Between 1960 and 1980, in the United States, the concept of green revolution begins to define the Increased agricultural production that it was taking place in the country and that, later, it would extend to other countries in the world. The cause of this revolution was the agronomist Norman Borlaug, who began investigating with species of rice, wheat and corn to get more productive varieties, since the low production of traditional crops were not able to meet the food demand of a population that did not stop growing.
If you want to know what is the objective of the green revolution and how it arose, the more doubts, continue reading this interesting ecology article in which we explain What is the green revolution, its advantages and disadvantagesamong more details.
What is the green revolution, its characteristics and its objective
What is and how it arises The green revolution? When did the green revolution begin? Here we start clarifying all these doubts.
The green revolution is based on the Set of technical improvements in agriculturethis was launched from the 60s with the aim of dealing with malnutrition, derived from the demographic increase. The need for this revolution is because traditional agriculture was not able to give an answer to meet food needs. In short, the purpose u main objective was to eradicate hunger and malnutrition. Another objective, related to the one we have already mentioned, was to increase the volume of food per hectare, as well as the generation of more than one harvest in the same territory throughout the year.
The Characteristics of the Green Revolution are:
- The plants used were wheat, corn and rice.
- Sowing was carried out with seeds developed in laboratories, to achieve a better performance of them. The improvement of these species was achieved by making selective crosses until the species were more productive and resistant.
- The plants that were achieved aesthetically differentiated from those of traditional cultivation and grew at a higher speed, were also more resistant to adverse climatic conditions.
- Each species was grown in a certain terrain throughout the year.
- To the sowing of the grains it is necessary to apply large amounts of water.
- The use of large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides to ensure better production.
- Agricultural activity is oil dependent since it is necessary to use lubricants and fuels for the operation of the machinery used.
It could be said that, in general, the fundamental pillars of the green revolution are the irrigation systems to guarantee the contribution of water, the modernization of machinery, agrochemicals and biotechnology. Next, the consequences of the green revolutionboth positive and negative.
Advantages of the Green Revolution
When the Green Revolution arose, it brought several benefits, as sought. These are the main benefits of the green revolution:
- The amount of harvest per hectare increased.
- For this reason, it was possible that a greater amount of food could be obtained in the same land.
- Therefore, malnutrition could be reduced in the poorest countries.
- The selective crosses make more resistant seeds obtain, the crosses made in rice, corn and wheat caused the crops of these grains to be stronger to frost and pests so the crops increased by 50%.
Disadvantages of the Green Revolution
In addition to benefits, there are also Disadvantages of the Green Revolutionsuch as:
- The use of fertilizers and pesticides, such as neonicotinoids, necessary for the production of these crops have a strong environmental impact by reducing soil quality.
- To maintain this crops are needed large amounts of water, so it is difficult to carry out the crops in areas where there is a shortage of this resource and, in addition, it is a type of agriculture that depends on oil and its derivatives necessary for the use of machinery and the transport of the harvest.
- Pollution of underground water bodies is produced by used agrochemicals or agrotoxic, as well as salinization and destruction or soil degradation.
- Increased deforestation in order to obtain more lands destined for intensive cultivation and as a consequence of biodiversity.
- High -performance cereal crops at a nutritional level are of low quality, presenting deficiencies in essential amino acids and an imbalance in the content of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, among other factors that determine nutritional quality.
- Its objective was to eradicate hunger in the world, however people still die from hunger in underdeveloped countries.
It is evident that the advantages of the green revolution have great weight and a large part of the population can feed thanks to these crops, however the consequences they have on the environment can become irreversible, being the remedy worse than the disease. Means to eliminate the negative effects of the green revolution And the only way to do it is to opt for a Most sustainable culture model and environmental respectful.
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