Indian Agricultural: Growth, Generation, Policy & Problem Indian Agricultural | Page 27

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by the Indian government to be the first site to try the new crops because of its reliable water supply
and a history of agricultural success. India began its own Green Revolution program of plant
breeding, irrigation development, and financing of agrochemicals.
India soon adopted IR8 – a semi-dwarf rice variety developed by the International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI) that could produce more grains of rice per plant when grown with certain fertilizers and
irrigation. In 1968, Indian agronomist S.K. De Datta published his findings that IR8 rice yielded about
5 tons per hectare with no fertilizer, and almost 10 tons per hectare under optimal conditions. This
was 10 times the yield of traditional rice. IR8 was a success throughout Asia, and dubbed the "Miracle
Rice". IR8 was also developed into Semi-dwarf IR36.
In the 1960s, rice yields in India were about two tons per hectare; by the mid-1990s, they had risen to
six tons per hectare. In the 1970s, rice cost about $550 a ton; in 2001, it cost under $200 a ton. India
became one of the world's most successful rice producers, and is now a major rice exporter, shipping
nearly 4.5 million tons in 2006.
Agricultural production and food security
Technologies
The Green Revolution spread technologies that already existed, but had not been widely implemented
outside industrialized nations. 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 conditions, which included modern irrigation projects, pesticides, and synthetic
nitrogen fertilizer. The breeding technologies aimed at improving crop varieties developed through the
conventional, science-based methods available at the time. These technologies included hybrids,
combining modern genetics with selections.
High-Yielding Varieties
Ramesh Kumar P