Question

Explain Green Revolution and state its impact on crop production in India.

Answer 1

Hint: India was not able to produce enough crops to feed its population before the Green Revolution. It should also be noted that at that time India’s population was increasing. Before the Green Revolution, old methods of farming were being employed.

Complete Answer:
It was in the 1960s that the Green Revolution was initiated in India and the introduction of a high yield variety of seed is what is meant by the Green Revolution. High yield varieties of rice and wheat were introduced to increase the food production and the major reason behind doing so was to alleviate hunger and poverty.
The production of wheat and rice doubled post green revolution due to the initiatives of the government. However it is also true that production of indigenous rice varieties and millets declined. The extinction of distinct indigenous crops can be seen as a result of the green revolution.
The problem with the indigenous varieties of seeds was not that they were not high yielding but their inability to withstand the use of chemical fertilizers. The high yielding monohybrid crops, which were introduced, solved this problem as they were able to withstand the use of chemical fertilizers and also intense irrigation.
The area under cultivation increased from 97 million in 1950 to 126 million in 2014. The per capita availability of food grains in India also increased as a result of the green revolution.
Some of the negative impacts of the green revolution were - loss of soil nutrients, large scale use of pesticides, unsustainable practices for getting more yield, increased rates of suicide, etc.

Note: In India the green revolution was led by an agricultural scientist by the name of M S Swaminathan. India’s green revolution was part of a larger green revolution endeavor which was initiated by Norman Borlaug.