Importance of India’s Agricultural Economy to Its Development

Another way modernization is illustrated in India is through agriculture and industry, notwithstanding the effects it had on Indians. Industry guided India to a much stronger economy, arguably guiding them to holding a spot in the top ten economies in the world (O.I). Irrigation cultivated approximately 30 million acres, awarding the country great agricultural wealth. Along with wealth also came a disappearance of the famines in India. Collectively, the country of India as a whole benefited from this modernization as it set a higher standard of living for the population.

He points out facts about how the Green Revolution originally was laughed, then proves that these original thoughts untrue: “the Green Revolution has brought nothing to India except “indebted and discontented farmers,”… India, for instance, doubled its wheat production between 1964 and 1970 and was able to terminate all dependence on international food aid by 1975.”(143-144) This fact introduce and support the idea that Paarlberg has done his research around the world probing that the Green Revolution is the seeding of the future. Grose continues with many facts: “In Asia these new seeds lifted tens of millions of small farmers out of desperate poverty…India’s poverty rate fell from 60 percent to just 27 percent… the Green Revolution was good for both agriculture and social justice.” These facts are a few of many that logically support his claim that it is a substantial and real problem that world hunger is bigger than anyone ever thought. This helps his audience understand that the Green Revolution could be the answer to help end world hunger. The details and numbers build an appeal to logos and impress upon the reader that this is a solution worth looking

The Green Revolution had a positive, negative, or possibly both consequences on the way human beings have evolutionized through out the years. Each of these documents specifically proves that whether good or bad the different societies have been able to incorporate a little from what the Green Revolution has left them into their daily lives. The Green Revolution on one-side has ignited the revolution for new ideas and traditions. On the other side the Green Revolution has become a form of destructing the true and only roots for most farmers.

Britain had taken an economic interest of India long ago in the 1600’s. India had quickly become the “Jewel of the Crown.” However as time went on, the British’s interest had developed India into a target for imperialism. In 1757, the British empire had won their battle and took control. The Englishmen had taken India’s power, caused them poverty, killed their environment, drove them into starvation, increased death rates, and wasted their time with ineffective education.

He goes on to say the best solution is to assist these people enough for them to realize that they can innovate without creating an empire. This is important because he says that they cannot flourish on their own in these conditions and must be shown new methods to improve their overall situations. Document Four is an excerpt from a speech by one of the scientists who contributed research to the Green Revolution. He tells of how many of the "developing countries" are barely getting by on what they have. In his mind, they have always been starved and the Green Revolution has become a valuable aid against this problem. He essentially says that without the Green Revolution, these people would not be able to survive over time so if they wished to prosper, they needed new technology to guide them to a better future. Finally, Document Five is a statement from India's minister for food and agriculture saying that he is proud of the hard work of the Punjabi people, and without them, the Green Revolution would never have

Indian groups have adopted agriculture. The ability to grow crops has a huge implication for the

South Asia is one of the most densely populated regions of the world, where despite a slow growth, agriculture remains the backbone of rural economy as it employs one half to over 90 percent of the labor force. Both extensive and intensive policy measures for agriculture

The green revolution led to increases in crop production and human population. However, it also created a number of environmental concerns including the overuse of fertilizers and irrigation. *

Modern agricultural technologies goals is to obtain the highest yields and get the highest economic profit as possible

Peaceful, powerful, and stable are all words one could use to describe India’s economy before the British. In fact, The economy of India’s was the second most developed in the world at the time as it dominated the world’s trade by its exports including textiles and agricultural

India, at the time, had two and a half times as many people (461 million) as in Latin America, on a landmass about one-fifteenth as large (~3 million km2) (Hesser 77, India.gov, World Bank Group). The Indian citizenry was reluctant to adopt his scheme of crop management due to xenophobia and deep enculturation into traditional lifeways. To counter this resistance, Borlaug came up with the “Kick-Off Approach” (KOA), a tripartite program which manipulated three factors of diffusion: technical, psychological, and economic. The technical aspect was accomplished in successful local experimental nursery field trials managed by students under his supervision. Psychological, via Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who lent credence to the campaign by transplanting a flower garden in her front lawn with the Mexican dwarf wheat, which flourished. And, economically, through government action proposed by Borlaug: provide credit for farmers to purchase fertilizers and seed in advance of the planting season and to guarantee a fair market price for grain crops. Upon acceptance, which came after a struggle with various high-ranking diplomats to adopt the KOA to-the-letter, India experienced dramatic increases in food production - beyond the original forecast (Hesser

The British rule in India can be summarised in two facts which are “India’s per capita income went stagnant from 1757 to 1947” and “the life expectancy of Indians fell by 20 percent” (Davis, 2000). This shows that the British rule in India was not one in which India flourished but it deteriorated. The British brought about changes in all spheres of life. There brought about many social, cultural and economic changes however, this paper will only focus on the economic aspect of colonialism. The British tried to commercialise Indian agriculture and therefore, promoted cash crop farming. They forced farmers to move away from traditional and subsistence based farming and practice cash crop farming. This shift caused many farmers to suffer as they did not get much share in the profit even though the demand for cash crops like cotton and wheat was very high. The farmers fell into poverty and lived in terrible conditions whereas, the middle

The Green Revolution was a major revolution that changed the ways of farming created by Norman Borlaug, taking place between the 1930’s through the late 1960’s. The Green Revolution is known for some major controversies, such as the use and health risks of heavy pesticides/ herbicides and the use of synthetic fertilizer. But above all, The Green Revolution has been a negative force for the developing world.

The Green Revolutionbegan in Mexico, when after world war two the country had major problems with food shortages. New hybrids of wheat and maize were developed, these new varieties were dwarf plants capable of withstanding strong wind, heavy rain and disease, which had been the major cause of the food shortages. When this project started they had no intention of trying to transform the agriculture of other third world countries but, when the yields of wheat and maize increased by three and two times respectively, the seeds were taken to the Indian subcontinent. In 1964, farmers in India were short of food, lacked a balanced diet and had an extremely low standard of living.

The colonization of India and the immense transfer of wealth that moved from the latter to Britain were vital to the success of the British Empire. In fact, the Viceroy of British India in 1894 called India “the pivot of our Empire …” I examine the effects of the Industrial Revolution on the subcontinent. Besides highlighting the fact that without cheap labor and raw materials from India, the modernization of Britain during this era would have been highly unlikely, I will show how colonial policy led to the privation and death of millions of natives. I conclude that while India undoubtedly benefited from British colonial rule, the negatives for the subject population far outweighed the positives.