The so-called Green Revolution was heralded with exotic seeds that were supposed to give higher yields with high doses of chemical fertilizers and also requiring high doses of chemical pesticides. This ignored the big harm to environment and health and what is more, neglected and deliberately ignored the possibilities of several traditional seeds and crop varieties that were able to give equal or even higher yields without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The fact that the green revolution involved the uprooting and gradual vanishing from farms of the vast diversity of traditional seeds and crop-varieties to which many generations of farmers had contributed and which presented the collective achievement of the work and wisdom of farmers of several generations was widely ignored while singing highly undeserved praises of the so-called green revolution.
While evidence has been pouring in from many parts of India that excessive chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides and weedicides have been very harmful for sustainable and low-cost development of agriculture as well as for health and environment, those with narrow business and career interests have managed to spread their lie that the green revolution seeds ( often called HYVs, although these are better referred to at their best as HRS or high response varieties) tailored to the needs of excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides were necessary to produce adequate food and to increase farm productivity.
The reason why narrow interests have spread this lie is that they want the high-cost, high big business input technology which brings profits and subsidies to big business interests to continue. However if our real aim is to help farmers and to protect environment, then we have to expose these lies so that our policy can always be in favor of eco-friendly, low-cost, self-reliant , affordable technology which will help farmers to reduce their costs while also protecting environment.
The green revolution started spreading significantly around 1967. The available data shows that the increase in farm productivity in the period before this was greater than in the period after this.
An overview of the situation of farm productivity before and after green revolution is provided in the official 12th Five Year Plan document of India in two important tables (See Tables 1 and 2). Here we can see clearly that despite the much higher use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides etc. in the green revolution phase, the growth of farm yield on the whole during this period was in fact lower.
Table 1
Average Annual Growth Rates in Yields per Hectare
Crop Pre-Green Revolution Green Revolution
1951-52 to 1967-68 1968-69 to 1980-81
Rice 3.2 2.7
Wheat 3.7 3.3
Jowar 3.4 2.9
Bajra 2.6 6.3
Maize 4.8 1.7
Coarse Cereals 2.6 1.5
Pulses 2.3 -0.2
Oilseeds 1.3 0.8
Cotton 3.0 2.6
Sugarcane 1.6 3.1
Table 2
Growth of Value of Output (2004-05 Prices)
(Period averages of annual growth rates)
Crop Pre-Green Revolution Green Revolution
1951-52 to 1967-68 1968-69 to 1980-81
Cereals 4.2 3.4
Pulses 3.0 0.7
Oilseeds 3.2 1.8
Sugars 3.3 4.1
Fibres 4.4 2.5
Non-Horticulture crops 3.2 2.7
Horticulture 2.6 4.2
(Source : 12th Plan Document)
In fact it was very evident even in the early stage of the green revolution that what was taking place was very harmful for India’s agriculture.
By the mid-sixties the Central Rice Research Institute ( CRRI) had emerged as clearly the most important centre of rice research in India, and one of the most important such centers in the world. It was around this period that research relating to a very important technology-clonal propagation of rice-was reaching a very important stage under the able guidance of the CRRI director Dr. R. H. Richharia. The technology being tried held the exciting potential of significantly increasing rice yield based on rich diversity of indigenous rice varieties, eco-friendly and low-cost methods of cultivation and rapidly spreading the improved varieties over a very wide area.
Nearly two decades later the CRRI director Dr. Richharia recollected the goings – on around him at a seminar on the ‘crisis of modern science’ held in Malaysia in November 1986. He stated that “the possibility of exploitation of hybrid vigor by the application of clonal propagation in rice in later generations was demonstrated at CRRI and the results were published in a British Journal ‘Nature’ in 1962 entitled “Clonal propagation as a practical means of exploiting hybrid vigor in rice”. The technique was also explained by Dr. Richharia at a seminar held at an international research Institute in 1963. “We were systematically proceeding with the work at eleven different centers in India with success. We had just reached the stage to revolutionize rice production, but all the centers were closed down…” Instead HYV program with dwarfing genes was launched suppressing the CRRI work.
Dr. Richharia stated at this conference that at the later part of his stay in CRRI, he passed his time in great distress because he opposed the interference imposed by an international research institute authorities who were promoting green revolution rice in a big way. This international research institute imposed on CRRI their program and took away its initiative and supremacy which Dr. Richharia resisted to protect the wider interest. The international program dealt exclusively with the rice culture with dwarfing genes and sought to replace the indigenous rice varieties by HYV series and under the pretext of exchange program to collect the entire rice germplasm directly and indirectly through trainees, visitors, etc, bringing their rice cultures personally to India without quarantine certificates. In the words of Dr. Richharia, “My devoted band of young scientists soon alerted me and I realized that our program and findings on rice production technology which had reached a stage to introduce revolution in upgrading India’s rice productivity were being suppressed, useful projects being withdrawn and being superseded” , instead giving preference to the international program. “I, as head of CRRI had no other option but to oppose this interference openly in the interest of my country on the food front.”
So it is clear from this testimony of the senior most scientist of the most important food crop that much better alternatives compared to the green revolution technology were available and had reached an advanced stage to increase productivity in a sustainable way, but these were not allowed to progress and were even sabotaged.
All this proved very harmful for India’s agriculture, and the results became evident all too soon. The massive damage become so worrying that a special task force on rice breeding was constituted of eminent experts in 1979 to examine this issue. These experts met at the CRRI in February. Dr. Richharia was called back from his retirement to head this task force as his advice was considered invaluable. This task report stated clearly and firmly, “Most of the HYVs are derivatives of T(N) 1 or I.R. 8 and, therefore, have the dwarfing gene of dee-geo-woo-gen. This narrow genetic base has created alarming uniformity, causing vulnerability to diseases and pests. Most of the released varieties are not suitable for typical uplands and low lands which together constitute about 75 per cent of the total rice area of the country. To meet these situations, we need to reorient our research programs and strategies.”
“Referring to this problem of narrow genetic base at another place again the task force says, “A cursory look at the pedigree of the different rice varieties released in India reveals that a very narrow germplasm base is involved.”
Thus even though the earlier warnings of Dr. Richharia were now confirmed by the actual experience of about 13 years and supported by the country’s eminent rice-breeders represented in this task-force, these warnings were still ignored to a large extent and the official rice programme/policy centered on exotic dwarf HYVs with a narrow genetic base continued as before.
In fact the history of the green revolution is full of such instances to draw attention away from the high potential of eco-friendly, low- cost and self- reliant agriculture based on indigenous varieties. One big continuity is that those policies and technologies which are in tune with promoting big business interests generally get most prioritized. A very important adverse aspect has been that farmers have been losing control over the invaluable heritage of diversity of seeds nurtured and protected by their ancestors while multinational companies with their local collaborators gain control over them and then they use the kind of new technologies which can enable them to obtain patents based essentially on this common heritage of humankind, to further increase their profits as well as control over world food and farming.
A time has come now to expose false myths about the green revolution to clear the path for agro-ecology and eco-friendly agriculture based on protection and spread of indigenous crop varieties as well as self-reliant, sustainable and low-cost successful farming by small and medium-level farmers.
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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food, Man over Machine, A Day in 2071 and Saving Earth for Children.
