Page 143 - DECO502_INDIAN_ECONOMIC_POLICY_ENGLISH

Unit 12: Green Revolution

Green revolution did not cover coarse cereals like maize, jowar, barley, ragi, and minor-millets. Notes
The green revolution did not cover pulses. The output of pulses fluctuated violently from year
to year till it declined to an all time low of 8 million tonnes in 1979-80. From 13 million tonnes
in 1960-61. Even now the production of pulses fluctuates between 13 and 15 million tonnes per
year.
The green revolution was thus confined only to High Yielding Varieties (HYV) cereals, mainly
rice, wheat, maize and jowar.
While rice output increased at a relatively slower rate, the singular crop which showed a
continuously rising trend was wheat. This was true of potatoes. The very fact that the cash
crops in general and pulses in particular have not so far been brought within the ambit of new
technology forces the conclusion that quite a substantial part of the agricultural output has not
even been touched by the green revolution.
(ii) Increase in the production of commercial crops : The green revolution was mainly directed to
increase the production of foodgrains. It did not affect initially the production of commercial
crops or cash crops such as sugarcane, cotton, jute, oilseeds and potatoes; these crops did not
record any significant improvement initially. However, significant improvement in the output
of sugarcane took place after 1973-74. Likewise, there was considerable improvement in the
production of other cash crops such as oilseeds, potatoes etc. (Table 3).
Table 3 : Production of Cash Crops in India

1960-61 1990-91 1999-2000 2007-2008 2008-2009

Oilseeds (m. tonnes) 7 19 21 29 28
Sugarcane 110 254 299 341 285
(m. tonnes) Cotton 6 10 12 26 22.3
(m. bales) Jute 4 8 11 11 10.4
(m. bales) Potatoes 3 15 25 28.5 29
(m. tonnes)

Source : Economic Survey, 2009-10.

(iii) Significant changes in crop pattern : As a result of the green revolution, the crop pattern in
India has undergone two significant changes. Firstly, the output of cereals has risen at the rate
of 3 to 4 per cent per annum but the output of pulses has remained stagnant or even declined.
This has resulted in a decline in the importance of pulses in foodgrain output from 16 per cent
in 1960-61 to 6 per cent in 2008-09. Cereals, on the other hand, have risen in importance from 84
per cent to 94 per cent during the same period. The stagnant production of pulses and the consequent
rise in prices of pulses has a disastrous effect on the health of the poor who have generally
given up the use of pulses - a major source of protein.
Secondly, among cereals, the proportion of rice in total cereal output has come down from 48
per cent to 44 percent between 1950-51 and 2009-2010. During the same period, however, the
importance of wheat has more than doubled, i.e., from 15 per cent to 40 per cent (Table 4). The
share of coarse grains has gone down from 37 per cent to 16 per cent of total cereals. The rising
output of wheat indicates a substitution of coarse grains with wheat, on the side of production
as well as consumption. This trend had begun even before the green revolution ushered in, but
it has now strengthened.

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