What is Green Revolution? Why was it implemented and how did it benefit the farmers? Explain in
brief.
The introduction of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of seeds and the increased use of fertilisers, pesticides and irrigation facilities are known collectively as the Green Revolution which resulted in the increase in crop yield needed to make India self-sufficient in food grains. Various land reforms were also undertaken in order to make Green Revolution successful.
Thus, Green Revolution included the following measures
(i) Use of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of seeds
(ii) Increase in irrigation cover
(iii) Use of insecticides and pesticides
(iv) Consolidation of holdings
(v) Rural electrification
(vi) Improvement in rural infrastructure
(vii) Agricultural credit facilities
(viii) Use of chemical fertilisers
Green Revolution was implemented because of the following reasons
(i) Food Security The colonial rule had made Indian agriculture suffer from low level of productivity especially in food grains as more emphasis during colonial rule had been on cash crops which served as raw material to British industries. This resulted in shortage of food grains in India and made Green Revolution necessary to provide food security to the population.
(ii) Low Irrigation Facility The land area under irrigation cover was only 17% in 1951. The major part of agriculture was dependent on rainfall from monsoOn and in case of scanty rainfall or delayed monsoon, crops were destroyed due to lack of proper irrigation facilities. This caused low level of agricultural production and a means was needed to overcome it.
(iii) Conventional Methods The use of conventional inputs and absence of modern techniques led to low level of agricultural productivity.
Green Revaluation benefittcd the farmers in the following wags
(i) Increase in Income Green Revolution helped the farmers to increase the productivity of their land holdings. Increased productivity led to an increase in their incomes.
(ii) Reduced Vulnerability to natural forces Before the advent of Green Revolution, farmers were very much affected by the vulgarities of the climate. The various techniques of Green Revolution reduced their vulnerability to natural forces and helped them to harvest a good crap even in adverse conditions.