Agriculture and forestry university faculty of

agriculture( FOA) rampur,chitwan

Agronomy Assignment

Define Green revolution. Explain the impact of Green Revolution in food production and
environment.

12/24/2079

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

RASHMI DHAKAL Prof. SHRAWAN KUMAR SHAH PhD

Have you ever wondered where the food you consume everyday comes from? Do you ever
think who started to cultivate and produce crops? It may be easy and simple to say that the
foods we consume on daily basis are from field but it is not as simple to say as it seems to be.
Requirement of food is worldwide but the production is not equally worldwide. Still there are
many places where production of food is not practiced but people living there are able to feed
their family. Consumption of food is common in humankind but production is not equally
common. Looking at the history of food it is quite interesting and unique. Going back to
1940s time, The period of world war II, food scarcity was the major and pressing problem at
that time due to war. No matter how much crops were planted the production was not enough
to satisfy the need of people. In order to solve this problem team of scientists worked on to
fulfil the requirements regarding food and produce more food .They experiment seeds to
produce more food by improving old traditional method to new one which was also easily
acceptable by chemical fertilizers with the help of irrigation . Later it was extended to whole
world especially in Asia with high yielding variety. Now the result of that unique way to
produce high yielding variety is known as green revolution. So, the food we eat today is the
result of green revolution technically.

What is green revolution?

The period of significant agricultural innovation and productivity growth that led to a known
increase in high yielding varieties in crops that accept chemical fertilizers with the help of
irrigation which occurred between 1940s to1960s, particularly in developing countries is
known as green revolution. Basically green revolution was the stirring response to world
spread hunger and poverty due to war. It helped allot to recollect the destruction caused in
many part of world mid 20s century due to hunger and poverty. This revolution was new and
unique because it was not violent. It was good for human kind. This revolution was related to
peace more rather than military or other political revolution. Green revolution is
transformation of farming methods and knowledge to new one that helped farmers to produce
more crops more efficiently.

History
This initiative was led by Dr. Norman Borlaug, an American scientist and plant pathologist
also known as "Father of green revolution" for his outstanding contribution in the world of
food production.
Around 1940s, he researched high yielding varieties which have high resistance against
disease. He started working on wheat breeding program in Mexico. Mexico was a place that

was equipped with high mechanized agricultural technologies. Dr. borlaug developed new
varieties of wheat that were resistent to disease and could produce higher yielding varieties
were dwarf and able to support heavier grain heads,which made them more resistant to
lodging.

[Dr. Norman Borlaug] [Production of wheat in enormous rate]

The interesting fact is the term "Green Revolution" was first used in 1968 although the
impact of revolution was years ago. When the effect of new technologies in agricultural
sector was spread in tremendous manner around 1960s, William Gaud, the former director of
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) noted it and named Green
Revolution. This revolution had saved billions of people from starvation and poverty. For the
contribution of Norman in the sector of agriculture and food security, he was awarded by the
"Nobel Peace Prize" in 1970. Later on the development of high yielding wheat varieties was
extended too many parts of world especially in Asia and played a key role to increase food
production. Scientists from countries like Mexico, India also worked on this revolution to
implement new technology. They had to experiment with their local, climates and food
needed to work. And surprisingly it worked in some places. India was the one place where
green revolution was really took off. There was massive change in production of crops during
1960s in India.

The scientist adapted and imported new and high yielding varieties of wheat from CIMMYT
(International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre) and IR8 also known as "miracle rice"
from IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) that had helped to increase food
production. Nepal had also adapted high varieties of crops from CIMMYT and IRRI (In 1965
to 1990) that have contributed significantly to improve livelihood of farmer and meets
growing food demand of increasing population and lead country to green revolution.

Did Green Revolution make better impact?

The Green Revolution had both positive and negative impacts on agriculture and the
environment, including increased crop yield and food production. One of the most critical
turning points for global agriculture was the so-called 'Green Revolution’, which began in the
mid-20th century. The Green Revolution is used to describe the large-scale transfer and
adoption of new technologies in the agricultural sector, particularly in the developing world.
These technologies included chemical inputs (such as fertilizers and pesticides), irrigation
technologies, farm mechanization (such as tractors), and high-yielding rice, wheat and maize
seed varieties. Overall, this led to a significant shift in agriculture from ‘traditional’ to
‘industrial’ practices across the developing world. It had characterized the introduction of
new farming method and technologies such as use of tractor other mechanized equipment,
which helped farmers to produce more crops more efficiently. But due to green revolution
soil degradation, water pollution etc is also caused. Thus, green revolution is also the topic of
criticism.

Impact of Green Revolution in food production and environment

Taking about the impact of green revolution particularly in Environment and food
production, it has both positive and negative impact. Green Revolution brought
modernization in agriculture and boost agricultural productivity on a global scale that helped
to produce food in large scale per acre land. The key impacts of green revolution on food
production are as follow:-
 positive impacts, here are key positive impacts of the Green Revolution on the environment:
While the Green Revolution had many impacts on the environment. Taking about its some
Impact of green revolution in environment
Positive Impacts
Increased food production :Green revolutiomintroducedHYVof crops, advanced irrigation
methods,improved fertilizers and pesticides so that more consumable food was produced
Negative Impacts within a short time
Crop homogenity: Green Revolution only promoted a limited Greater
rangenutrition:
ofcrops, The increased
which resultedfood
in production also ledto an improvement in nutrition,as
loss of crop diversity and dependence on a fewhigh productive and access
peoplecrops a wider range
that aretovulnerable to of foods. It helped toreduce hunger and malnutrition in
disease and pests. many part of world.
Health Hazards: The excessive use of pesticides have put farmReduced Poverty
ers and agriculturist
: Due toatgreen
risk ofrevolution farmer were able to sell more food ,earn more
chemical exposure and disease. money and consume more food.
Enahnce
Income inequality: This revolution was highly capital intensive, whichfood
ledsecurity: Green Revolution helped in providing adequate and nutritious food to
to farmers
becoming richer and rich farmers becoming poorer. the needy people and survived billion fromstarvation. Due to high production of crops, there
Impact in health: Due to overuse of chemical fertilizers , food
wasweaccesibility
consumeand alsoavailability
become bad of food that benefited the poor relatively the most.
for health beacuase of biomagnification. These food may causeIncreased agricultural
chronic diseases.yields: Green revolution led todevelopment and use of HYVcrops
which boosted agricultural yield and improved overall productivity.This provided a model for
future agricultural development.
 1. Reduced pressure on forests and lands: The increased food production from the Green
Revolution helped to reduce the pressure on forests and other natural resources by
reducing the need for land expansion. The increased crop yields from the Green
Revolution meant that less land was needed to grow the same amount of food,
reducing the pressure on natural ecosystems.

2. Reduced food waste and food pollution: The increased efficiency in agriculture and
food distribution helped to reduce food waste, which has positive environmental
impacts by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. The increased food
production from the Green Revolution has helped to improve food security, reducing
the need for hunting and gathering of wild foods, which can have positive
environmental impacts by reducing pressure on natural ecosystems.

3. Water conservation and soil quality: The Green Revolution promoted to the
development of more efficient irrigation systems and drought-resistant crops has
helped to conserve water resources in some areas where water resources were limited.
The use of crop rotation and other sustainable farming practices has helped to
improve soil quality in some areas.

4. Increased use of renewable energy: The Green Revolution has led to a greater use of
renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, for agricultural activities. This
revolution has led to increased awareness for renewable energy and conservation
efforts for future, which have long term positive impacts on the environment.

5. Improved farm efficiency: The transfer of agricultural technologies from developed to

developing countries through the Green Revolution has helped to improve agricultural
productivity, helped to improve farm efficiency and reduce poverty, which can have
positive environmental impacts by reducing pressure on natural resources.

While the Green Revolution had many positive impacts on the environment, it also had some
negative impacts. Here are key negative impacts of the Green Revolution on the
environment:

1. Environmental degradation: The intensive use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides

has led to harm soil health and led to erosion, decreased biodiversity, water depletion
and pollution. Excessive use of chemicals had harmed the environment. The focus on
limited number of high yielding variety would led to reduction in diversity, that can
have negative long term consequences for food security.

2. Land degradation: Due to increased cultivation and irrigation, the soil has become less
fertile which has led to a decline in agricultural productivity over time. The overuse of
chemical fertilizers and pesticides caused depletion of soil production and soil
degradation.

3. Water scarcity: The green revolution had promoted the use of irrigation in large scale
which led to the depletion of underground water resources. Characterized seeds only
can response chemical fertilizers easily with the help of extensive irrigation. This has
 led to excessive use of water resources that later result on water scarcity, particularly
in areas with intensive agriculture.

4. Reduction in Genetic diversity: The high yield varieties that were introduced during
the green revolution were genetically uniform, due to this only limited number of
crops was on focus. As few crops are giving good response, this can led to long term
negative impact in genitive diversity and ecosystem stability. Also made them
vulnerable to disease and pests.

5. Soil salinization: Due to excessive use of irrigation and fertilizers, soil salinization has
become a major problem in certain areas, making the land unusable for agriculture. It
makes difficult to grow crops and the production sector of crops decreases in
drastically manner.

6. Increased greenhouse gas: The increased use of fossil fuel for farm machinery
transportation, and processing has led to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Green
Revolution was major dependent in pesticides, fertilizers and extensive irrigation. The
overuse of pesticides has led to the development of pesticide resistance pests even
more inorder to control pests. This has contributated to increase greenhouse gas
emissions and climate change.

Conclusion
So, The Green Revolution which began in 1940s to solve the problem of starvation and to
improve environment of food sector had a significant impact on food production and the
environment. While it reduces hunger and malnutrition from world, in other side it causes
environmental degradation due to excessive use of fertilizers. Overall, Green Revolution had
a mixed impact on old production and the environment with both negative and positive
outcomes.

Reference

PRINCIPLES OFAGRONOMY – T.Yellamanda Reddy, Gh sankara reddy (Kalyani

publisher)
PRINCIPLES OF AGRONOMY – SR Reddy (Kalyani publisher)
GREEN REVOLUTION AND ITS IMPACTS- Mahesh V. Joshi
PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICES OF AGRONOMY- P. Balasubrananiyan, S.P. Palaniappan
AND OTHER GOOGLE BOOKS