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BPSC Mains GS-2 Masterclass · Indian Economy & Geography

Green Revolution, Soils & EnvironmentFeeding India, at a Cost

In the mid-1960s India was importing grain; the Green Revolution turned it into a food-surplus nation. But the same seeds, water and chemicals exhausted soils, drained aquifers and poisoned rivers. This page explains both sides, and the soils on which India's farming depends.

Output72 → 303 MTFoodgrains

1965-66 to 2020-21.

Wheat4×+Wheat yield

8.3 to 35+ quintals a hectare.

Water165%Punjab extraction

of natural groundwater recharge (2018).

Soil11–26%Of GDP lost

to soil degradation in the 1980s–90s (estimate).

Soils42%Alluvial soil

share of India's soils.

Peat40–50%Organic matter

in peaty soils, as in north Bihar.

Part 1 · What the Green Revolution was

The Green Revolution: Seeds, Water and Chemicals

How high-yielding varieties, irrigation and fertilisers came together in the 1960s, and why the technology favoured some regions and farmers.

Golden wheat fields in Punjab with a tubewell, a tractor and stacked fertiliser bags

The Green Revolution

"Green revolution" refers to substantial increase in grain yield obtained by plant breeders by developing new crop varieties. The high yielding varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice have been the key elements in green revolution. Although initially the new agricultural strategy was limited mainly to wheat and rice crops, later it spread to other crops.

In 1960s, two major programmes viz. Intensive Agriculture Area Programme (IAAP, 1961) and Intensive Agriculture District Programme (IADP, 1964) were launched in India. These two programmes made large investments in irrigation, fertilizer, agricultural R&D, education, and extension services which together led to a period of high growth in productivity and production in Indian agriculture, popularly referred to as the green revolution (GR). It was mainly led by agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan in India.

What soil is

Soil is the mixture of rock debris and organic materials which develop on the earth's surface. Components of the soil are mineral particles, humus, water and air.

Various scientific surveys conducted by agencies like Soil Survey of India, the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use etc have classified the Indian soils on the basis of their nature and character.

The factors which helped bring about the green revolution

Introduction of high yielding varieties of crops.
Multiple cropping, better irrigation and sufficient supply of fertilizers.
Use of crop protection measures against disease and pest.
Transfer of the technology of scientific farming from research farms to village farmers.
Better arrangements for transporting farm produce from fields to the market.
The impetus for the Green Revolution came from harvest failures and famine conditions in the mid-1960s. And its main goal was to ensure India's national food security, more precisely its self-reliance in foodgrain production.

Features of the Green Revolution

(Mention only briefly in the answer.)

Unlike the traditional farm practices which mostly relied on indigenous seeds and internal inputs (non-purchased inputs), the new agricultural technology was mainly based on external inputs (purchased inputs) which required substantial financial resources for its adoption.
The GR technology came in a package of HYV seeds – irrigation – fertilizers. All these are needed together in correct proportions as both inadequacy and excessive use of water were harmful to these seeds.
- Availability of assured and controlled irrigation and use of chemical fertilizers thus became the two critical factors in raising the productivity of HYV seeds.
Example: An HYV wheat seed is like a high-performance engine: it gives far more grain, but only with the right 'fuel' of water and fertiliser at the right time. Without them it may yield less than an old local variety.
Therefore, GR technology was more suited to the areas that had adequate irrigation facilities as well as proper water irrigation/drainage system.
While on the one hand the HYV seeds required high doses of chemical fertilizers for their growth, the use of fertilizers in turn generated weeds, requiring the application of weedicides.
One of the key features of HYV seeds is that they had shorter period of maturity which gave opportunity to farmers to grow more number of crops in a year. Thus, the GR technology helped increase cropping intensity.
However, in order to release the land for next crop, farmers needed to do various farm operations, including crop harvesting and land preparation for the next crop, in time. For this, use of modern farm machines such as tractors, threshers, irrigation pumps, etc were required.
Thus, the GR technology helped in attracting more investment in manufacturing of farm machines, irrigation pumps, etc. and also to set up banking and marketing infrastructure facilities in small towns and rural areas.
As a result, in the first phase of the green revolution (approximately mid 1960s up to mid 1970s), the use of HYV seeds was restricted to the more affluent states such as Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Further, the use of HYV seeds primarily benefited the wheat-growing regions only.
- In the second phase of the green revolution (mid-1970s to mid-1980s), the HYV technology spread to a larger number of states and benefited more variety of crops.
Since the GR technology involved heavy infrastructural investment, the technology was more suited to the big farmers who could afford to purchase the farm machines and equipments optimizing their use because of their large farm sizes.
Though investment on heavy machinery was necessary for adoption of HYV crops, more investment on hiring and purchase of other inputs were essential even on small farms.
Small and marginal farmers had no capacity to invest since access to credit was limited. Thus, although the HYV-fertilizer-irrigation technology was considered scale-neutral and increased the land productivity irrespective of the size of operational holdings, in practice it was certainly not resource-neutral.
In brief, therefore, the HYV seeds, use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, application of modern farm machines, extensive irrigation facilities, multiple cropping, improved credit facilities, support price policy and improved R&D and extension infrastructure came to signify the main features of the green revolution movement in India.

Part 2 · How the Green Revolution raised foodgrain production

From Food Deficit to Food Surplus

India faced severe food shortages during the 1950s and 1960s and had to import food grains. The Green Revolution broke the colonial-era stagnation for good.

A turning point

India faced severe food shortages during 1950s and 1960s and had to import food grains. But, the green revolution transformed the food-deficit economy into that of not only a food-self-sufficient one but even a food-surplus country by substantially raising the overall agricultural production and productivity. The stagnation in agriculture during the colonial rule was permanently broken by the green revolution.

The Green Revolution has increased food grains production in India

One of the most important impacts of green revolution (GR) was on raising the production and productivity of cereal crops, especially wheat and rice.
- The cereal production was increased due to three factors: increase in net area under cultivation; increase in cropping intensity; and use of HYV seeds.
The GR resulted in a significant increase in the production of food grains from 72.4 million tons in 1965-66 to 131.9 million tons in 1978-79 and to 303.34 million tonnes in 2020-21 establishing India as one of the world's biggest agricultural producers.
- Per hectare yield of food grains increased from 6.3 quintal per hectare (Q/ha) in 1965-66 to 10.2 Q/ha in 1978-79 and to above 23 Q/ha in 2020-21.
- Today, India has achieved self-reliance in foodgrain production. It has become the world's second largest producer of both wheat and rice and the largest exporter of rice.
The production of wheat has significantly increased during and after the green revolution period.
- The production went up from 10.4 million tons (MT) in 1965-66 to 35.5 MT in 1978-79, to 80.7 MT in 2009-10, and further to 109.24 MT in 2020-21 crop year.
- The spectacular increase in production of wheat was mainly due to massive rise in its per hectare yield which went up from 8.3 Q/ha in 1965-66 to 15.7 Q/ha in 1978-79, to 28.3 Q/ha in 2009-10 and further to above 35 Q/ha in 2020-21. (i.e. Productivity in wheat increased more than 4 times)
- Area under wheat also grew notably during the green and post-green revolution periods. However, per hectare yield of wheat grew faster than its area, implying that productivity growth in wheat has contributed more to the wheat production than the increase in area under it.
Area, production and yield of rice (paddy) also increased significantly during the green and post-green revolution periods.
- The production went up from 30.6 MT in 1965-66 to 53.8 MT in 1978-79, to 89.1 MT in 2009-10 and to 120.32 MT in 2020-21 crop year.
- The per hectare yield of rice increased from 8.6 Q/ha in 1965-66 to 10.7 Q/ha in 1978-79, to 21.3 Q/ha in 2009-10 and further to above 25 Q/ha in 2020-21.
Punjab, where it was first introduced is also known as the 'Granary of India', produces 20 per cent and nine per cent of India's wheat and rice respectively. At the international level, this represents three per cent of the global production of these crops.
The per hectare yield of rice grew at a rate much slower than that of wheat. This implies that the GR technology had penetrated more in wheat crop than in the rice crop.
- Further, the area under rice achieved a relatively slow growth when compared to the area under wheat.
Percentage of total food grains area under irrigation also increased from 20.9 in 1965-66 to 28.8 in 1978-79. These productivity increases also enabled India to become an exporter of food grains around that time.
Apart from Rice and Wheat, the GR technology also led to increase the production and productivity of the cash crops, including sugarcane, jowar, potatoes, milk, poultry, fishing and horticultural crops.
The green revolution also enabled the government to procure sufficient amount of food grains to build a stock which could be used in times of food shortage.

Wheat production (MT)

2020-21109.24
2009-1080.7
1978-7935.5
1965-6610.4

Rice production (MT)

2020-21120.32
2009-1089.1
1978-7953.8
1965-6630.6

Wheat yield (Q/ha)

2020-2135
2009-1028.3
1978-7915.7
1965-668.3

Rice yield (Q/ha)

2020-2125
2009-1021.3
1978-7910.7
1965-668.6

But at a cost

Thus, the programme proved quite effective in raising the food grains production, but, mostly in the selected regions. Further, these gains were not without any cost.

Part 3 · The environmental problems

The Environmental Price of the Green Revolution

Exhausted soils, lost biodiversity, falling and poisoned groundwater, polluted rivers, pesticide-linked disease and smoke from burning stubble.

Decline in soil fertility, erosion of soil, soil toxicity

GR technology has caused deterioration in soil fertility. As per the Working Group Report on 'Natural Resource Management' (Government of India, 2007), the estimated loss to the economy on account of soil degradation during 1980s and 1990s ranged from 11 to 26 percent of GDP.
Absence of reliable advice and soil testing facilities contributes to the indiscriminate and harmful use of chemicals.
- Use of Farm Yard Manure and Green Manure has declined due to various reasons like decline in draught animals, change in the cropping pattern from legume crops to rice, wheat, sugarcane and other commercial crops, etc.
It is also argued that green revolution technology could not promote crop-diversification but rather encouraged the crop-concentration.
- Pulses, millets and oil-seeds were neglected. These crops were important for recharge of nutrients in the soil.
The productivity stagnation during the recent decades is also generally attributed to the degradation of soil and water resources induced by the agricultural practices particularly in the rice–wheat and wheat-sugarcane production systems of the north Indian states.
- Thus, the intensive use of fertilizers, pesticides, and weedicides have not only caused degradation of natural resources but also resulted in stagnant productivity.

Punjab groundwater extraction (% of recharge)

2018165%
2013149%

Foodgrain area irrigated

1978-7928.8%
1965-6620.9%

Policy mistakes, and the way to an evergreen revolution

Further, in long run, due to soil degradation even the productivity and production was also affected. It was not only because of the side-effects of the technology but also due to the mistakes of decision makers. There were little or no efforts to educate farmers about the high risk associated with the intensive use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers. Water and electric subsidies only incentivized farmers to exploit ground water resource. Fertiliser subsidy incentivized indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers. Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the Public Distribution System (PDS) have ensured lopsided cropping pattern.

Going forward, the agriculture landscape has to undergo tremendous transformation and shift from the philosophy of 'green revolution led' productivity to 'green methods' led sustainability in agriculture in order to achieve a safe and food secure future. The concept of Organic farming, zero-budget natural farming movement, spread of Green Revolution in other areas, and cropping based on the physiography of the region etc may take us towards the path of evergreen Revolution (sustainable agriculture).

Government has already taken some important steps in this direction e.g. Soil health card, PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana, introduction of nutrient based subsidy, land restoration measures etc.

Part 4 · Major soil zones and their crops

India's Major Soil Zones and What Grows on Them

On the basis of genesis, colour, composition and location, the soils of India have been classified into various zones (the source's soil map is an image).

Alluvial soils are widespread in the northern plains and the river valleys. Covers 42% of Indian soil.
They are depositional soils, transported and deposited by rivers and streams. Through a narrow corridor in Rajasthan, they extend into the plains of Gujarat. In the Peninsular region, they are found in deltas of the east coast and in the river valleys.
The alluvial soils vary in nature from sandy loam to clay.
In the Upper and Middle Ganga plain, two different types of alluvial soils have developed, viz. Khadar and Bhangar.
- Khadar is the new alluvium and is deposited by floods annually, which enriches the soil by depositing fine silts.
- Bhangar represents a system of older alluvium, deposited away from the flood plains.
- Both the Khadar and Bhangar soils contain calcareous concretions (Kankars).
Example: In Bihar, the fields along the Kosi and Gandak that flood every year are khadar; the higher, older terraces away from the rivers are bhangar.
These soils are more loamy and clayey in the lower and middle Ganga plain and the Brahmaputra valley. The sand content decreases from the west to east.
The colour of the alluvial soils varies from the light grey to ash grey.
From East to west: Fertility + Rainfall decrease.
Most fertile: rich in organic material, micro-nutrients, well-drained; lacks Phosphorus.
Major crops grown are rice, wheat, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, jute, maize, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits.

Soils at a glance

Soil	Where	Rich in / lacks	Typical crops
Alluvial	Northern plains, river valleys, east-coast deltas	Organic matter, micro-nutrients / phosphorus	Rice, wheat, sugarcane, jute, maize, oilseeds
Black (regur)	Deccan Plateau	Lime, iron, magnesia, potash / N, P, organic matter	Cotton, jowar, wheat, linseed, tobacco
Red & yellow	Eastern and southern Deccan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh	Iron / N, P, humus	Pulses, millets, cotton, oilseeds, potato
Laterite	High-rainfall, high-temperature areas	Iron oxide, potash / organic matter, N, P, Ca	Cashew, tapioca, tea, coffee, rubber
Arid	Western Rajasthan	Phosphate (normal) / moisture, humus, N	Millets, barley, pulses (with irrigation: wheat, cotton)
Saline (usara)	Western Gujarat, deltas, Sundarbans	Sodium, potassium, magnesium / N, Ca	Salt-tolerant crops; reclaim with gypsum
Peaty	North Bihar, coastal WB, Odisha, TN	Organic matter up to 40–50%	Potato, onion, carrot, vegetables
Forest	Hill and mountain forests	Varies: fertile in valleys, acidic up high	Depends on the mountain environment

Summary table compiled from the points above.

“Shift from 'green revolution led' productivity to 'green methods' led sustainability in agriculture.”

— BPSC Mains answer, 2009

Curated for BPSC, UPSC & State PCS Civil Services Aspirants | Indian Economy & Geography Master Module

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