After independence special emphasis has been given for increasing production of food crops by enlarging the area under cultivation and modernisation of the production process. However, agricultural productivity is largely determined by rainfall.
In pre-green revolution period, i.e., from 1949 to 65 there was growth of 1.4% growth of area under Food grains production per annum and after 1965 area under Food grains production increased by 0.1 percent.
From 1965-2001 Rice production (area wise) increased by 22 percent while that of wheat increased by 92 percent. The share of wheat production area has increased from 8 percent to 15 percent at the end of 2001 of total area under food grains cultivation.
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Food grains production increased after 1964-65 which is around 2.4 percent per annum and rice production increased by 1.8 percent per anum. As far as non food grains are concerned production of oil seeds increased by 1.2 percent, sugarcane by 1.2 percent and potato by 3.1 percent per anum. Let us now see that trends in Food grains production in last few years (mn tonnes).
The agricultural production is slow and investment is also inadequate. When compared to international structure India’s production is far below even after so called success of Green Revolution. Indian Rice cultivation per hectare in 30 quintal, while that of China it is 63 qunital and for Egypt it is 88 qunital.
For wheat India’s output per hectare is 26 qunital while that of China it is 40 quintal and for U.K. the largest output rate is 80 qunital. An actual yield of groundnut is 9.1 qunital per hectare and that is 1/3rd of world’s largest yield rate. Thus even after Green Revolution India’s acre wise productivity is much lower than international standard. But India has emerged as fourth-largest wheat producing country.
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Green Revolution was launched in mid-sixties to raise the productivity of Indian agriculture. “Green” is symbolic to make significant and revolutionary changes in terms of productivity and sustainable change in the production from long term perspective. The changes are to be brought through technological and input changes. The basic changes were brought under high-yielding variety programme. The new varieties changed many mono cropped areas into two cropped areas or even three cropped areas.
An unprecedented interest has been shown by the farmers of western UP, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab by using Mexican variety of seeds like Lerma Rojo, Kalya, P.V.-18 (Indian research agencies also contributed significantly for the success of Green Revolution).
In the second phase of Green Revolution Rice seeds were used by farmers of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, were of much improved and modern variety. (The improved Rice seeds were T.N.-l, I-R-8 etc.).
The traditional agriculture relied on bio-fertilizers and primitive agricultural tools. Modern techniques under Green Revolution requires deployment of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, high yielding variety of seeds, use of pumped irrigation, tractors, diesel and electric power.
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The use of new technology has further strengthened the mutual interaction between industry and agriculture. The chemical fertiliser, machinery uses have strengthened the linkage processes between industry and agriculture.
Socio-Economic Impact of Green Revolution. It has already been indicated that Green Revolution had increased agricultural production a great deal. Wheat crop stole the show. Rice wheat production ratio was 3 : 1 in 1959-60 came down to 1 : 179 in 1970-71 and has further come down to 1.15 : 1 in 2000- 01. The data on index number of agricultural production shows significant increase in the production of other crops also.
The social impact of green revolution is not always encouraging. No consistent relationship can be established between poverty reduction and growths of food grains production. However, one brighter aspect of Green Revolution was it provided for more scope of and involvement of people.
When Government could procure extra crop for its buffer stock from internal source they could use a part of it for rural works programme. This programme could provide a formidable source of employment. This employment opportunity would really give an extra scope for rural people to organise themselves in a bigger way.
The reality is that after the rural works programmes and the course of actions middle strata can benefit if not lower strata of rural society. The middle strata with their size of holdings were highly benefited. They became viable with a spirit of enterprise. This emerging middle income group of people got more inspiration to launch further economic activities.
They imbibed zeal and a sense of confidence and could be a source of inspiration for others, emerged as a new leader which was dominated by hitherto affluent classes. This new leadership can take necessary steps to usher fresh developmental activities in the rural society for the grass root level, if development process has a democratic bias. The new initiatives are capable of generating new wave of economic development in the rural life.