Emergence fo a 2nd Green Revolution in India- Part 1.

The two decades of 1970-1990 saw a robust, miraculous and a much needed change in the Agricultural sector of India. It was the period of GREEN REVOLUTION. Dynamically transforming the agro-production, cultivation’s productivity and food grains availability, the first Green Revolution was an outcome of Hybrid wheat varieties, Electricity infrastructure for farms and the revolutionary Land Reforms.
With the Economic reforms coming in 1991 popularly called the L.P.G. Reforms, our Industrial and Service sector in India started gaining momentum. The so-called dominance of Agro-Industry was now being overtaken by Manufacturing and later by Manufacturing and Service sectors both. With this, in the last decade our agro-sector has seen highest growth rate of only 2%. Population expansion has occurred dramatically from just 30 crores in 1950s to more than 1 billion today. With population expansion, the demand for food also increases resulting in heavy utilization of natural resources. As A.P.J. Abdul Kalam points out, “India’s population wastes food and other natural resources at a rate higher than it takes Mother Nature to replenish these wastes into resources. Thus burden occurs on the limited available cultivable land. Very clearly speaking, there is now no more cultivable fertile land available in our nation.
Thus comes the urgent need to give birth to a 2nd Green Revolution in India. Following factors will be adversely affecting our Food Security:
1. Global Climate change: will especially affect certain temperature-sensitive crops.
2. Drought is the crucial most factor that may affect in coming years.
3. Water availability is another factor that will affect due to changing global temperature.
4. Soil Erosion is an important factor as it depletes our “already-scarce” cultivable land resources.

Emergence of a 2nd Green Revolution in India- Part 2.

India needs to expand its Food crop production by atleast between 50%-100% by 2050(as compared to current levels) to meet the food demands of such a vast population. Very frankly speaking India does not have any further cultivable land left. More advanced and rapid measures are required. Expanding our cultivable land’s productivity is essential. As Abdul Kalam suggests, “targeting rural drylands is a better option.” States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, etc. have good amount of dryland which can be cultivated to increase food production.
Technology has always been a boon in such crisis. Imbibing Imaging tools and Bio-chemical studies technology is required, add to it Computer technology that can help to analyze plants at cellular levels and determine its needs. This will help us to understand our Bio-diversity better and allocate resources accordingly. Cross-disciplinary approach is needed for a 2nd Green Revolution. Integration of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Crop sciences (such as genetics, pathology, etc.) alongwith social sciences especially Economics will revolutionize Food cop production and management in India.
India’s economy is evolving in a giant, it being the 4th Largest Economy in the world in terms of GDP is a proof for its evolution as a giant. In such a transformational growth, it becomes crucially essential for India to deal with food demands of future as it can dampen all our future hopes of growth, can’t it? Today, our Government is taking all the necessary steps as mentioned above. The problem lies not in production but in Distribution of food grains. Efficiency in PDS is a way of achieving success here. Recent proposal by Manmohan Singh’s government of introducing a scheme for Government officers whereby they would be fined from their salaries for inefficiency and delays is a step towards success. Let us hope our Knowledge society brings more and more alternatives for addressing this problem.