{"id":48134,"date":"2025-07-14T20:46:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T15:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=48134"},"modified":"2025-07-30T11:42:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T06:12:59","slug":"green-revolution-india-legacy-role-agricultural-rnd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-07-2025\/green-revolution-india-legacy-role-agricultural-rnd","title":{"rendered":"Green Revolution: Its Legacy and India\u2019s Strategic Role in Agricultural R&amp;D"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Agriculture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is facing both a responsibility and a historic opportunity \u2014 to repay the debt owed to regions that fueled India\u2019s food security, and to reimagine agriculture for a sustainable future.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About the Green Revolution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The term <strong>\u2018Green Revolution\u2019<\/strong> was coined by William S. Gaud, then Administrator of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-02-2025\/freeze-on-usaid-by-united-states\"><strong>United States Agency for International Development (USAID)<\/strong><\/a>, in <strong>1968<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It turned a famine-prone nation into a food-secure one, ushering in self-sufficiency in grain production and empowering millions of farmers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In India, the Green Revolution benefited <strong>Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh<\/strong> with its focus on <strong>high-yielding rice and wheat varieties, irrigation expansion, and intensive chemical input<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Agricultural Gains<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s Green Revolution was catalyzed by <strong>International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and IRRI germplasm<\/strong>. Varieties like Kalyan Sona and Sonalika (1967\u201368) came from CIMMYT breeding lines.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dddad6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"765\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/07\/indian-scientists-behind-global-success-765x1024.png\" alt=\"indian scientists behind global success\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-48149\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dddad6; width:321px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/07\/indian-scientists-behind-global-success-765x1024.png 765w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/07\/indian-scientists-behind-global-success-224x300.png 224w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/07\/indian-scientists-behind-global-success-768x1028.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/07\/indian-scientists-behind-global-success-1147x1536.png 1147w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/07\/indian-scientists-behind-global-success.png 1207w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 765px) 100vw, 765px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Later, Indian institutions like the <strong>Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)<\/strong> developed indigenous varieties pushing yields to <strong>7 tonnes\/hectare<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In rice, IARI and regional institutes released iconic varieties like Swarna (1982), Samba Mahsuri (1986), and Pusa Basmati 1121 (2003).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In <strong>2024\u201325<\/strong>, India exported <strong>6.1 million tonnes of basmati rice worth $5.94 billion<\/strong>, over <strong>90% from IARI-developed varieties<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Do You Know?<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) <\/strong>bred semi-dwarf wheat varieties like Lerma Rojo 64A, Sonora 63, and Mayo 64, which were first introduced in <strong>India in 1964-65<\/strong>.<br>&#8211; CIMMYT was funded heavily by the <strong>United States Agency For International Development (USAID), <\/strong>and closely associated with <strong>Norman Borlaug.<\/strong><br>1. USAID provided <strong>$83 million of its $211 million grant revenue in 2024<\/strong>.<br>2. CIMMYT has lost a major funder, with the <strong>Trump administration shutting down USAID.<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Norman Borlaug\u2019s <\/strong>wheat enabled Indian farmers to achieve <strong>4\u20134.5 tonnes\/hectare<\/strong>, up from 1\u20131.5 tonnes.<br>&#8211; <strong>International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)<\/strong>\u2019s rice varieties raised yields from 1\u20133 tonnes to <strong>4.5 \u2013 10 tonnes\/hectare<\/strong>, reducing crop duration to 110\u2013130 days.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Green Revolution: Legacy &amp; and Its Costs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Continued Reliance on Global Research: <\/strong>As of 2024\u201325, <strong>6 of the top 10 wheat varieties<\/strong> sown over <strong>20 million hectares<\/strong> in India were directly derived from <strong>CIMMYT material<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>HD 2967 remains the only recent major indigenous variety.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While northern states thrived, others \u2014 especially eastern and central India \u2014 remained underdeveloped. The excessive focus on procurement, subsidies, and irrigation for a narrow set of crops led to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Soil nutrient depletion and water table collapse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stifled crop diversification and ecological imbalance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Farmer dependency on input-intensive monocultures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Policy Levers to Address the Imbalance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Decentralized Procurement:<\/strong> Expanding procurement beyond wheat and rice to include pulses, millets, and oilseeds from underserved regions like central India and the Northeast.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Agroecological Transition:<\/strong> Supporting states to adopt regenerative agricultural practices and reduce chemical dependency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Water-Smart Farming:<\/strong> Incentivizing crops suited to local climates and water availability, rather than forcing uniform choices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Income Diversification:<\/strong> Promoting agro-processing, farm cooperatives, and access to rural credit to give farmers alternative revenue streams.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regional Equity:<\/strong> Diversifying procurement policies to include pulses, oilseeds, and millets from underrepresented regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Opportunity and Responsibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Despite its gains, <strong>India contributed just $0.8 million to CIMMYT<\/strong> and <strong>$18.3 million to IRRI<\/strong> in 2024. According to <strong>Rajendra Singh Paroda<\/strong>, former DG of ICAR, India should fund <strong>strategic and collaborative research<\/strong> in:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Heat and drought tolerance;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nitrogen use efficiency;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gene editing;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Artificial intelligence in breeding<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recent initiatives like the <strong>International Year of Millets, &#8216;Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India&#8217;<\/strong> and the<strong> push for regenerative farming<\/strong> offer encouraging signals \u2014 but scale and sincerity are key.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/new-delhi-has-chance-to-repay-green-revolution-debt-why-doing-so-is-in-indias-interest-10124443\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India is facing both a responsibility and a historic opportunity \u2014 to repay the debt owed to regions that fueled India\u2019s food security, and to reimagine agriculture for a sustainable future.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About the Green Revolution<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The term \u2018Green Revolution\u2019 was coined by William S. Gaud, then Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in 1968.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It turned a famine-prone nation into a food-secure one, ushering in self-sufficiency in grain production and empowering millions of farmers.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">In India, the Green Revolution benefited Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh with its focus on high-yielding rice and wheat varieties, irrigation expansion, and intensive chemical input.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-07-2025\/green-revolution-india-legacy-role-agricultural-rnd\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48134"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49050,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48134\/revisions\/49050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}