37. The Green Revolution

  • Marks the period of time when developed countries diffused their agricultural knowledge/technology ro developING countries (developing countries who often practice subsistence argicultre)

  • Green revolution background

    • U.S. supported movement

    • high-yield seed varities

    • agriculture technologies appearing in less developed countries

    • increased productivity of existing cropland

    • bought larger harvests to subsitence farmers

Characteristics of the Green Revolution

  • Development and Use of High-Yield Seeds

    • first seeds were distirbuted to Mexico

    • took less than a decade for the development of the seeds

    • prompted experiments with cross-breeding

      • mixing different species of plants or animals to create hybrids

      • created new strains of rice

  • Increased use of Fertilizers and Chemical Pesticides

    • high yield seed varities tend to need the help of pesticdes and herbicides MORE than normal seed varities

    • green revolution increased expenses relating to purchasing pesticides

  • Irrigation and Mechanization

    • better management of water resources and more efficient farming practices

    • includes dams, irrigation pumps, and mechnical dikes

    • prompted the practice of double-croppping

      • planting crop #2 in the same plot as #1, as soon as #1’s harvest season in over

      • tractors were nescessary to do suck work with efficiency, but were often abandoned in rice paddies due to poor knowledge regarding how to operate one, and barely any instructions being given

Positive Consequences of the Green Revolution

  • Increased crop productivity

    • remarkable increases in cereal production in mexico, central america, and asia

    • led to multicropping

      • planting two or three crops per year on the same land

  • Decreased world hunger

    • World Bank funds many green revolution projects

    • 80 percent of people living in countries such as India, China, and the Phillipines used to experience hunger, but now they receive adaquete food supplies due to high-yield seed crops

  • More efficeint use of Agricultural land

    • agricultural land cover only 33.3% of the world

      • rather than expanding this percentage, the green revolution allowed the same amount of acreage to be used with more yields in crop production, profits, and agricultural innovation

Negative Consequences of the Green Revolution

  • Expense of Seed, Fertilizer, and Pesticides

    • Gap between rich and poor farmers widened and diffused through hierarchical means

    • many indian farmers could not afford the green revolutions innovations, and flocked to citites

      • increased poor urban infrastructure and housing needs and living conditions

    • impacted social fabric of rural towns due to multiple farmers selling their land and leaving or become a part of the poor community

  • Loss of Subsistence Farming, Plant Diversity, Genetic Variety, and Food Security

    • increased cahnges in land-use patterns

    • crop production for local consumption decreased

    • concerns about decreased crop diversity

    • loss of native crop varities to cash crops

    • increased vulnerability for high-yield crops to pests

  • Varied Geographic Impact

    • limited impact throughout Africa

      • most plants in africa are endemic and cna only sustain themselves there

    • impact focus was on wheat, grain, rice

  • Environmental Costs of Pesticides, Commercial Fertilizers, and Irrigation

    • lead to environmental damage and health problems

    • reduced organic matter in soil and increased groundwater pollution

    • farmers are exposed ot environmental contamination

    • using pesticides will lead to the evolution of super-pests

    • soil salinzation is concentration of dissolved salts in soil

      • high soil salinty = BAD; leads to supports little life, toxic to most plants and animals

    • water scarcity concerns

    • scientists continue to focus efforts on orphan crops to help the situation

      • Crop not typically traded on global markets but that plays an important role in regional food security

      • AOCC helps with this too, African Orphan Crop Consortium