The Green Revolution
AP Human Geography
2016
What was the Green
Revolution?
Termed coined by U.S. Agency for
International Development director William
Gaud
Movement to increase yields by using:
Hybrid seeds
Irrigation
Fertilizers
Pesticides
mechanization
What was the Green
Revolution?
A planned international effort funded by:
Rockefeller Foundation
Ford Foundation
Many developing country governments
• An attempt by agricultural scientists to
eliminate hunger by improving crop
performance
When did it begin?
Began in 1943 with funding from the
Rockefeller Foundation to support a group of
U.S. agricultural scientists
Who invented the Green
Revolution?
Norman Borlaug
considered father of the
Green Revolution
U.S. plant
pathologist/breeder
Joined Rockefeller
Foundation in 1944
Assigned to the
international maize and
wheat improvement
center (CIMMYT) in
Mexico
Won the Nobel in 1970
Impact of the Green
Revolution
•
•
Praise
Agric. Production
now outpaces pop
growth
Use of fertilizers has
increased food
productivity in many
countries
•
•
Criticisms
Poor countries cannot
always afford the
machinery, seeds, and
fertilizers
Farmers in poor
countries cannot afford
fertilizers leading to
inequalities b/ween rich
and poor; fertilizers lead
to ground water
pollution
Impact of the Green
Revolution
•
•
Praise
New irrigation
processes have greatly
increased crop yields
Higher productivity is
primarily responsible for
reducing dependency
on imports in Asia,
including China and
India
•
•
Criticisms
Irrigation has led to
serious ground water
depletion, negatively
impacting water
supplies for urban
population
Green Revolution
technology has not
made significant impact
in Sub-Saharan Africa
Impact of the Green
Revolution
•
•
Praise
Use of machinery to
increase productivity
Green revolution
technology and
training have
focused on men
•
•
•
Criticisms
Has decreased the
need for human labor,
resulting in
unemployment in some
places
Tended to exclude
women who play
important role in food
production
Green rev seeds may
produce crops that are
less nutritious
Decreased the
production of
biomass fuelswood, crop
residues, and dung
Emphasis on
monocultures has
made agric more
vulnerable to
disease and pests