Analysis of the Green Revolution In India

THE GREEN REVOLUTION

In the last few years, under the British rule, India has been an agricultural dependent economy, yet the state of Indian agricultural sector has been dismal. From the lack of investment, a dearth of technology, low yield per acre and many such problems- the industry has been plagued, as has the competition between food crops and cash crops.

Production has been inclined towards cash crops to sustain British economic interests in India. Due to a higher production of cash crops and the problem of limited resources, the opportunity cost of producing cash crops has been a decline in the production of food crops, and this has been nothing less than calamity for the Indian people as majority of the population of India is dependant on the food crops as both a means of survival and income. The current trade off between the two is shown by the production possibilities curve below.

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However, as India has now has now gained independence, to combat this situation and revive this seemingly dismembered economy, the government along with Indian geneticist M.S. Swaminathan (the father of Green Revolution), have launched The Green Revolution, focusing mainly on the manufacture of the HYV seeds (High Yielding Variety Seeds) which are of better quality, have a greater output and prove to be a more viable option in order to obtain a healthy and surplus crop.

Increased availability and use of fertilizers to enhance the productivity of the farms, use of pesticides and weedicides to reduce any loss or damage to the crops, improved inland irrigation systems and the introduction of technology and machinery like tractors, harvesters, drills, has led to significant technological advancements in the agriculture sector. The emphasis of this initiative is on food crops, so as to restore sustainable means of livelihood and income for the the greater part of the indian population. Due to the high yield and productivity of the farms as a result of new practices introduced under The Green Revolution, there appears to be a shift out of the Production Possibility Curve, with respect to food crops, which is indicative of potential growth in the economy. The graph below shows this pivot in the PPC:

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As economists, it would righteous to say that The Green Revolution is indeed a revolution as far as the agriculture sector is concerned. The technological advancements are symbolic of economic growth in the nation and an applause worthy step to rebuild India into a self sufficient and self sustainable economy after years of imprisonment and adversity, under the British Rule.