Impact of Green Revolution on Food Production in India

Although green revolution happened in other developing countries also in those days, but India was most successful among them. The record output of food grains of 131 million in 1978-79 established India as one of the largest agricultural producers of the world. No other country in the world which attempted the Green Revolution recorded such level of success. India also became an exporter of food grains around that time.

Not only in production, but also in productivity green revolution was a success. The yield per unit of farm land improved by more than 30 percent between 1947 and 1979. During first 10 years of Green Revolution, crop area under HYV seeds grew from 7% to 22%.

Impact on Cereal Production

The key achievement of the green revolution was boost in production of two major cereals viz. Wheat and rice. But it was also a major drawback. The revolution was mainly confined to High Yielding Varieties (HYV) cereals, mainly rice, wheat, maize and jowar. It did not cover other coarse cereals, millets and neither had it covered pulses.

Impact on Commercial Crops

Initially, green revolution was directed to increase the production of the food grains. It had no substantial impact on production of commercial crops such as sugarcane, cotton, jute, oil seeds, and potatoes until 1973-74. However, after that year, significant improve in output was seen in sugarcane, oilseeds and potatoes.