India ranks second in the world in agriculture, with 20 agro-climate regions and 157.35 million hectares of arable land. Thus, agriculture plays an important role in 58% of rural households depending on the fact that although India is no longer an agricultural economy. A report by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmer Welfare estimates that grain production in India will be 279.51 million tons during the 2017–2018 crop years. Although India was able to become self-sufficient in food production, its food production between 1947 and 1960 was so bad that there were risks of starvation. Thus, the Green Revolution was started in the 1960s to increase food production, reduce extreme poverty and malnutrition in the country, and feed millions.
The main crops grown before the Green Revolution were rice, sorghum, sorghum, wheat, corn, and barley, and rice and sorghum production was higher than wheat, barley, and maize combined. But grain production has declined, and crops once eaten in all households became fodder for a few decades after the Green Revolution.
Green Revolution
Many high-yielding species (HYVs) are introduced as part of the Green Revolution to increase agricultural production. These improved varieties of wheat and rice were developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico, and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, respectively. HYVs had 20% more grain than their previous plants and were more sensitive to nitrogen fertilizer. Yield strength is doubled due to the inclusion of a few traits and a specific gene for a short stem in HYVs. The inclusion of genetically responsible genetic variants in rice and wheat allows for possible year-round planting; regardless of the length of the regional day, it was cultivated. In addition, the reduced sowing time increased planting vigor to 2-3 plants per year.
For example, the newly introduced IR-8 took 130 days to mature, and later developed varieties such as the IR-72 took 100 days to ripen while traditional rice plants took 150 to 180 days to ripen. The period between 1960 and 1985 saw a two-fold increase in yield per hectare, total production, and total food production in developing countries. Similarly, global grain production increased by 174% between 1950 and 1990 while the global population increased by 110%. Increasing grain production has enabled nations to feed the growing population and has halted the Maltris situation that was predicted in the 1960’s.
When India gained independence in 1947, 90 percent of its people lived in 600,000 cities depending on agriculture for their livelihood. For a few centuries, Indian agriculture remained unchanged without technological changes in agricultural activities [16]. The technology used in agriculture was the seeds sown by genetically engineered farmers that went back thousands of years with the involvement of wooden plows, water wheels, bulls, and agricultural practices driven by the power given to animals and humans. Thus, the failure of the agricultural sector to meet the needs of India after 1947 to 1965 negatively reflected the growth of the industrial sector. Lack of appropriate technological change and global warming combined with the drought brought India on the brink of starvation in the mid-1960’s.
The success of the Green Revolution in India on crop yields has been demonstrated by the Indian government, international agricultural research institutes (IRRI and CIMMYT), international and international donor organizations (Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and USAID), and farmers. . The Department of Food and Agriculture and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) have carefully oversaw the transfer and distribution of new technologies in an appropriate manner.
Post-Green Revolution, arable land increased from 97.32 million hectares in 1950 to 126.04 million hectares in 2014. The area of ​​grain production has dropped dramatically from 37.67 million hectares to 25.67 million hectares since the 1950s. Similarly, sorghum planting area decreased from 15.57 million hectares to 5.82 million hectares and pearl millet area decreased from 9.02 million hectares to 7.89 million hectares. But the area under the cultivation of rice, wheat, maize, and pulses has increased from 30.81 million hectares to 43.95 million hectares, 9.75 million hectares to 31.19 million hectares, 3.18 million hectares to 9.43 hectares, and 19.33 million hectares to 5 million.
