The Green Revolution was an intensive plan to increase crop yields in developing countries, which was achieved by the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and high-yield crop varieties. Many developing countries participated in this development, however, India was the most successful in doing so. The world’s most devastating recorded famine occurred in 1943 in British-ruled India. Commonly referred to as the Bengal Famine, an estimated four million people died of hunger in eastern India and present day Bangladesh in the year it debuted. Originally, it was believed that the famine was due to a shortage in food production in the area. However, an economist by the name of Amartya Sen established that while food shortage contributed to the disaster,…show more content… The scientific aspect of the Green Revolution produced high yield value (HYV) seeds, which allowed crops to grow at a faster pace, (Green Revolution in India). Pesticides were also used to destroy insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants, therefore protecting the plants and preserving them. This led to a rapid increase in food production, which before the revolution, had been falling behind population growth, (Document 2). This shows that the invention of more productive agricultural techniques was a cause of the Green Revolution because it allowed food and agricultural production to boost, which is a key factor in the Green Revolution.
One effect of the Green Revolution is the record grain output of 131 million tons in 1978-79 in India. According to the Green Revolution in India, “ This established India as one of the world’s biggest agricultural producers. No other country in the world, which attempted the Green Revolution recorded such level of success.” The Green Revolution benefitted not just India, but other countries as a result of such prosperous agricultural productivity and gain that many countries that were affected by famine were able to restore a portion of their starving
