Reported By: Harshika Yadav
Last Updated: September 28, 2023, 19:58 IST
Late Indian agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan. (File pic: News18)
The Indian authorities started the Green Revolution in 1965 with the assistance of Swaminathan. Data obtainable until 2022 reveals a major enhance to the nation’s meals grain manufacturing on account of the programme
The Father of the Green Revolution in India, famend agricultural scientist Monkomb Sambasivan (MS) Swaminathan, handed away on Thursday on the age of 98. He was a key determine within the sequence of agricultural reforms that enabled the nation to realize meals safety, saving it from hunger and lowering overseas assist dependence for meals provide.
The Indian authorities started the Green Revolution in 1965 with the assistance of Swaminathan. His initiatives included selling modern farming strategies and introducing Mexican semi-dwarf wheat seedlings to Indian agriculture. In 1966, the arrival of high-yield wheat from Mexico marked India’s entry into the Green Revolution.
Here are the figures on how meals grain manufacturing revolutionised in India after 1966:
India produced 315.71 million tonnes of meals grains in 2022 in comparison with 74.23 million tonnes in 1966, a 4.2% improve, in response to the Ministry of Agriculture’s report. The report exhibits from 10.40 million tonnes in 1966 to 106.84 million tonnes in 2022, the manufacturing of wheat grew by 10.3%. From 30.59 million tonnes in 1966 to 130.29 million tonnes in 2022, rice manufacturing elevated by 4.3%. From 4.82 million tonnes in 1966 to 33.62 million tonnes in 2022, the manufacturing of maize went up by 7.0%. From 9.94 million tonnes in 1966 to 27.69 million tonnes in 2022, the manufacturing of pulses grew by 2.8%. From 6.40 million tonnes in 1966 to 37.70 million tonnes in 2022, oilseed cultivation rose by 5.9%.
So what impressed him to revolutionise the Indian meals manufacturing system?
The Bengal famine (1942-43) served as a turning level in Swaminathan’s life. After seeing the devastating results of rice shortages and the tens of millions of lives misplaced, Swaminathan determined to dedicate the remainder of his life to agricultural analysis and addressing the present disaster of meals safety.
As per the e book printed by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, he mentioned, “In 1942-43, there was the Bengal famine. Many of us, who were students at that time asked ourselves, what can we do for independent India? So I decided, because of the Bengal famine, to study agriculture.”
He added, “In 1947, when India became independent, we were producing about 6 million tonnes of wheat a year. By 1962, wheat production went to about 10 million tonnes a year. But between 1964 and 1968, annual production of wheat increased from about 10 million tonnes to about 17 million tonnes… It was a quantum jump in production, and that is why, it was called a revolutionary step.”
The nation’s agricultural growth was hampered by a long time of colonial rule and World War II. To enhance the crop manufacturing sector, the nation wanted the required sources post-independence. In India’s low-income farming communities, Swaminathan’s inexperienced revolution initiatives paved the trail for more practical farming practices that elevated manufacturing. In addition to discovering methods to extend yields, his examine centered on enhancing the illness resistance and local weather and soil compatibility of a number of grain varieties.
Source: www.news18.com
