Structure

• Introduction – what is green revolution or briefly about first green revolution
• Body – various reasons why green revolution is ie. food security, agriculture distress etc
• Conclusion – 2-3 lines about govt policies already implementing or way ahead

Content

Green revolution- The term "Green Revolution" is a general one that is applied to successful agricultural experiments in many Third World countries. It is NOT specific to India. But it was most successful in India

What was the Green Revolution in India?

There were three basic elements in the method of the Green Revolution:

• Continued expansion of farming areas;
• Double-cropping existing farmland;
• Using seeds with improved

Continued expansion of farming areas

• The area of land under cultivation was being increased, but this was not enough in meeting with rising demand. So, the Green Revolution continued with this quantitative expansion of farmlands.

Double-cropping existing farmland

• Double-cropping was a primary feature of the Green Revolution. The one-season-per- year practice was based on the fact that there is only natural monsoon per This was correct. The artificial monsoon came in the form of huge irrigation facilities. Dams were built to arrest large volumes of natural monsoon water which were earlier being wasted. Simple irrigation techniques were also adopted.

Using seeds with superior genetics

• This was the scientific aspect of the Green The Indian Council for Agricultural Research developed new strains of high yield value (HYV) seeds, mainly wheat and rice but also millet and corn. The most noteworthy HYV seed was the K68 variety for wheat.

India’s Second Green Revolution

• 400 million tons of food grain production as opposed to about 214 million tons in 2006- 07 is the target of “Second Green Revolution. It is unlikely to happen to-morrow or next year, but it possibly may happen by
• To achieve the forgoing amount of production a growth rate of 5 to 6% in agricultural sector has to be maintained over next 15
• Current growth rate in this sector is stagnant or at best 2%. This has depleted the country’s food stock and forced the government to negotiate import of 5 million tons of
• With practically no more land to farm and some depletion of the agricultural land, this miracle is not easy to achieve. Science and technology has to play its big role. High productive seeds, private sector involvement and expenditure on long stalled irrigation schemes are key to achieving higher
• Population growth in India is at the rate of 8 to 2.2% a year. With rising population and slow rate of agricultural growth, situation is likely to get alarming if not worst next in 5 to 8 years. Food self-sufficiency of nineties will be a forgotten achievement.

Need for 2^nd GR

• To raise agricultural productivity to promote food security
• To promote sustainable agriculture
• To become self-sufficiency in staple food, pulses, oil seeds and industrial raw material
• To increase the per capita income of the farmers
• Generate rural employment
• To tackle sluggish long-term agricultural growth in India
• One in every two Indians relies on agriculture for livelihood, yet India still has the second highest number of undernourished people in the
• To prevent agrarian distress land farmer

Emphasis should be laid on non food grains, global market opportunities, rural infra and tech to conserve water and energy

What needs to be done

The agricultural landscape has changed drastically since the first one, that a second Green Revolution is going to need an entirely new approach, and an entirely new set of technologies. Climate change is tightening its grip and threatening food supply, not just in India but worldwide. It has never been more important to protect the scarce natural resources that are essential to agriculture.

• A new approach, termed “precision agriculture”, will be key. We now have a wealth of data at our disposal, which, if harnessed appropriately, can help farmers make the most efficient use of vital inputs such as water and fertiliser by applying them in precise A new mobile phone application called MITRA©, for example, is being developed in Tamil Nadu, that will give site-specific recommendations to farmers on the correct fertiliser dose, based on data from the local department of agriculture. It is able to operate offline for farmers in remote areas who do not have internet access. This prevents the farmer from wasting important inputs, and also reduces agriculture’s impact on the environment.
• The correct type of fertiliser is, in fact, as important as the correct quantity, which should be an important consideration in any plan for a second Green Revolution in India. The right kind of nutrients for a specific soil area needs to be applied, at the right rate, at the right time and in the right place for optimal soil health. This is called the 4Rs or nutrient
• Testing of samples of soil from agricultural fields is vital for achieving nutrient India has a vast network of 661 soil testing laboratories including 120 mobile vans operating in 608 districts that can carry out 7.2 million tests annually. Farmers will soon be able to access these reports online. Besides soil-testing, gadgets such as leaf colour charts and optical sensors are becoming popular with farmers to guide the application of urea.
• Agri extension - Mobile-based applications for farmers will form an important part of the data-driven precision agriculture approach. But it is important to ensure this meets the needs of the farmer. These applications need to be interactive; a wider range of issues needs to be tackled in addition to input use, such as how to deal with pests, and new climate-resistant crop This signals an important area where governments and NGOs can intervene and offer this kind of detailed advice on an ongoing basis. It will also be key to ensure that applications are affordable and accessible.
• Another major challenge is the evidence that groundwater stocks are rapidly depleting. Groundwater sustains around 60 per cent of agriculture in India, while 80 per cent of the people living in rural areas use groundwater for their domestic Laser levelling is a technology that can grade an agricultural field to a flat surface by using a laser-guided scraper. Laser levelling has been shown to improve crop yields, reduce labour time spent weeding, and, in particular, reduce water use for irrigation by up to 20-25 per cent.
• Cooperation and active participation from both central and State governments
• Genetically modified (GM) seeds to double the per acreage production e. technology,
• Private sector to develop and market the usage of GM foods i.e. efficient marketing of the ideas,
• Linking of rivers as much as economically possible to bring surplus water of one area to others e. linking of the rivers.
• Not only that, a significant contribution is to be made by the farmers themselves. They have to get out of the ancient mode of being peasant farmers on small land holdings. They have to become businessmen, who trade in agricultural products. Farm economics have to be revisited and economic size of the farm re-established. Continued dependency on government bailout during any crisis has to be minimized. Lesser the government involved, more likely is that controls and state trading in grains will be eliminated. It requires farmers to become responsible businessmen.

Following programmes have already taken steps towards 2^nd GR

• National horticulture mission
• Rashtriya krishi vikas yojana
• National food security mission
• Mission for integrated development of horticulture
• Pradhan mantra krishi sinchayee yojana
• Neeranchal- watershed development
• Soil health card scheme

Although the challenges to bringing a second Green Revolution to India are immense, it is not impossible. India has led the charge before, and yielded phenomenal results. But we must recognise that success will be just as much about using resources efficiently, as about increasing yield. If we consider these two equally, we will succeed.