Green revolution. Green Revolution in Agriculture in Developing Countries
State Autonomous Educational Institution of Secondary Professional Education of the Vladimir Region
"Gus-Crystal Technological College"
on the topic of: Green revolution.
3rd year full-time students.
Specialties "Management".
Checked:
Ecology teacher
Prepared by:
Tatarovskaya Natalya
Green revolution.
One of the problems human society At the present stage of development there is a need to increase food production. This is due to the increase in the planet's population and the depletion of its soil resources.
Temporary positive results from increasing grain production were achieved in the third quarter of the 20th century. They were achieved in countries where energy consumption increased significantly, progressive forms of agricultural technology were used, and mineral fertilizers were used. The yields of wheat, rice and corn have increased. New high-yielding plant varieties were developed. The so-called green revolution took place. This revolution did not affect countries that did not have sufficient resources.
Green revolution– this is a transition from extensive farming, when the size of fields was increased, to intensive farming – when productivity was increased, all sorts of new technologies were actively used. This is the transformation of agriculture based on modern agricultural technology. This is the introduction of new varieties of grain crops and new methods leading to increased yields.
This expression began in Mexico in 1943 with an agricultural program of the Mexican government and the Rockefeller Foundation. In the 1950s and from the mid-60s. New high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat began to be cultivated in many Third World countries.
The “Green Revolution” is one of the forms of manifestation of scientific and technological revolution. It includes the following main components:
development of new early ripening varieties of grain crops, which contribute to a sharp increase in yield and open up the possibility of using further crops;
land irrigation, as new varieties can show their best qualities only under the condition of artificial irrigation;
wide application modern technology, fertilizers.
As a result of the Green Revolution, many developing countries began to meet their needs through their own agricultural production. Thanks to the Green Revolution, grain yields have doubled.
However, it should be noted that the “green revolution” became widespread in Mexico, the countries of South and Southeast Asia, but had little impact on many other regions. In addition, it affected only lands that belonged to large owners and foreign companies, changing almost nothing in the traditional consumer sector.
The “Green Revolution” took place both in traditionally used agricultural areas and in newly developed ones. Agrocenoses created by humans for the purpose of obtaining agricultural products have low environmental reliability. Such ecosystems cannot self-heal and self-regulate.
Agrocenoses – biogeocenoses created for the purpose of obtaining agricultural products and regularly maintained by humans (fields, pastures, vegetable gardens, orchards, protective forest plantings, etc.). Without human support, agroecosystems quickly disintegrate, returning to their natural state.
As a result of the "green revolution" there was a great impact on the planet's biosphere. Getting energy inevitably came with pollution. atmospheric air and water. Agrotechnical measures applied when soil treatment, led to the consolidation and degradation of soils. Usage mineral fertilizers and pesticides contributed to the atmospheric influx of nitrogen compounds, heavy metals, and organochlorine compounds in the waters of the World Ocean.
Wide Application organic fertilizers became possible due to an increase in their production volumes.
Facilities for the production and storage of fertilizers and pesticides have made a significant contribution to the pollution of the biosphere.
The Green Revolution arose as a result of the rapid growth of industry and the development of science.
During the Green Revolution, large areas of virgin land were developed. For several years, high yields were collected. But “nothing is given for free” according to one of the provisions of B. Commoner. Today, many of these areas are depleted, endless fields. It will take centuries to restore these ecosystems.
Increased human productivity of ecosystems has led to an increase in the costs of maintaining them in a stable state. But there is a limit to such an increase before it becomes economically unprofitable.
Consequences of the "green revolution".
Intensive farming is not in vain, the land “gets tired” much faster, water sources are depleted;
Agronomic measures used in soil cultivation have led to soil consolidation and degradation;
The fall in prices for agricultural products is a serious test for those who work on the land; a lot of farmers went bankrupt as a result of the “green revolution”.
Erosion of arable land, especially in the arid zone, contamination of fields and products chemicals, flushing of mineral fertilizers and water pollution
Story
The term was introduced former director USAID William Goud in .
Start Green revolution was started in Mexico in 1943 by an agricultural program of the Mexican government and the Rockefeller Foundation. The greatest successes under this program were achieved by Norman Borlaug, who developed many highly effective wheat varieties, including short-stemmed varieties that are resistant to lodging. K - Mexico has fully provided itself with grain and began exporting it; over 15 years, the grain yield in the country has increased 3 times. Borlaug's developments were used in breeding work in Colombia, India, Pakistan, and Borlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Consequences
At the same time, due to the widespread use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, environmental problems have arisen. The intensification of agriculture has disrupted water regime soils, which caused large-scale salinization and desertification. Copper and sulfur preparations, which cause soil contamination with heavy metals, were replaced by aromatic, heterocyclic, chlorine and organophosphorus compounds (karbofos, dichlorvos, DDT, etc.) by the middle of the 20th century. Unlike older drugs, these substances act in lower concentrations, which has reduced the cost of chemical treatment. Many of these substances turned out to be stable and poorly decomposed by biota.
A case in point is DDT. This substance has even been found in animals in Antarctica, thousands of kilometers from the nearest places where this chemical was used.
John Zerzan, a well-known ideologue of anarcho-primitivism and denier of civilization, writes about his assessment of the Green Revolution in the essay "Agriculture: The Demonic Engine of Civilization":
Another post-war phenomenon was the Green Revolution, declared as the salvation of impoverished Third World countries with the help of American capital and technology. But instead of feeding the hungry, the Green Revolution drove millions of victims of the program supporting large corporate farms from the arable lands of Asia. Latin America and Africa. The result was a monstrous technological colonization that made the world dependent on capital-intensive agricultural businesses and destroyed former agricultural communities. There was a need for extensive expenditure of fossil fuels and, in the end, this colonization turned into unprecedented violence against nature.
Notes
Links
- Norman E. Borlaug“Green Revolution”: yesterday, today and tomorrow // Ecology and Life, No. 4, 2000.
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
See what the “Green Revolution” is in other dictionaries: Conventional name for a phenomenon that took place in the 1960s–70s. in a number of developing countries. The “Green Revolution” consisted of intensifying the production of grain crops (wheat, rice) in order to increase their gross yields, which was supposed to solve... ...
Geographical encyclopedia A term that appeared in the 60s. XX century in connection with the process of introducing new high-yielding varieties of grain crops (wheat, rice) that has begun in many countries in order to sharply increase food resources. "Green Revolution" ... ...
encyclopedic Dictionary A set of measures to significantly (revolutionarily) increase the yield of agricultural crops, especially grains (wheat, rice, corn, etc.) in some countries of South Asia (in particular, India, Pakistan, the Philippines), Mexico...
Ecological dictionary"GREEN REVOLUTION" - a term that appeared in con. 1960s in bourgeois econ. and s. X. liter to denote the process of introducing scientific and technical achievements. progress in the village x ve and to characterize the ways, methods and means of sharply increasing productivity p. X. produce, ch...
Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary
Revolution (from Late Latin revolutio turn, overturn, transformation, reversal) is a global qualitative change in the development of nature, society or knowledge, associated with an open break with the previous state. Originally the term revolution... ... Wikipedia
One of the most pressing problems facing humanity is the food problem. Today, several tens of millions of people die from hunger in the world every year, more children than adults. Countries experiencing food shortages are forced to import it, but this has little and short-term effect in the fight against hunger and, in addition, makes these countries dependent on exporters. Grain, thus, turns into an effective instrument of socio-economic and political pressure and becomes, in fact, a “food weapon”, primarily against the poorest countries.
The founder and president of the Club of Rome, Aurelio Peccei, wrote: “Is it really possible that, after weapons and oil, food will also turn into a political weapon and a means of political pressure, and we, because of our own recklessness, are destined, in the end, to witness such a “solution” to the problem as revival of feudal
monopoly right to sort people and entire nations and decide who will receive food and, therefore, will live."(11)
Scientist-breeder, one of the most famous people in the world, Nobel Peace Prize laureate with the wording “For his contribution to solving the food problem, and especially for the implementation of the Green Revolution” (1970), Norman Borlaug said: “ Agriculture -unique look human activity, which can be simultaneously considered as the art, science and craft of controlling the growth of plants and animals for human needs. And the main goal of this activity has always been the growth of production, which has now reached 5 billion tons per year. To feed the growing world population, this figure will have to increase by at least 50% by 2025. But agricultural producers will be able to achieve such a result only if they have access to the most advanced methods of growing the highest-yielding varieties anywhere in the world cultivated plants. To do this, they also need to master all the latest developments in agricultural biotechnology."(14)
The expression “green revolution” was first used in 1968 by the director of the US Agency for International Development, William Goud, trying to characterize the breakthrough achieved in food production on the planet due to the widespread use of new highly productive and low-growing varieties wheat and rice in Asian countries suffering from food shortages.(15)
"Green revolution"
A set of changes in the agriculture of developing countries that took place in the 1940s
1970s and led to a significant increase in world agricultural production.
This complex included the active breeding of more productive plant varieties, the expansion of irrigation, the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and modern technology.
The essence of the “green revolution” was to dramatically increase agricultural productivity by using new highly productive varieties of wheat and rice. To achieve this, it was planned to modernize agricultural production based on modern technologies. "Green revolution" was adopted by many developing countries, but had both positive and Negative consequences. In those states where there were appropriate social prerequisites for the reorganization of the village and the necessary means for this, it gave positive results. But there were few such countries, for example, India, Pakistan. For others, the most backward, who did not have the means to purchase equipment and fertilizers, where there was an extremely low level of education, where conservative traditions and religious prejudices prevented the introduction
progressive forms of farming, the "green revolution" did not bring success. Moreover, it began to destroy traditional small farms and increased the outflow of villagers to the city, who joined the army of the unemployed. It failed to put in place a new, modern agriculture, i.e. having destroyed the old, she was unable to replace it with a new one, which further aggravated the food problem.(15)
By the way, a similar revolution was carried out much earlier in developed countries of the world (starting in the 30s of the 20th century
In the USA, Canada, Great Britain, since the 50s
IN Western Europe, Japan, New Zealand). However, at that time it was called the industrialization of agriculture, based on the fact that it was based on its mechanization and chemicalization, although in combination with irrigation and selective breeding. And only in the second half of the 20th century, when similar processes affected developing countries, did the name “green revolution” firmly establish itself behind them.
Borlaug was convinced that the Green Revolution marked the beginning new era development of agriculture on the planet, an era in which agricultural science was able to offer a number of improved technologies in accordance with the specific conditions characteristic of farms in developing countries.(14)
Despite the known costs inherent in any revolution and the ambiguous perception by the world community of its results, the fact remains: it was it that allowed many developing countries not only to overcome the threat of hunger, but also to fully provide themselves with food.
The grain crops that made the “green revolution” possible were obtained not through modern genetic engineering methods, but through conventional plant crossings that have been used for decades. The Green Revolution made it possible not only to feed the growing population of the Earth, but also to improve its quality of life.
Like any other phenomenon, the "green revolution" in addition to positive aspects has negative ones too. As early as the 1970s, Borlaug's work was criticized by environmentalists. Some experts believe that the "green revolution" has led to soil depletion and even erosion in several regions of the world, and has also contributed to increased pollution environment fertilizers and pesticides.
Really unwanted environmental consequences"green revolution" are very large. These primarily include land degradation. Thus, approximately half of all irrigated land in developing countries is susceptible to salinization due to ineffective drainage systems.
The advance of arable land into forest areas continues. In some countries, the heavy use of agricultural chemicals also poses a major threat to the environment and human health (especially along Asian rivers used for irrigation). Due to the widespread use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, environmental problems have arisen. The intensification of agriculture has disrupted the water regime of soils, which has caused large-scale salinization and desertification. (13)
A case in point is DDT. This substance was even found in animals in Antarctica, thousands of kilometers from the nearest places where this chemical was used.
Thus, the “green revolution” led to increased social stratification in the countryside, which is increasingly developing along the capitalist path. The Green Revolution contributed to globalization and the takeover of markets for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and agricultural equipment in developing countries by American companies.(10)
These circumstances led to the fact that at the end of the 20th century it actually began and is now developing " third green revolution ", the distinctive features of which are:
Implementation of methods genetic engineering into the practice of creating new varieties and even types of agricultural crops and highly productive breeds of livestock;
Refusal of the massive use of chemical fertilizers and replacing them, if possible, with biogenic fertilizers (manure, compost, etc.), returning to the practice of crop rotation, when, in order to saturate the soil with fixed nitrogen, instead of applying nitrogen fertilizers Periodic sowing of clover, alfalfa (which serves as excellent feed for livestock) and other legumes is carried out;
Creation of particularly undemanding, but high-yielding varieties resistant to drought and disease;
Replacing pesticides with highly targeted ones biological methods control of crop pests, and, if necessary, use only short-lived pesticides that break down into harmless substances under the influence of light or due to oxidation within a few hours or days.(10)
Almost all of our traditional foods are the result of natural mutations and genetic transformations that serve driving forces evolution. Fortunately, from time to time, Mother Nature takes charge and makes genetic modifications, often, as they say, “in a big way.” Thus, wheat, which plays such a significant role in our modern diet, acquired its current qualities as a result of unusual (but quite natural) crosses between different types of grasses. Today's wheat bread is the result of the hybridization of three different plant genomes, each containing a set of seven chromosomes. In this sense, wheat bread should be classified as transgenic or genetically modified (GM) products. Another result of transgenic hybridization is modern corn, which most likely appeared due to the crossing of two species. Hundreds of generations of farmers have helped accelerate genetic transformation through regular selection using the most fertile and vigorous plants and animals. Over the past 100 years, scientists have been able to apply their dramatically expanded knowledge of genetics and plant physiology in order to significantly speed up the process of combining high plant productivity with high resistance to negative environmental factors.
The expression “green revolution” was first used in 1968 by the director of the US Agency for International Development, V. Goud, trying to characterize the breakthrough achieved in food production on the planet due to the widespread distribution of new high-yielding and low-growing varieties of wheat and rice in Asian countries that suffered from food shortages. food. Many journalists then sought to describe the “green revolution” as a massive transfer of advanced technologies developed in the most developed and consistently high-yielding agricultural systems to the fields of peasants in third world countries. But more importantly, it marked the beginning of a new era of agricultural development on the planet, an era in which agricultural science was able to offer a range of improved technologies in accordance with the specific conditions characteristic of farming in developing countries.
Critics of the Green Revolution tried to focus public attention on the excessive abundance of new varieties, the development of which was supposedly becoming an end in itself, as if these varieties alone could provide such miraculous results. Certainly, modern varieties allow you to increase the average yield due to more effective ways growing plants and caring for them, due to their greater resistance to insect pests and major diseases. However, they only allow you to get a noticeably larger harvest when they are provided with proper care and agrotechnical practices are carried out in accordance with the calendar and the stage of plant development (fertilization, watering, soil moisture control and pest control). All these procedures remain absolutely necessary for transgenic varieties obtained in recent years. Moreover, radical changes in plant care and improved crop production become simply necessary if farmers begin cultivating modern high-yielding varieties. The application of fertilizers and regular watering, which are so necessary for obtaining high yields, simultaneously create favorable conditions for the development of weeds, insect pests and the development of a number of common plant diseases. So additional measures to control weeds, pests and diseases are inevitable when introducing new varieties.
Agricultural intensification has an impact on the environment and causes certain social problems. However, it is possible to judge the harm or benefit of modern technologies (including crop production) only taking into account the rapid growth of the Earth's population. For example, the population of Asia has more than doubled in 40 years (from 1.6 to 3.5 billion people). What would it be like to have an extra 2 billion people if it weren't for the Green Revolution? Although agricultural mechanization has led to a decline in the number of farms (and in this sense contributed to increased unemployment), the benefits of the Green Revolution, associated with manifold increases in food production and a steady decline in bread prices in almost all countries of the world, are much more significant for humanity.
And yet, a number of problems (primarily soil salinization, as well as pollution of soils and surface water bodies, largely due to the excessive use of fertilizers and chemical plant protection products) require serious attention from the entire world community. Despite the significant successes of the Green Revolution, the battle for food security for hundreds of millions of people in the poorest countries is far from over. The rapid growth of the population of the “Third World” as a whole, even more dramatic changes in demographic distributions in certain regions, and ineffective programs to combat hunger and poverty in many countries “ate up” most of the achievements in the field of food production. For example, in the countries of Southeast Asia, food production is still clearly insufficient to overcome hunger and poverty, while China has made a colossal leap. Nobel laureate in economics, Professor Amartya Sen, is inclined to attribute China's tremendous successes in the fight against hunger and poverty (in particular, in comparison with India) to the fact that the Chinese leadership allocates huge funds to education and health care, primarily in the backward agricultural areas of the country. With a healthier and better educated rural population, China's economy has been able to grow twice as fast as India's over the past 20 years. Today, China's average per capita income is almost twice that of India.
In many other parts of the developing world (e.g., sub-Saharan Africa and the inland highlands of Asia and Latin America), the technologies brought to the fields by the Green Revolution are still beyond the reach of most farmers. Moreover, the main reason for this is not their unsuitability for the conditions of these regions, as some believe. Developed by the Sasakawa Association in 2000, the global agricultural modernization program has already provided significant assistance to smallholder farmers in 14 African countries. Under this program, over a million demonstration plots ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 hectares are planted with corn, sorghum, wheat, rice and legumes. Throughout these areas, the average yield is 2–3 times higher than in traditionally cultivated fields.
The main obstacle to agricultural intensification in Africa is that market costs are arguably the highest in the world. To facilitate agricultural production, efficient transport is needed to enable farmers to get their produce to markets in a timely manner.
The failure of Third World countries and the international organizations that promote them to achieve adequate returns on agricultural investments is not easy to accept, since no nation throughout history has been able to increase its prosperity and develop its economy without first dramatically increasing production. food products, the main source of which has always been agriculture. Therefore, according to many experts, in the 21st century. a second “green revolution” is coming. Without this, it will not be possible to ensure human existence for everyone who comes into this world.
Fortunately, yields of major food crops are continually improving through improved tillage, irrigation, fertilization, weed and pest control, and reduced harvest losses. However, it is already clear that significant efforts will be required, both through traditional breeding and modern agricultural biotechnology, to achieve genetic improvement in food plants at a pace that would meet the needs of 8.3 billion people by 2025. For further growth in agricultural production, a lot of fertilizers will be needed, especially in the countries of Equatorial Africa, where no more than 10 kg of fertilizers per hectare are still applied (tens of times less than in developed countries and even in developing countries in Asia).
Massive use of fertilizers began after the Second World War. Particularly widespread are inexpensive nitrogen fertilizers based on synthetic ammonia, which have become an integral attribute of modern crop production technologies (today, over 80 million tons of nitrogen fertilizers are consumed annually in the world). According to experts who study nitrogen cycles in nature, at least 40% of the 6 billion people currently inhabiting the planet are alive only thanks to the discovery of ammonia synthesis. Adding that much nitrogen to the soil with organic fertilizers would be completely unthinkable even if that's all we all did.
Recombinant DNA allows breeders to select and introduce genes into plants “one by one”, which not only sharply reduces research time compared to traditional breeding, eliminating the need to spend it on “unnecessary” genes, but also makes it possible to obtain “useful” genes from the most different types plants. This genetic transformation promises enormous benefits for agricultural producers, particularly by increasing plant resistance to insect pests, diseases and herbicides. Additional benefits are associated with the development of varieties that are more resistant to a lack or excess of moisture in the soil, as well as to heat or cold - the main characteristics of modern forecasts of future climate disasters. Finally, the consumer can also benefit greatly from biotechnology, since new varieties have higher nutritional properties and other health characteristics. And this will happen in the next 10–20 years!
Despite the desperate opposition to transgenic plants in certain circles, new varieties are quickly gaining popularity among growers. This is an example of the most rapid dissemination (of both results and methods) in the entire centuries-old history of agriculture. In 1996–1999 The area sown with transgenic varieties of major food crops has increased almost 25 times.
It is those living in countries with low per capita income and experiencing food shortages who most need the products of new agricultural biotechnology, because this promises lower unit costs and increased profits for producers, and abundance and availability of food for consumers.
The promise of agricultural biotechnology to provide plants that can be used as medicines or vaccines (for example, against common diseases like hepatitis B or diarrhea) is growing. We will simply grow such plants and eat their fruits to cure or prevent many diseases. It's hard to imagine what a difference this might make in poor countries where conventional pharmaceuticals are still a novelty. This direction of research must be supported in every possible way. The current heated debate about transgenic crops centers on two main issues: safety and concerns about equal access and ownership. Concern about the potential dangers of GMOs is based largely on the belief that the introduction of “foreign” DNA into mainstream food crops is “unnatural” and therefore involves an inherent health risk. But since all living organisms, including food plants, animals, microbes, etc., contain DNA, how can recombinant DNA be considered “unnatural”? Even defining the concept of “foreign gene” is problematic, since many genes are common to a wide variety of organisms. Of course, it is necessary to label GM products, especially in cases where their properties differ markedly from traditional ones (say, in nutritional value) or they contain obvious allergens or toxins. But what is the point of such identification in cases where the qualities of GM and conventional products do not differ? According to the American Council on Science and Health, there is no reliable scientific information yet indicating any inherent dangers from GMOs. Recombinant DNA has been successfully used in pharmaceuticals for 25 years, where not a single case of harm caused by GM processes has yet been recorded. Likewise, there is no evidence of any harm caused by the consumption of GM foods. This does not mean that there are no risks associated with such products. As they say, “anything can happen.”
The Green Revolution has achieved only temporary success in humanity's war against hunger. Achieving true victory in this war is only a matter of time, and not too distant. Already today, humanity has technologies (either completely ready for use or in the final stages of development) capable of reliably feeding 10 billion people. The only question is whether food producers around the world will have access to these technologies.
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Agriculture and its economic features.
- In agricultural production, the economic process of reproduction is intertwined with the natural, general economic laws are combined with the action of natural laws. In the agricultural sector, plants and animals that develop according to natural laws are used as objects of labor.
- Land is the main and irreplaceable means of production, i.e., the means and subject of labor, while in industry it is the spatial basis for the location of production. It acts as a means of labor when its fertility affects the growth and development of agricultural plants, as an object of labor. When it is processed, fertilizers are applied to it, etc.
- The industry is highly dependent on natural and climatic conditions
- Seasonality of agricultural production. It is caused by a discrepancy between the production period and the working period. This is manifested in the uneven (throughout the year) use of resources (periods of sowing, harvesting, costs of seeds and fuels), sales of products and receipt of revenue. Spatial dispersion of production, which requires highly mobile units, a large supply of equipment, etc.
- The production of diverse products requires specific means production. Most of them cannot be used for other agricultural work (for example, a beet harvester for harvesting grain crops).
- Price inelasticity of demand for food: demand responds poorly to price changes. Therefore, when approaching the moment of market saturation with food products (if commodity producers reduce prices in order to increase sales), monetary proceeds will decrease and production may become unprofitable. In other words, in agriculture there is a paradox, which is associated with the fact that human needs for food may be sooner or later satisfied and further increase in production will be unprofitable
When relative market saturation with food and agricultural products is achieved, price reductions do not provide an adequate increase in demand.
"Green Revolution" and its main directions.
Green revolution – This is a transition from extensive farming, when the size of fields was increased, to intensive farming - when yields were increased, all sorts of new technologies were actively used. This is the transformation of agriculture based on modern agricultural technology. This is the introduction of new varieties of grain crops and new methods leading to increased yields.
Agricultural development programs in food-starved countries had the following main objectives:
- breeding new varieties with higher yields that would be resistant to pests and weather events;
- development and improvement of irrigation systems;
- increased use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, as well as modern agricultural machinery
Agro-industrial complex. Geography of world crop and livestock production.
