green Revolution and through this important production like wheat and rice was done in large quantities in India. Some good results were seen as a result of the Green Revolution. While the use of chemical processes  in the agricultural sector saw very bad results. In a state like Punjab, its results were most visible, this chemical was seen in the water of Punjab.

Norman Borlaug, who was a Nobel Prize winning agricultural scientist, through his amendment has made Mexico and India successfully  by formulating policies to determine food security. Its consequences were seen later, but India was successful in ending the main problem of food security. In the second phase, we got to see the Green Revolution in 1990, which started implementing the policy of privatization in the agriculture sector from time to time.

In the third phase, we got to see 2020 through the Green Revolution Agriculture Act, whose opposition lasted for a long time and the government had to take these reforms back. The important reason for this was the economic loss of the farmers through privatization. In the second phase of the Green Revolution and it became difficult to do farming, hence this protest was seen. Therefore, the government’s reforms may be in the interest of the farmers, but the government failed to gain their trust.

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