Slaying Starvation: Borlaug’s Green Revolution and Global Food Production
Borlaug’s Green Revolution and Global Food Production
The mid-20th century posed numerous world issues including the rising population, increased demand for food, and fierce competition between the Soviets and United States to gain control of Europe and Japan. But that’s not all — WW2 had decimated much of Europe’s food production capabilities while Britain was draining its colonies’ resources, particularly India’s.
The developing world was about to hit a breaking point.
How we got out of this mess:
Norman Borlaug’s Green Revolution, a movement that has had an incalculable effect on global food production.To battle this issue head-on, Borlaug created high yield crop varieties plus modern farming methods including irrigation and fertilizer use.
Mexico
- Borlaug’s efforts began in Mexico in 1944, where he worked to develop new wheat varieties. His team successfully bred a dwarf wheat variety that was resistant to disease and could produce more grain per acre than traditional varieties.
- This breakthrough allowed farmers to increase their yields significantly while using fewer resources.
Philippines
- In the 1960s, the Philippines collaborated with Norman to establish the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). There, scientists created a new rice cultivar, IR8, by crossing two varieties in 1966.
- IR8 produced higher yields than traditional rice but required fertilizers and pesticides.
- Its adoption helped increase annual rice production from 3.7 to 7.7 million tons in 20 years. IR8 was a significant milestone in addressing food shortages and improving agricultural productivity in the Philippines.
India
India’s Green Revolution was a game-changing collaboration that included plant breeding, irrigation development, and agrochemical financing to help boost agricultural productivity. This historic program ultimately helped India triumph over food insecurity by averting famine in the country.
- India adopted IR8 in the 1960s. IR8 could produce more rice per plant with certain fertilizers and irrigation. Indian agronomist S.K. De Datta’s 1968 findings showed that IR8 rice yielded up to 10 times more than traditional rice, becoming a success throughout Asia and earning the nickname “Miracle Rice.”
- Wheat seed was imported from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center for testing purposes. Punjab served as an ideal trial location due to its abundance of resources — fertile soil, dependable water supply, previous agricultural success
Brazil
- As Norman Borlaug once stated, Brazil’s cerrado region was thought to be unfeasible for farming due to its acidic soil and scarce nutrients. Nevertheless, in the 1960s, farmers started applying extensive amounts of lime on the soil with a view to reducing acidity. This effort endured through decades — as much as 25 million tonnes of lime were spread yearly onto fields!
- Thanks to the vast amount of soybeans produced in Brazil, the country has skyrocketed its way up to become one of the world’s most prominent exporters. Not only is it now second for exporting soybeans but also tops at exporting beef and poultry as well — a great accomplishment for any nation!
Africa
Efforts to introduce successful agricultural concepts from Mexico and India into Africa have often faced challenges such as corruption, insecurity, and poor infrastructure. Overtime, some programs have managed to overcome
- Though growth has been gradual due to the trouble of getting these seeds into local farmers’ hands, a current project in Western Africa is aiming to bring forth a new family of highly-productive rice varieties called “New Rice for Africa” (NERICA). This variety can generate up to 30% higher yields with no extra irrigation and fertilizer, or even double the yield when given basic infrastructure. In fact, Guinea already boasts NERICA accounting for 16% of its total rice production!
- In 2005, a program was launched in Malawi that had an unprecedented success — the Agricultural Input Subsidy Program. This initiative provided vouchers to small farmers who could use them to purchase nitrogen fertilizer and maize seeds at discounted prices. To everyone’s surprise, its first year resulted in the greatest production of maize ever recorded within the nation, producing enough surplus for all citizens! Ever since this “miracle” began, it has grown progressively more successful with each passing year marking another milestone.
- A 2021 study on subsidies for maize farming in Mozambique showed that the adoption of Green Revolution technology resulted in larger yields over the long-term. Such initiatives demonstrate potential to augment agricultural productivity and combat food insecurity throughout Africa — a promise that brings hope to those struggling with hunger across this continent.
The End Result
The Green Revolution has been credited with saving over a billion people from starvation by increasing global food production and addressing food shortages in developing countries. However, it has also faced criticism for its environmental impacts and its effects on rural communities. Despite these criticisms, it is clear that Norman Borlaug’s work has had an immense impact on global food production, and the best forward is to continuously refine and make available farming technology.