50 Years Of Green Revolution: An Anthology Of Research Papers

by M S Swaminathan

Overview

The green revolution in India about 50 years ago transformed India's image then as begging bowl to bread basket. This transformation during the 1960s took just about 4 years. The yield increases achieved in wheat and then in rice which occurred in just about half decade is far in excess of the yield increases during the preceding 4000 years. This remarkable feat was achieved with the leadership of the author using the dwarf wheat types which had been produced by Norman Borlaug in Mexico.The research and development of green revolution of wheat and rice at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi was led by the author along with his team of students and co-workers. He has published over 100 papers on green revolution and the ever-green revolution which is a refinement of the former. This book is a compilation of just about 40 of his numerous research papers, monographs and books published by him on this subject.The papers in this book bring out the scientific basis of the modification of the plant type so as to be responsive to exogenous addition of chemical fertilizers and irrigation. The ideal plant type enables capture of adequate sunlight and using the chemical fertilizers added to the soil, produce substantial photosynthetic starch. And because the plants have short and thick culm, they are able to withstand enormous amounts of grains in their ears. This indeed was the basis of breaking the yield barriers associated with native varieties. The book also brings out that green revolution had established the food security at the national level but not at the individual household levels of millions of resource-poor rural small and marginal farming, fishing and landless families. Further green revolution was commodity-centric and the manner of its practice led to environmental degradation and social inequities. This author realized as early as 1972 that system of agriculture in India should be designed to fight both the famines of food and rural livelihoods. In pursuit of it, this author further designed an evergreen revolution with systems approach. What this means is providing concurrent attention to ecological foundations of agriculture and the livelihoods of the rural people.The book also brings out that green revolution was a team effort involving scientists, policy makers, administrators, farmers and students.This book is an outstanding example of green revolution providing a breathing space by putting the cereal grain production rate ahead of the population growth rate and then when food security has been adequately established, the system is changed to achieve productivity in perpetuity without causing environmental and social harm.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789813200067
Publisher:	World Scientific Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/23/2017
Series:	M.s. Swaminathan: The Quest For A World Without Hunger , #1
Pages:	484
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

Table of Contents

Prologue vii

Acknowledgements xi

About the Author xiii

Foreword xv

1 The Impact of Dwarfing Genes on Wheat Production 1

2 Genesis and Growth of the Yield Revolution in Wheat in India: Lessons for Shaping our Agricultural Destiny 9

3 Genetic Destruction of Yield Barriers in Cereals 15

4 New Varieties Destroy Barriers to High Rice Yields 19

5 From 'Natural' to 'Exploitive' Stage 24

6 The Evolution and Significance of Jounti Seed Village 29

7 The Green Revolution 33

8 Extending Green Revolution to More Crops and Areas 37

9 Outlook for Hybrid Rice in India 41

10 Agricultural Evolution, Productive Employment and Rural Prosperity 45

11 Recent Trends in Crop Improvement in India 83

12 Building a National Food Security System 115

13 Green Revolution - A Continuing Task 123

14 Forty Years of Freedom: Progress on the Food and Agricultural Fronts 147

15 Achieving Sustainability and Extending the Green Revolution 157

16 The Green Revolution and Small Farm Agriculture 187

17 Sustainable Agriculture and the Green Revolution 199

18 Towards an Evergreen Revolution 233

19 Towards an Evergreen Revolution in Agriculture: Technology, Planning and Management 241

20 Agricultural Renewal and Prosperity 255

21 Strategies and Models for Agricultural Sustainability in Developing Asian Countries 265

22 Gene Banks for a Warming Planet 281

23 Combating Hunger 283

24 This I Believe: Agricultural Science and Genetics 285

25 Food Production & Availability - Essential Prerequisites for Sustainable Food Security 287

26 A Farming System Model to Leverage Agriculture for Nutritional Outcomes 297

27 Zero Hunger 309

28 2014 International Year of Family Farming: A Boost to Evergreen Revolution 311

29 Achieving the Zero Hunger Target 317

30 Science and a Hunger-free India 323

31 What if Green Revolution was Absent in 1960s? 339

32 Towards Sustainable Agricultural Development 343

33 Evergreen Revolution: Need, Problems and Prospects 357

34 Frozen Seeds and Food Security: Significance of the Svalbard Seed Vault 361

35 Beyond the Green Revolution: Food for All and For Ever 367

36 Fighting Hunger: Know-How to Do-How 385

37 Shaping Our Agricultural Future 393

38 For an Evergreen Revolution 397

39 Grain Mountains and Hungry Millions: The Reality of Agrarian Distress 407

40 Rice in Zero Hunger Challenge 417

41 National Policy for Farmers Ten Years Later 423

42 Zero Hunger is Possible 435

Epilogue 459