The Green Revolution

The Green Revolution

The Green Revolution of the 1960s was many years’ worth of research with agriculture, development of a better understanding of planting crops, as well as technological advancements. The goal of the Green Revolution was to help less-developed countries like India and Mexico become self-sustaining by helping create a stable food source. Apart from helping provide a food source, the Green Revolution also provided education to many citizens of the country.

Farmers in these countries like India and Mexico were told to plant new-world crops like wheat, rice, and cotton, which yielded more than plating beans and vegetables. Technological advancements and better education led to the use of tractors in place of bulls to plow land. Chemical fertilizers also replaced the use of manure. This was all in hopes of eliminating hunger in India and Mexico. 

During World War II, India was in an extreme danger of low food supply while under British control (Marsh, 2014). When World War II ended, the population of India greatly increased. This was a huge problem because with the unstable food supply and increasing population, there was simply not enough food. Many children and new-born babies had to suffer from malnutrition.

As a response to this issue, the United States reached out towards India and offered to send money (National Public Radio, 2009). With this help from the U.S., India was able to increase its food production. This was thanks to higher education level as well as more advanced technological discoveries. For example, many farmers used to live in poorly crafted mud-houses, but with more education and better funding and materials, many farmers replaced their old homes with houses made of bricks and cement.

National Public Radio. (2009, April 13). Zwerdling, Daniel.  India's Farming 'Revolution' Heading For Collapse. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102893816