Green Revolution

The Green Revolution refers to a series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives, occurring between the 1940s and the late 1970s, that increased agricultural production worldwide, particularly in the developing world.

Pronunciation

/ɡriːn ˌrɛvəˈluːʃən/

Etymology

The term "Green Revolution" was first used in 1968 by former USAID director William Gaud, who noted the spread of the new technologies and said, "These and other developments in the field of agriculture contain the makings of a new revolution. It is not a violent Red Revolution like that of the Soviets, nor is it a White Revolution like that of the Shah of Iran. I call it the Green Revolution."

Related Terms

Definition

The Green Revolution refers to a set of research and the development of technology transfer initiatives occurring between 1943 and 1977, which increased agricultural production worldwide, particularly in the developing world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s. The initiatives resulted in the adoption of new technologies, including High-Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of cereals, especially dwarf wheats and rices, in association with chemical fertilizers and agro-chemicals, and with controlled water-supply (usually involving Irrigation) and new methods of cultivation, including mechanization. Both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation were heavily involved.

Impact

The Green Revolution spread technologies that already existed, but had not been widely implemented outside industrialized nations. These technologies included modern irrigation projects, pesticides, synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, and improved crop varieties developed through the conventional, science-based methods available at the time. The novel technological development of the Green Revolution was the production of novel wheat cultivars. Agronomists bred cultivars of maize, wheat, and rice that are generally referred to as HYVs or "high-yielding varieties". HYVs have an increased nitrogen-absorbing potential compared to other varieties. Since cereals that absorbed extra nitrogen would typically lodge, or fall over before harvest, semi-dwarfing genes were bred into their genomes. A Japanese dwarf wheat cultivar (Norin 10 wheat), which was sent to Norman Borlaug by Cecil Salmon, was instrumental in developing Green Revolution wheat cultivars.

External links

Medical encyclopedia article on Green Revolution
Wikipedia's article - Green Revolution

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Green Revolution