Green Revolution essay

GEO111
Green Revolution
Done by: CA Calcutt

s215156919
/2015

CONTENTS PAGE
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2
WHAT IS THE GREEN REVOLUTION?……………………………………………………………………….….....……3
WHY WAS THE GREEN REVOLUTION SO POPULAR?.................................................................3
METHODS OF IMPLEMENTING THE GREEN REVOLUTION…………………………………………………….4
IMPROVEMENTS & ADVANCES BROUGHT BY THE GREEN REVOLUTION………………….…………..5

IMPACTS OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION ON THE ENVIRONMENT ……….……………………….………..6

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…..7

LIST OF REFERENCES……………………………………………………………..……………………………………………..8

INTRODUCTION

The problem of food and its availability has been around for countless centuries across the world. As the population of civilisations continued to grow so did the strain on food production. As the years went by, the productive land became exhausted, and farmers were forced to find poorer fertile land which produced less yield. As a result of this, a food crisis emerged. It was not until the 20th century, when there was an agricultural breakthrough to develop higher yielding crops. This led to the Green Revolution. This assignment will define the Green Revolution and provide a short history of how it progressed through the years. It will also distinguish the two main types of practises used by the Green Revolution.
It will discuss why Green Revolution was so popular and make close references to specific countries which implemented it. The assignment will also discuss the methods put in place to ensure that the Green Revolution was successful.
The last section of the assignment will pay close attention to what improvements the Green Revolution brought and what impacts can be linked to the introduction of the Green Revolution.
WHAT IS THE GREEN REVOLUTION?
The Green revolution refers to the transformation of agricultural methods that produce crops with a higher yield. The Green Revolution was led by agricultural researcher, Norman Borlaug, in the 1940’s. Due to the success of higher yielding crops, the Green Revolution spread across the world (Briney). The output of more agricultural techniques grew rapidly during the 1970’s and 1980’s. The Green Revolution focused primarily on two practices; first, the introduction of new seeds that would produce higher yielding crops and secondly, the expansion of fertiliser usage.

WHY WAS THE INTRODUCTION OF GREEN REVOLUTION SO POPULAR?
As the Green Revolution continued to prove to be a more effective method of farming, its technologies and practises were adopted by many countries worldwide. During the 1940’s many countries across the world battled with providing enough food for its growing population.
In the early 1940’s the United States needed to import half of its wheat from other countries, but after the introduction of the Green Revolution, it became a self-sufficient nation in the 1950’s and one decade later, in the 1960’s, began exporting to other countries (Briney).
India also faced many problems in producing enough food from its cultivated land to satisfy the needs of the population. In 1951, India’s population was sitting at roughly 36 million people, and while its population continued to grow, the area of cultivated land remained the same, making a food shortage inevitable. After a political partitioning, India lost most of its cultivatable land to Pakistan and had no choice but to import food grains, resulting in the introduction of the Green Revolution in 1967-68. (Sanjeeta, 2012). India is currently one of the world’s leading rice producers throughout Asia (Briney).

Advancement of the Green Revolution in developing countries was much slower than that in developed countries. Countries that were not yet independent suffered at the hands of colonial powers that made little investment in food production systems. By the time these countries gained their independence they were experiencing great food shortages. In the mid 1960’s the U.S President’s Science Advisory Committee concluded that a long term initiative must be taken to rectify the food shortages. In response, an international research system on agriculture was established to help developing countries adapt to the scientific advances of the Green Revolution (Hazell, 2003).
In 2001, Malawi suffered from a severe “drought-induced famine” which left 40% of its population to rely on food aid. In 2005, the country launched the “Agricultural Input Subsidy Program” which gave vouchers to farmers to buy fertilisers and seeds. The program which incorporated Green Revolution methods led Malawi to great success. Within two years of the program, Malawi had become a maize net exporter (Perkins, 2009).
METHODS OF IMPLEMENTING THE GREEN REVOLUTION
There were many difficulties that certain countries had to overcome in order for the Green Revolution to be successful. Many governments and farmers introduced different methods in order to implement the Green Revolution. They adopted the following methods:
1. Scientists developed new crop varieties that were shorter with stiffer stalk in order to support the heavier heads of grain (Hazell, 2003).
2. Scientists also develop crops that weren’t vulnerable to pests and could withstand diseases.
3. Farmers were trained in the use of the chemical fertilisers that they imported. This was an important method to focus on because in most traditional and conservative farming methods, the uses of chemical fertilisers were unknown. Countries encouraged the Green Revolution by putting up propaganda and publicity to encourage and educate farmers.
4. Advanced technology, machinery and farming methods were introduced which included multiple crop patterns.
5. Countries focused on irrigation and buying new land, as many farms were small and less than a hectare (Sanjeeta, 2012).
IMPROVEMENTS & ADVANCES BROUGHT BY THE GREEN REVOLUTION
The introduction of the Green Revolution brought about a change in the methods of agricultural practises, through this development in agriculture, much advancement was made. I will list a few of the main advancements below:
1. The Green Revolution led to a higher yield, which in turn meant that farmers received more income. A higher income meant that farmers could spend more money on fertilisers and machinery.
2. Farm families receiving a higher income, could now spend more money on goods and services which strengthened the general economy and increased employment.
3. The green revolution also improved nutrition standards, as people were now earning a higher income so they could spend more money on food, along with that, food prices decreased which meant people could have a more diversified diet.
4. Modern plant breeding led to the development of better inorganic fertilisers and effective pesticides.

IMPACTS OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Such as with many scientific breakthroughs, they come with a combination of positive and negative impacts on society, the economy and the environment. The following points will mention the negative impacts of the Green Revolution on the environment.
1. The inappropriate and unnecessary use of fertilisers and pesticides has poisoned waterways.
2. The heavy use of inorganic fertilisers resulted in soils which lacked micronutrients, which is known to cause plant illnesses (Baker, 2007)
3. The chemicals used in fertilisers and pesticides have killed wildlife and insects that have beneficial roles in the environment.
4. Irrigation systems have polluted the soil by salt build up and have also lowered groundwater levels.
5. Heavy focus on selected major cereal varieties has led to a loss in biodiversity on farms.
Despite the list of negative impacts of the Green Revolution, it had a very positive impact on the environment.
1. Due to the higher yields, the agricultural sector no longer needed to expand into new land. This saved huge areas of forest and other environmentally fragile lands.

CONCLUSION
The Green Revolution has definitely shed some light on how to feed a population that is constantly growing. The use of fertilisers, pesticides and irrigation allowed farmers to farm successfully on land that would have originally been too weak to produce a subsistent amount of crops. The Green Revolution’s methods and technology has been adopted by many countries, most specifically; the developing and Third World Countries.
The methods put in place by the Green Revolution ensured that the land used, is farmed correctly. New crop varieties also ensured that the crops would be less vulnerable to sickness and disease which could lead to crop failure.
The Green Revolution brought about great advancement. The new crop varieties produced a higher yield which had a butterfly effect on farmers and on the economy. The abundance of produce lowered the price of food and allowed the general population to have a more diverse diet.
Although the Green Revolution is criticized for having some negative environmental impacts, it does also have a big positive impact on the environment.

LIST OF REFERECES
ARTICLES
Hazell, P.B.R. 2003. “Green Revolution – Curse or Blessing?” The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History, Online version available: http://www.ifpri.otg/sites/default/files/pubs/pubs/in/ib11.pdf. Date accessed: 28 February 2015.
WEBSITES
Baker, K. 2007.”Impacts of the Green Revolution in India (id21).” Desertification (online). Available: https://desertification.wordpress.com/2007/07/09/impacts-of-the-green-revolution-in-india-id21/. Date accessed: 28 February 2015.
Briney, A. “Green Revolution - History and Overview of the Green Revolution.” ABOUT.COM (online). Available: http://geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/greenrevolution.htm/. Date accessed: 28 February 2015.
Perkins, A. 2009. “Malawi’s green revolution.” The Guardian (online). Available: http://www.thegaurdian.com/katine/2009/jul/10/malawi-farming-subsidies-ptogramme/. Date accessed: 3 March 2015.
Sanjeeta, M. 2011. ” 595 words article on Green Revolution.” Preserve Articles (online). Available: http://www.preservearticles.com/201104105200/595-words-article-on-green-revolution.html/. Date accessed: 28 February 2015.

References: 1. Scientists developed new crop varieties that were shorter with stiffer stalk in order to support the heavier heads of grain (Hazell, 2003). 5. Countries focused on irrigation and buying new land, as many farms were small and less than a hectare (Sanjeeta, 2012). IMPROVEMENTS & ADVANCES BROUGHT BY THE GREEN REVOLUTION Sanjeeta, M. 2011. ” 595 words article on Green Revolution.” Preserve Articles (online). Available: http://www.preservearticles.com/201104105200/595-words-article-on-green-revolution.html/. Date accessed: 28 February 2015.