Green Revolution

Introduction of Green Revolution
The green revolution or third agricultural revolution is a set of research and technology transfer initiatives occurring between 1950 and the late 1960s , that increased agricultural production
worldwide particularly in the developing world. The initiatives resulted in the adoptation of new technologies including high yielding varieties of cereals, especially dwarf wheat and rices, in association with chemical fertilizer and agro-chemicals, controlled irritation and mechanization. All of these together were seen as package of practices to supersed traditional technology and adopted as a whole.
History of Green Revolution
The beginning of the Green Revolution are often attributed to Norman Borlaug, an american scientists interest in Agriculture. In the 1940s, he began conducting research in Mexico and developed new disease resistance high yield varieties of wheat. By combining Borlaug's wheat varieties with new mechanized agricultural technologies. Mexico was able to produce more wheat than was needed by its own citizen, leading to its becoming an exporter of wheat by the 1960s. Prior to the use of these varieties, the country was importing almost half of its wheat supply.
Due to success of the Green Revolution in Mexico, it's technologies spread worlwide in the 1950s and 1960s. The united states for instance, imported about half of its wheat in the 1940s but after using Green Revolution technologies, it became self-sufficient in the 1950s and became an exporter by the 1960s.
The term "Green Revolution" was first used in a speech on 8 March 1968 by the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), William S. Gaud, who noted the spread of the new technologies: "These and other developments in the field of agriculture contain the makings of a new revolution. It is not a violent Red Revolution like that of the Soviets, nor is it a White Revolution like that of the Shah of Iran. I call it the Green Revolution."
Countries all over the world in turn benefited from the Green Revolution work conducted by Borlaug and this research institutions . India for example was on the brink of mass famine in the early 1960s because of its rapidly growing population. Borlaug and the Ford Foundation then implemented research there and they developed a new variety of rice, IR8 that produced more gain per plant when grown with irrigation and fertilizer. Today , India is one of the world's leading rice producers and IR8 rice usuage spread throughout Asia in the decades following the rices development in India.
Plant technologies of the Green Revolution
The crops developed during the Green Revolution were high yield varieties- meaning they were domesticated plants bred specifically to respond to fertilizer and produce an increased amount of grain per acre planted. The two kinds of technologies were used in the Green Revolution and aim at cultivation and breeding area respectively. The technologies in cultivation are targeted at providing excellent growing condition which include modern irrigation project's, pesticides and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. Breeding technology aimed at improving crop varieties developed through the conventional, science-based methods available at the time.
Impact of Green Revolution
Since fertilizer are largely what made the Green Revolution possible, they forever changed
agricultural practices because the high yield varieties developed during this time cannot grow successfully without the help of fertilizer.
Irrigation also played a large role in the Green Revolution and this forever changed the areas where various crops can be grown. For instance before the Green Revolution, agriculture was severely limited to areas with a significant amount of rainfall, but by using irrigation, water can be stored and sent to drier areas, putting more land into agricultural production - thus increasing nationwide crop yields.
In addition, the development of high yield varieties meant that only a few species of stay, rice started being growth. In India for example there were about 30,000 rice varieties prior to the Green Revolution, today there are around ten - all the most productive types. By having this increased crop homogeneity though the types were more prone to disease and pests because there were not enough varieties to fight them off. In order to protect these few varieties then, pesticides use grew as well.
Finally, the use of Green Revolution technologies exponentially increased the amount of food production worldwide. Places like India and China that once feared famine have not experienced it since implementing the use of IR8 rice and other food varieties.
Criticisms of the Green Revolution
Along with the benefits gained from the Green Revolution, there have been several criticisms. The first is that the increased of food production has led to overpopulation world-wide.
The second major criticisms is that places like Africa have not significantly benefited from the Green Revolution. The major problems surrounding the use of these technologies here through are a lack of infrastructure, governmental corruption and insecurity in nations.

Despite these criticisms though , the Green Revolution has forever changed the way agriculture is conducted worldwide, benefiting the people of many nations in need of increased food production.