10.1.4

Green Revolution

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The Green Revolution

The Green Revolution was a new type of agriculture to improve yields that started in the 1960s.

How it started

How it started

  • The Green Revolution started after a food shortage in India and the surrounding countries, where overpopulation was becoming a problem.
  • Heavy/High Yield Variety (HYV) seeds started being used.
  • Crops such as wheat, rice, sorghum, millet and maize were made resistant to drought, more susceptible to fertiliser and made to have a shorter growing season (so there would be more crops per year).
Benefits

Benefits

  • Yields per hectare at least doubled and, in some cases, yields quadrupled.
  • Farmers could buy more things for their farm (e.g. seeds, machinery) with their increased incomes.
  • Diets improved as more than one type of crop could be grown.
  • There was an increase in employment in places that supplied farm tools and fertilisers.
  • More money was available to invest in irrigation.
  • Routes to market were improved because they built better roads.
Problems

Problems

  • HYVs need more nutrition (e.g. fertilisers) to grow, which can be expensive.
  • Because lots of farmers had surplus (leftover) produce, the prices had to be lowered.
  • Environmental issues can result from the use of herbicides or weed control, which HYVs need.
  • HYVs have been said to be tasteless compared with natural crops.
  • The poorest farmers haven’t actually benefited that much, whereas the middle-income farmers have.
Jump to other topics
1

Paper 1 - Changing River Environnments

2

Paper 1 - Changing Coastal Environments

3

Paper 1 - Changing Ecosystems

4

Paper 1 - Tectonic Hazards

5

Paper 1 - Climate Change

6

Paper 2 - Changing Populations

7

Paper 2 - Changing Towns & Cities

8

Paper 2 - Development

9

Paper 2 - Changing Economies

10

Paper 2 - Resource Provision

Practice questions on Green Revolution

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  1. 1
    What are HYV seeds?Multiple choice
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