At independence about 75 percent of the population was dependent on agriculture. The introduction of Green Revolution helped in the production of food grains with high yielding variety of seeds specially for wheat and rice. The use of seeds required the use of fertilisers and pesticides with regular supply of water. As a result, in the first phase of green revolution, the use of HYV seeds was restricted to states like Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu. The use of HYV seeds primarily benefited the wheat growing regions only. The spread of Green Revolution technology enabled India to achieve self sufficiency in food grains. As a result price of food grains declined. The green revolution benefited the small farmers as well as the rich farmers but since the small farmers were not able to obtain the required inputs, so they were always at risk.
Which is not an achievement of Green Revolution ?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Promotion of rich farmers
The Green Revolution raised the output of food grains, and the country gained from that output in several ways.
Option (1) Marketed surplus — Achievement. Marketed surplus is the part of farm output that farmers sell in the market. Farmers sold a good part of the extra rice and wheat.
Option (2) Self sufficiency — Achievement. India no longer had to depend on other countries for its food grains.
Option (3) Promotion of rich farmers — Not an achievement. Gains going only to rich farmers was a risk of the new technology. The passage says it benefited the small farmers as well as the rich farmers.
Option (4) Buffer stock — Achievement. The extra output let the government build a stock of food grains for use in times of food shortage.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Green Revolution: … The spread of green revolution technology enabled India to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains; India no longer had to be at the mercy of America, or any other nation, for meeting its food requirements.… …The portion of agricultural produce which is sold in the market by the farmers is called marketed surplus. A good proportion of the rice and wheat produced during the green revolution period (available as marketed surplus) was sold by the farmers in the market.… The green revolution enabled the government to procure sufficient amount of food grains to build a stock which could be used in times of food shortage. While the nation had immensely benefited from the green revolution, the technology involved was not free from risks. One such risk was the possibility that it would increase the disparities between small and big farmers—since only the big farmers could afford the required inputs, thereby reaping most of the benefits of the green revolution. Moreover, the HYV crops were also more prone to attack by pests and the small farmers who adopted this technology could lose everything in a pest attack. Fortunately, these fears did not come true because of the steps taken by the government. The government provided loans at a low interest rate to small farmers and subsidised fertilisers so that small farmers could also have access to the needed inputs. Since the small farmers could obtain the required inputs, the output on small farms equalled the output on large farms in the course of time. As a result, the green revolution benefited the small as well as rich farmers.…” |