What is green revolution?

Throughout the 60s the so-called Green Revolution in India took place, a series of agricultural advances that saved the country from famine.

What is green revolution?

In 1961, around 450 million people lived in India. The population was growing rapidly after the independence of the country and the agricultural methods used then began to fall short.

The Asian giant was in a critical situation, on the verge of a famine of great proportions. At this time, from the Ministry of Agriculture it was decided to bet on a new fashion of the agricultural sector that was penetrating in other countries.

At that time he was Minister of Agriculture C. Subramaniam. He and his secretary of Agriculture, B. Sivaraman, were convinced that the new agricultural techniques had to be taken to India to fight their feeding problems. They invited Norman Borlaug to the country with the intention of asking for advice.

Borlaug was an agronomist who had been working on new varieties of the wheat plant for more than two decades. In the 40s he had introduced a type of dwarf variety to Mexico, resistant to diseases and wind, which had resulted in an amazing increase in production. Then it would be seen that in two decades Mexico tripled wheat production becoming an exporter of this food.

As of Borlaug's visit, the Indian government began to import seeds of the new wheat variety, which was demonstrating a productivity far superior to the usual ones. And the Ministry of Agriculture launched the tests. The state of Punjab, in the north of the country, was chosen because it was a region where water was abundant and traditionally offered favorable conditions for agriculture.

Gradually the program expanded. Soon it was passed from wheat to Asia's staple food, rice. The country imported a semi-Cuban variety that had been developed by the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. 

At the end of the 60s it was proved that this new rice produced five tons per hectare without fertilizers and almost 10 tons using all the means available. These figures meant multiplying production by ten.

The keys to the Green Revolution in India - and worldwide, in general - were mostly three. The first is the creation of a new type of varieties, more productive than the previous ones. 

The second important point was the use of chemicals to favor crops. Fertilizers were used so that the soil had more nutrients, while new pesticides and herbicides were developed , which served to end pests and plant diseases.

Another of the factors that contributed to the Green Revolution was the use of the same land for more than one crop per year, with what the soil was always producing. This reduced production costs and this also stimulated a reduction in food prices, which added to what already exists in a market when supply increases.

In the 1960s, rice crops in India were approximately two tons per hectare. If one looks forward, in 1990, three times this production had been reached: six tons per hectare. The Green Revolution in India was able to solve part of the country's food problems and has sustained its huge population growth in recent decades.

Not all are lights. The Green Revolution has also received criticism, particularly those that refer to the massive use of fertilizers and pesticides, which harm the environment, increasing pollution and eroding the soil. Water distribution is another of the problems generated. Natural resources were not enough and had to be redistributed artificially.