Green Revolution

Green Revolution

Green Revolution, initiated during the third 5-year plan was meant to increase the production of rice and wheat and attain self-sufficiency in food grain production. However, the program was initially implemented only in the few select pockets ie Haryana, Punjab, and western Uttar Pradesh. Most of the eastern regions were overlooked despite the availability of fertile soil and sufficient water. The major regions behind the neglect of eastern regions were:

• Most of the landholding in the eastern regions were either marginal or small landholdings. The green revolution promoted large scale farm machinery which required large estates.

• Besides the newer technology, HYV seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers were too expensive to adopt for small and marginal farmers.

• Most of the eastern region was dominated by the cultivation of rice. While rice responded late to the Green revolution, the western region excelled in the production of wheat, maize, and millets.
• Also Bihar, Odisha, and Bengal were the poorest states of India with a large number of people living below the poverty line. This discouraged the policymakers to focus on these regions as the Green revolution required investments from the farmers.

However, it would not be correct to say that the Green revolution totally surpassed the eastern region. The green revolution was implemented in phases and it eventually reached eastern India bringing changes in the method of farming and substantially increased production.

The second phase of the green revolution was implemented in the 1970s and it focussed on southern and western states. While the third phase implemented in the 80s focusing on the relatively poor states of Bihar, Odisha, Bengal, and Assam.

It can be said that the differential implementation between regions. Nevertheless, the government has renewed its focus on the eastern regions and the second Green Revolution or the Green Revolution 2.0 is meant specifically for the eastern region.