Choose the statements that describe the first phase of Green Revolution:
A. It was introduced in the dry and semi-arid regions of India.
B. It led to displacement of service caste groups.
C. Well to do farmers were able to benefit from Green Revolution.
D. It led to displacement of tenant-cultivators.
Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → B, C and D only
A. It was introduced in the dry and semi-arid regions of India. Incorrect. In the first phase, Green Revolution programmes were introduced only in areas that had assured irrigation, mainly the wheat and rice-growing areas. Farmers of the dry and semi-arid regions took up Green Revolution practices only in the second phase, which began in the 1980s.
B. It led to displacement of service caste groups. Correct. The introduction of machinery such as tillers, tractors, threshers and harvesters displaced the service caste groups who used to carry out these agriculture-related activities, and this also increased rural-urban migration.
C. Well to do farmers were able to benefit from Green Revolution. Correct. The inputs were expensive, so it was the well-to-do farmers who had access to land, capital, technology and know-how who could invest in the new seeds and fertilisers and earn more. In the first phase the new technology seemed to be increasing inequalities.
D. It led to displacement of tenant-cultivators. Correct. Cultivation was becoming more profitable, so landowners began to take back land from their tenants and cultivate it directly. This made the rich farmers better off and worsened the condition of the landless and marginal holders.
NCERT (2025-26): “4.3 The Green Revolution and its Social Consequences … It was largely funded by international agencies that was based on providing high-yielding variety(HYV) or hybrid seeds along with pesticides, fertilisers, and other inputs, to farmers. Green Revolution programmes were introduced only in areas that had assured irrigation, because sufficient water was necessary for the new seeds and methods of cultivation. It was also targeted mainly at the wheat and rice-growing areas. As a result, only certain regions such as the Punjab, western U.P., coastal Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Tamil Nadu, received the first wave of the Green Revolution package.…” “…Thus, in the first phase of the Green Revolution, in the 1960s and 1970s, the introduction of new technology seemed to be increasing inequalities in rural society. Green Revolution crops were highly profitable, mainly because they yielded more produce. Well-to-do farmers who had access to land, capital, technology, and know-how, and those who could invest in the new seeds and fertilisers, could increase their production and earn more money. However, in many cases it led to the displacement of tenant-cultivators. For landowners began to take back land from their tenants and cultivate it directly because cultivation was becoming more profitable. This made the rich farmers better off, and worsened the condition of the landless and marginal holders.” “In addition, the introduction of machinery such as tillers, tractors, threshers, and harvesters (in areas such as Punjab and parts of Madhya Pradesh) led to the displacement of the service caste groups who used to carry out these agriculture-related activities. This process of displacement also increased the pace of rural-urban migration.” “…The second phase of the Green Revolution which began in 1980s, farmers living in the dry and semi-arid regions of India began following Green Revolution cultivation practices. In these areas there has been a significant shift from dry to wet (irrigated) cultivation, along with changes in the cropping pattern and type of crops grown.…” |