GS Question

The Green Revolution in India refers to a period of advancements in agricultural practices, technology, and infrastructure that led to a significant increase in agricultural production in the country. However, the benefits of this revolution were not evenly distributed across all regions of India, and the eastern region, despite having fertile soil and good availability of water, largely failed to experience the same level of growth.

There are several reasons for this:

1. Lack of irrigation facilities: The eastern region of India, particularly in states like Bihar and Odisha, has historically had a lower level of irrigation infrastructure compared to other regions. This lack of proper irrigation facilities limited the potential for increased agricultural production as the Green Revolution primarily relied on the use of irrigation techniques to enhance crop yields.

2. Lack of high-yielding varieties of seeds: One of the key elements of the Green Revolution was the introduction and widespread adoption of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds, which produced higher crop yields. However, the development and distribution of these HYVs were primarily focused on regions with better infrastructure and resources such as Punjab and Haryana in the northern part of India. Thus, the eastern region missed out on the benefits of these high-yielding seeds.

3. Fragmented land holdings: The eastern region of India has a higher proportion of small and fragmented land holdings compared to regions like Punjab and Haryana, where larger land holdings are more common. The infrastructure and investments required for the Green Revolution were more viable on larger farms, making it difficult for farmers in the eastern region to adopt these new agricultural technologies due to the smaller scale of their operations.

4. Inadequate access to credit and market linkages: The success of the Green Revolution depended on farmers' ability to access credit, inputs, and markets effectively. The eastern region has historically faced challenges in terms of limited availability of institutional credit and inadequate market integration. These barriers restricted farmers' ability to invest in modern agricultural practices and limited their access to remunerative markets, thus hindering their participation in the Green Revolution.

Overall, the combination of insufficient irrigation facilities, limited access to high-yielding seed varieties, fragmented land holdings, and inadequate credit and market linkages contributed to the relatively slow progress of the Green Revolution in the eastern region of India, despite its favorable natural resources.