Indian Agricultural: Growth, Generation, Policy & Problem Indian Agricultural | Page 33

Pg.no. 32
Increased use of irrigation played a major role in the green revolution.
Biodiversity
The spread of Green Revolution agriculture affected both agricultural biodiversity and wild
biodiversity. There is little disagreement that the Green Revolution acted to reduce agricultural
biodiversity, as it relied on just a few high-yield varieties of each crop.
This has led to concerns about the susceptibility of a food supply to pathogens that cannot be
controlled by agrochemicals, as well as the permanent loss of many valuable genetic traits bred into
traditional varieties over thousands of years. To address these concerns, massive seed banks such
as Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research’s (CGIAR) International Plant Genetic
Resources Institute have been established (see Svalbard Global Seed Vault).
There are varying opinions about the effect of the Green Revolution on wild biodiversity. One
hypothesis speculates that by increasing production per unit of land area, agriculture will not need to
expand into new, uncultivated areas to feed a growing human population. However, land degradation
and soil nutrients depletion have forced farmers to clear up formerly forested areas in order to keep
up with production. A counter-hypothesis speculates that biodiversity was sacrificed because
traditional systems of agriculture that were displaced sometimes incorporated practices to preserve
wild biodiversity, and because the Green Revolution expanded agricultural development into new
areas where it was once unprofitable or too arid. For example, the development of wheat varieties
tolerant to acid soil conditions with high aluminium content, permitted the introduction of agriculture in
sensitive Brazilian ecosystems such as Cerrado semi-humid tropical savanna and Amazon rainforest
in the geo-economics microregions of Centro-Sul and Amazônia. Before the Green Revolution, other
Brazilian ecosystems were also significantly damaged by human activity, such as the once 1st or 2nd
main contributor to Brazilian megadiversity Atlantic Rainforest (above 85% of deforestation in the
1980s, about 95% after the 2010s) and the important xeric shrublands called Caatinga mainly in
North-eastern Brazil (about 40% in the 1980s, about 50% after the 2010s — deforestation of the
Caatinga biome is generally associated with greater risks of desertification). This also caused many
animal species to suffer due to their damaged habitats.
Ramesh Kumar P