Mon30thOct

Green Revolution: 

Green Revolution Craig Jeffrey Monday 30th October 2006

Aims of this lecture: 

Aims of this lecture 1. To introduce US policies of food aid and the shift towards promoting technological change in the global south 2. To consider why a ‘Green Revolution’ occurred in India AND… 3. To get feedback about the course

Structure of Lecture: 

Structure of Lecture 1. US Food Policy I: Food aid 2. US Food Policy II: Green Revolution 3. Green Revolution in India

US Food Aid: 

US Food Aid After WW2 the US launched a huge programme of food aid to poorer countries Stated aim was to improve relations with other countries Unstated goal of the US was to find outlets for the agricultural surplus produced by US farmers and enhance US geopolitical interests

Public Law 480: 

Public Law 480 Food aid arrangements formalised in a programme known as PL480 Offered commercial sales on concessionary terms. Famine relief to poorer countries Food bartered for strategic raw materials

Food dependency?: 

Food dependency? Often cheaper for governments in the global south to import food rather than develop their own infrastructure Food aid led to changes in diets: wheat products rather than indigenous crops. This led to a decline in demand for traditional crops Links to Frank’s ‘dependency theory’

Green Revolution I: 

Green Revolution I Second major arm of US food policy was the promotion of new agricultural technologies developed in the US see Potter et. al. 455-457 ‘Green Revolution’ technologies developed by Norman Borlaug at Stanford University in 1950s + International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines in the 1960s Norman Borlaug won Nobel Peace Prize

Green Revolution II: 

Green Revolution II Scientists focused upon producing High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of seeds that allowed intensified cropping patterns. These seeds - mainly of wheat, maize and rice - often required a heavy input of fertiliser and assured supplies of irrigation. Green Revolution to stop red revolution

Borlaug’s Nobel Lecture: 

Borlaug’s Nobel Lecture “Never before in the history of agriculture has a transplantation of high-yielding varieties coupled with an entirely new technology and strategy been achieved on such a massive scale, in so short a period of time, and with such great success.”

India 1947-1964: 

India 1947-1964 1947-1964 Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru concentrated on developing industry – Lewis model 1964 Nehru died 1965 US pressure on India to buy seed and chemical fertilisers from large US firms

Green Revolution in India: 

Green Revolution in India 1965: drive to increase production through introducing HYVs of wheat and rice and encouraging use of chemical inputs This production drive linked to a move to purchase large amounts of food through Food Corporation of India

How was the Green Revolution in India interpreted?: 

How was the Green Revolution in India interpreted? Initial euphoria: in fertile areas of India and Pakistan astonishing growth in rice and wheat production from late 1960s But darker picture began to emerge: what of poorer areas of South Asia and smaller farmers? Sharma: idea of Green Revolution like a watermelon, “Green on the outside and red in the middle”

Conclusions: 

Conclusions US Food policy in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s organised around food aid and, increasingly, the promotion of new agricultural technologies in the global south India moved from relying on food aid to trying to become ‘self reliant’ in agriculture through engaging in a Green Revolution Initial euphoria – “miracle seeds”