It is very well known that the present state of agriculture in India is the result of green revolution taking place since the late 1960s, well supported by government. It effectively tackled the criticality of food crisis and delivered India food security and sufficiency at that time. However, this progress and security came at a cost of environment and economic viability. Green revolution brought with it rampant use of fertilisers and other chemicals that resulted in making food and water toxic to some extent. It promoted extensive use of water aiming at rice production to be the main target of revolution, which led to consumption of 80 per cent of fresh water of India by agriculture, especially, by rice farming.
Moreover, Green Revolution in past led to consistent increase in yields per hectare of various food crops. Earlier, yield per hectare for rice was merely 1 ton which has increased to over 3 tons. The same in case of wheat has increased to around 2.4 tons. Over all these years, this increase was consistent with increasingly cultivated area constantly coming under high yield varieties, irrigation and fertilisers. However, in recent past, these measures have started to show fatigue and yield growths are dropping. Also, the increasing costs of fertilisers have led to increased agro costs, thus, turning food unaffordable for masses. Also, careless use of fertilisers is causing the nutrients in the soil to deplete rapidly.
In brief, the original means taken up in the green revolution are to some extent exhausted. Indian lands lag far behind world average in terms of agro yields and our policy makers need to look at other alternatives to bring it at par with world average. The present state of agriculture is unsustainable. Hence, India has devised a new agriculture policy that aims at sustainable agriculture, popularly known as ‘second green revolution’ or ‘evergreen revolution’.
The second green revolution covers almost all the present policies making use of revolutions in bio technology, information technology and research and development as well as targeting of specific crops, etc. Information Technology will be utilised as a support service like customer care to create awareness among the farmers and make them acquainted with various cost efficient technologies. Hence, using this service information deficit on part of farmer will be addressed and it will enable them to make choice among different alternatives. The main feature of biotechnology revolution is improvement in genetic traits of crops, by making them pest, weed, draught and climate resistant. This is to be achieved by continuous modification of the crops using genetically engineered methods. However, there is some controversy about use of genetically modified crops and its benefits. Another feature of biotech revolution is use of biopesticides and bifertilisers keeping in view a bigger strategy aimed towards organic farming.
Organic farming, which makes use of organic wastes, is being followed by India from ancient times. It cultivates the land and raises the crops in such a manner that the soil remains alive and in good health. In this method, soil is nourished using organic wastes, such as animal and farm wastes, crop and aquatic wastes, and other biological materials along with beneficial microbes, such as biofertilisers, to release nutrients to crops, thus, leading to increased sustainable production in an eco-friendly pollution-free environment.
A central scheme called ‘National Project on Organic Farming’ is initiated to promote organic farming. The scheme creates awareness among farmers and promotes use of organic fertilisers, conducts training and programmes for capacity building, etc. This scheme also provides financial assistance through Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme for biofertilisers/biopesticides production units, agro-waste compost production units, human resource development, development and implementation of quality control regime, etc.
Northeastern India with its distinct agro-climatic zone and soil immensely rich in organic matter offers the highest potential for organic farming. Moreover, it was devoid of any green revolution and as a result farmers there still use traditional methods. This clearly provides a perfect opportunity to encourage organic farming in a rigorous manner in the northeast. The ‘Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States’ is a scheme that provides financial assistance to adopt organic farming and establishing vermin compost unit and is also available in other Himalayan states. The ‘Indo-Israel Agricultural Cooperation Action Plan’ is another area of coordination in which Israel shares its expertise in organic farming and related technologies with India. This cooperation covers in its ambit methodical interactions between governments, experts and mainly the farmers. This includes bilateral cooperation through sharing of knowledge and technologies, exchange visits of experts and farmers, setting up of Centres of Excellence in various agriculture sectors all over India and post-doctoral scholarships for Indian agriculture researchers in Israel.
Five projects have been launched under the plan, out of which two Centres of Excellence have been made functional including one for vegetables in Gharaunda in Karnal and the other for fruits in Mangiana, Sirsa in Haryana, while work for installation of three more centres is in operation in Maharashtra for a Citrus Centre in Nagpur, a Pomegranate Centre in Rahuri and a Kaisar Mango Centre in Aurangabad.
Widely perceived as a solution to the problems of chemical-based agriculture, second green revolution that opts for organic farming is quite important. Though, heavy dependence on chemical-and water-intensive techniques, leaves little scope for any significant change in near future. However, with the passage time, traditional means of farming will get even more expensive and this, combined with increasing water security concern, will compel farmers to use sustainable methods. Recently, organic farming is finding favour among the farmers. It brings many advantages of being environment-friendly, nontoxic and offering far better value in monetary terms than normal crops. Interestingly, non-farmers are also making investments in this sector. Moreover, research and development is being done with the objective of developing water-efficient technologies. ‘System of rice intensification’ is one such technology developed to save not only significant amount of water, but also to increase yield of rice.