INTD 200 Lecture Notes - Varietal, Soil Retrogression And Degradation, Agricultural Biodiversity
21 views4 pages
16 Dec 2012
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 23: Green Revolution
12/16/12 9:22 AM
Green Revolution
CGIAR: Consultative Group n International Agriculture Research
• International Rice Institution (IRRI)
• CIMMYT
• International Research Centers
• 16 centers now
Grew out of concerns about famine 50s, 60s, and early 70s.
• Malthusian concepts
• Particularly in India
• Focus on increasing food Production
• Cold War Area: feed the population or communism
Scientific research on key food crops – rice, wheat, corn—to increase yields.
• Established through conventional processes of growing
• Dwarf varieties: short varieties, lower to the ground
• Responsive to fertilizers
• Less photo sensitive, can grow in different seasons
• Shorter maturation times
• Breed to be resistant to different kinds of diseases
Transfer of Technology (ToT approach)
Top down development model
• Labs to farmers
• Farmers not really involved in the process
Benefits of Green Revolution
High yields ! huge increase in grain production
• 86%
Decreased prices of staple foods
Food self-sufficiency
• India
• Indonesia
More calories/person, no famine
Increased income for some farmers
• Spin off economic development
Agriculture intensified
• Less expansion into forests
• Swidden is extensive
Costs of Green Revolution