GREEN REVOLUTION IN INDIA
Table of Contents
Green revolution in India
Between 1950 and 1965, the production of food grains increased but there remained a shortage of grains in the country.
To meet this shortage, grains were imported from abroad.
This was a matter of great concern.
Meanwhile, both 1965 and 1966 were drought years.
At this time, the production of grains (food grains and pulses) was very low due to which a situation of famine was created and the government needed to import more grains than before to supply the grains.
The biggest problem facing the government was to increase the production of grains.
For this, an agricultural plan was made with the help of agricultural scientists, which was named Green Revolution.
Major components of Green Revolution:-
Under this programme, the following work was planned-
1. Use of high yielding improved seeds.
2. Arrangement of motor pump, electricity, diesel for irrigation.
3. Providing chemical fertilizers.
4. Use of machines in agricultural work.
5. Use of pesticides.
6. Market and storage arrangements for agricultural products.
7. Arrangement of capital from society and bank.
Improved seeds require well-irrigated land.
The specialty of these seeds was that they ripened in less time, the crop was of small stature and the yield of grains was high.
Native seeds are less attacked by insects, but these improved crops are easily attacked by harmful insects.
Therefore, medicines that kill insects are also needed.
Cooperative institutions have been established in our state to supply improved seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc. at reasonable prices.
Since these medicines are not produced in large quantities in India, they had to be imported from abroad.
Gradually we started farming with the help of machines.
Where did the Green Revolution spread?
In India, Green Revolution was implemented in some districts of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu under the name of ‘Intensive District Agriculture Programme‘.
Improved seeds require a lot of water and only those districts where irrigation was already available were selected for this programme.
New varieties of wheat were grown in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, while rice was grown in Tamil Nadu.
After a few years, new agricultural techniques spread to other parts of the country.
Green Revolution in Chhattisgarh started in 1966 through District Intensive Agriculture Programme.
Raipur district was selected for this.
Under this scheme, a research center was established in the Agricultural College where improved seeds of new species were prepared.
The government made arrangements for grants for improved varieties of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides.
For irrigation, priority was given to tube well mining and irrigation projects.
for this purpose
Kodar Dam and Pt. Ravi Shankar Reservoir of the state were constructed. Agricultural loans were made available on easy installments by establishing cooperative institutions.
This increased the resources of the farmers so that they did not have to go to landlords and moneylenders.
Effect of Green Revolution:-
1. Increase in yield
The spread of improved seeds in large parts of the country and in new crops has led to significant increases in crop yields.
We became self-reliant in terms of food grains.
Due to increase in production, there is no need to import grains from other countries.
The government has a huge stock of grains and it can be used in case of shortage.
In 1967, the government had a total grain stock of 19 lakh tonnes.
2. Support price and storage of grains
To ensure fair price to the farmers for their crops, the government decided to fix the minimum support price.
Minimum support price is the price at which the government buys the produce of farmers.
The government decides the support price in such a way that the farmer can get the cost of the produce and also get some profit.
Due to support price, farmers are not forced to sell grains to traders at lower prices.
The Government of India has formed the Food Corporation of India to purchase and store grains from farmers.
It stores grains and gives grains to ration shops and other government schemes (e.g. mid-day meals in schools, fair price shops).
3. Effect of increase in agricultural production on farmers’ income –
As the production of grains increased, farmers started getting better prices for grains due to the minimum support price set by the government and their income started increasing.
Many big farmers started buying machines like tractors for farming work.
For this he also took loans from various banks. With the use of water, electricity, fertilizers, seeds and pesticides, farmers now started growing more than one crop.
Farmers now moved away from cultivating traditional grains and started producing commercial crops as well. Among these, the cultivation of sugarcane, cotton, groundnut, vegetables, fruits, flowers, mushrooms and medicines started increasing continuously.
Small farmers benefited less than big farmers.
The cost of water, electricity, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides was more than their earnings.
Therefore, it became common for small farmers to be indebted.
To survive, small farmers had to work as laborers in the fields of others.
Nowadays, in most of the villages of India, the problem faced by the families of small farmers and agricultural laborers is that they do not get work for the whole year.
4. Impact on environment :-
Green Revolution led to many imbalances in the environment.
The Green Revolution was first implemented in Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Many farmers in these states started practicing advanced cultivation of paddy and wheat, which required a lot of irrigation.
Their adverse effects were also seen on health, climate and aquatic animals.
(a) Water problem:-
The main source of irrigation is tube wells in which ground water is used.
As the number of tube wells has increased over the years, the ground water level has dropped rapidly.
The groundwater level can remain the same as long as the amount of groundwater used is equal to its recharge.
Recharge of groundwater is a natural process that occurs every year through rain, canals, drains and rivers.
You have studied this topic in detail in class 7th.
Water from these sources slowly seeps through various layers of soil and collects as groundwater.
The problem arises when the use of ground water through tube wells etc. starts exceeding the recharge.
In other words, more water is used than is stored as groundwater.
Due to this the ground water level goes down in that area.
Going down in the ground water level means that water problems will arise in that area in future.
On one hand there has been excessive exploitation of water in areas like Punjab and on the other hand there is lack of irrigation in states like Chhattisgarh.
Here the chances of getting two crops can be increased.
Looking at the experience of Punjab, it will be important to take care that we make such plans for Chhattisgarh which protect the environment.
In the plateau and hilly areas of Chhattisgarh, water can be conserved by using wells, tube wells, lift irrigation (lifting water from river drains to the fields) and small ponds.
(b) Decrease in soil fertility:-
Due to excessive quantity of chemical fertilizers in the soil,
the micro-organisms of the soil get destroyed and destroy those nutrients which are essential for the fertility of the soil.
Due to scientific shortsightedness and unbalanced use of fertilizers,
the overall fertility of the soil decreases.
Due to reduced natural fertility, more organic fertilizers have to be given to the soil, so that the crop yield remains the same.
In this way, along with the cost of irrigation, the cost of fertilizer in farming increases, due to which the expenses of the farmers increase and the soil also gets spoiled.
( Green revolution in India )
an essay on environment pollution :-
A visit to a historical place :-
