Ecological costs and the next agricultural revolution

Detail

A. Why the Green Revolution had hidden costs

• The Green Revolution (from the mid-1960s) used a package of HYV seeds (high-yielding varieties), chemical fertilisers, pesticides and assured irrigation.
• It made India self-sufficient in foodgrains. But the gains depended on using a lot of water, chemicals and power.
• Those costs showed up slowly, in soil, water, air, human health and regional equality.

B. Monoculture and the loss of crop rotation

• Monoculture means growing the same crop, or the same crop pair, on the same land year after year.
• In Punjab and Haryana, the rice-wheat cycle (paddy in kharif, wheat in rabi) became the rule.
• It replaced crop rotation, i.e. growing different crops in turn on the same land (for example, cereals followed by legumes).
• Legumes (pulses) fix nitrogen in the soil, so rotation keeps the soil fertile naturally.

• Changing crops also breaks pest cycles, because pests that live on one crop lose their host.

• Result: the area under pulses shrank. India's protein security weakened, and pulse imports grew.

• Why farmers chose it: assured procurement at MSP (minimum support price, the price at which the government promises to buy) for rice and wheat made these two crops the safest bet.

C. Groundwater depletion

• Paddy is not native to semi-arid Punjab and Haryana. It needs standing water for weeks.
• Free or flat-rate farm power means the extra unit of water costs the farmer nothing. So pumps run for long hours → over-pumping.
• Stage of groundwater extraction (the measure used by CGWB, the Central Ground Water Board):

Stage of extraction (%) = (Annual groundwater extraction for all uses ÷ Annual extractable groundwater resource) × 100

• Worked example: a block has 100 million cubic metres (MCM) of extractable water each year, and farms, homes and industry pump out 160 MCM. Stage = 160 ÷ 100 × 100 = 160%. The block takes out more than rain puts back, so the water table falls each year.

• Over-exploited unit: an assessment unit where annual extraction is more than the annual extractable resource (stage above 100%) [2].

• CGWB and State Governments assess groundwater together, from time to time [2].
• Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment 2022:
• 1,006 of 7,089 assessment units (14%) were over-exploited [2].

• The national stage of extraction was 60.08% [2].

• Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have a stage of extraction above 100%. Their share of over-exploited units rose between 2017 and 2022 [3].

• (NCERT scaffold: "most blocks in Punjab and Haryana are classed over-exploited", so check the latest CGWB report each year. CGWB also released assessments for 2023, 2024 and 2025.)

D. Soil mining and nutrient imbalance

• Soil mining means taking more nutrients out of the soil through crops than are put back.
• Cause: fertiliser subsidies favoured urea (nitrogen, N). Farmers used heavy N with little phosphorus (P), potassium (K) or organic matter (manure, compost).

• The ideal NPK ratio is often given as 4:2:1. Punjab's actual use is far more skewed towards N.

• Effects:

• Micronutrient deficiencies in zinc, sulphur and iron.
• Flat yield response: each extra bag of fertiliser adds less and less grain. This is the law of diminishing returns at work.

E. Pesticide residues

• Pesticides are heavily and often wrongly used. They leave residues in food, water and soil.
• Health harm: the Malwa belt of Punjab is often cited for high cancer incidence. A train from Bathinda to Bikaner earned the popular name "cancer train".
• Pesticides also kill natural predators of pests, which leads to pest resurgence and still more spraying.

F. Stubble burning: an example of a policy trade-off

• Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009

• It banned early paddy transplanting (before a notified date) so that less groundwater is pumped in the hot, dry pre-monsoon weeks.

• Unintended effect

• The later transplanting pushed the paddy harvest into late October.

• This left farmers only a very short window (about 2-3 weeks) before wheat sowing.

• Result

• Burning paddy straw became the fastest and cheapest way to clear fields.
• Combine harvesters leave loose straw behind, which makes the problem worse.

• The smoke adds to north India's winter air pollution, especially in the Delhi-NCR region.

• Lesson: a water-saving law created an air-pollution problem. Policies need to be looked at together.

• Solutions: the Happy Seeder (sows wheat straight into the stubble), in-situ and ex-situ straw management, and machines rented through custom hiring centres (see J).

G. Narrow genetic base

• A few HYVs replaced thousands of traditional landraces (local varieties that farmers developed over centuries).
• Risks:
• One new pest or disease can hit a large area at once, because all the plants are genetically alike.
• The loss of landraces removes genes for drought, flood and salt tolerance that breeders may need later.

H. Regional and inter-personal inequality

• Benefits went mainly to Punjab, Haryana and western UP, which had irrigation and good infrastructure. They also went mainly to wheat, and later rice.
• Eastern India and rainfed India (dryland regions that depend on rain) were left behind, which opened a regional gap.
• Richer farmers could buy the full input package first. Land reforms had been weak, so gains within villages were also uneven. (Detailed in the parent note.)

I. What comes next: the new "revolutions"

1. Evergreen Revolution (M.S. Swaminathan)

• Definition: "productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm".
• In simple words: raise yields for all time while protecting soil, water and biodiversity.
• It answers the costs listed in B to H directly.

2. Second Green Revolution

• The next phase of farm growth. Its focus is on:
• Eastern and rainfed regions, where yields are low and water is available (in the east);
• Pulses and oilseeds, which India imports;

• New technology and sustainable use of resources.

• Example: BGREI (Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India), started in 2010-11 as a sub-scheme of RKVY (Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana). It covered states such as Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, eastern UP and West Bengal.

3. Gene Revolution

• Definition: using genetic engineering and biotechnology to raise yields, resist pests or tolerate stress.
• GM crop (genetically modified): a foreign gene, often from another species, is inserted.
• Bt cotton was approved in 2002. It carries a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that kills the bollworm. It is the only GM crop in commercial cultivation in India.

• GM mustard DMH-11: GEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, under MoEFCC) approved its environmental release in 2022. The Supreme Court gave a split verdict in 2024, so the case is still in litigation.

• Genome editing: precise changes to a plant's own genes. No foreign DNA is added.

• ICAR released India's first two genome-edited rice varieties in May 2025. They were made with CRISPR-Cas technology [4].
• DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala), by ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad, based on Samba Mahsuri (BPT 5204) [4]:
  • It has more grains per panicle and a shorter duration.
  • So it saves water and fertiliser and cuts methane emissions [4].
• Pusa DST Rice 1, by ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, based on MTU 1010 [4]:
  • It raises yield by 9.66% to 30.4% in saline and alkaline soils [4].
• Target zones include eastern states such as Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP and West Bengal (Zone III), plus southern and central states [4].

4. Yield gap

• Definition: Yield gap = Potential (or attainable) yield − Actual farm yield.
• Worked example: research farms get 6 tonnes/ha of rice, and the average farm gets 4 tonnes/ha.

• Yield gap = 6 − 4 = 2 tonnes/ha, i.e. 2 ÷ 6 = 33% of potential is not reached.

• Closing the gap with better seed, extension (advice to farmers) and inputs is the cheapest source of growth, because no new land or new water is needed.

5. Micro-irrigation

• Definition: drip and sprinkler systems that put water near plant roots. Fertiliser can also be given through the water (fertigation), which saves both water and fertiliser.
• It is promoted under PMKSY (Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, 2015) through its "Per Drop More Crop" (PDMC) component.
• Subsidy: 55% of the cost for small and marginal farmers and 45% for other farmers [5].
• Coverage: PDMC has brought over 115 lakh hectares under micro-irrigation (as of July 2026). An earlier figure was 110.92 lakh ha, about 7.98% of net sown area [5].

6. Diversification of cropping

• Intercropping: two or more crops grown together in a definite row pattern (for example, 1 row of pigeon pea for every 2 rows of soybean), to make the best use of resources.
• Mixed cropping: two or more crops grown together without a row pattern (seeds are mixed and sown), to reduce the risk of total crop failure.
• Exam trap: a row pattern means intercropping, and no row pattern means mixed cropping.

7. Custom hiring centre (CHC)

• Definition: a facility that rents farm machinery to small and marginal farmers who cannot afford to own it.
• It is supported under SMAM (Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation).
• Rented Happy Seeders help manage stubble without burning, which links back to F.

8. Precision farming

• Definition: using GPS, sensors, drones, remote sensing and data analytics to apply inputs at the right place, right time and right quantity.
• It cuts waste of fertiliser, water and pesticide, so it tackles soil mining and residue problems at the root.

9. Digital agriculture

• Definition: digital tools (remote sensing, AI, drones, data platforms, mobile advisories) used across the farm value chain.
• Digital Agriculture Mission (Cabinet approval September 2024):
• Outlay ₹2,817 crore, including a central share of ₹1,940 crore [6].

• It builds Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture: AgriStack, the Krishi Decision Support System, and a Comprehensive Soil Fertility and Profile Map [6][7].

• AgriStack is a farmer registry plus a Digital Crop Survey (DCS).

• 29,99,306 Farmer IDs had been created as on 5 December 2024 [7].

• DCS was done in 436 districts in Kharif 2024 [7].

• Kisan drones are used for spraying and crop assessment.

• Soil Health Card (SHC): gives each field a nutrient-based fertiliser recommendation, which helps correct the NPK imbalance (see D).
• The scheme has run since 2014-15 (NCERT scaffold: 2015, the year the cards were launched) [8].
• 24.90 crore SHCs had been generated as on 31 March 2025 [8].

10. Organic and natural farming are covered in the note rural-diversification-allied.

J. Link to the subsidy debate

• Ecological cost ← subsidy design
• Free power → over-pumping → falling water tables (C).
• Cheap urea → too much N → soil mining (D).

• MSP procurement tilted to rice and wheat → monoculture, fewer pulses (B).

• Reform direction: move from input-price subsidies to direct income support, crop-neutral incentives and paying farmers to save water. This matches the Evergreen Revolution idea.

Prelims Hooks

• "Productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm" is the Evergreen Revolution, from M.S. Swaminathan.
• BGREI started in 2010-11 as a sub-scheme of RKVY, focused on eastern India.
• Bt cotton (2002) is the only GM crop in commercial cultivation in India. GEAC approved GM mustard DMH-11 in 2022, and the SC gave a split verdict in 2024.
• India's first genome-edited rice varieties (May 2025) are DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) from IIRR Hyderabad (base: Samba Mahsuri) and Pusa DST Rice 1 from IARI (base: MTU 1010). They use CRISPR-Cas and have no foreign DNA [4].
• Stage of groundwater extraction = annual extraction ÷ annual extractable resource × 100. Above 100% is over-exploited. The national figure was 60.08%, with 14% of units over-exploited (2022) [2].
• Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 delayed paddy transplanting. This saved water but squeezed the harvest-to-sowing window, which fuelled stubble burning.
• Intercropping uses a definite row pattern (best use of resources). Mixed cropping has no row pattern (cuts the risk of total failure).
• "Per Drop More Crop" is a component of PMKSY (2015). The subsidy is 55% for small and marginal farmers and 45% for others [5].
• SMAM supports custom hiring centres. The Digital Agriculture Mission (2024) has an outlay of ₹2,817 crore [6].
• 24.90 crore Soil Health Cards had been generated by 31 March 2025 [8].

Mains Points

• The Green Revolution as a success with a bill still to pay: food security came at the cost of aquifers, soil health, biodiversity and air quality. A GS-III answer should link each cost to a policy cause (free power, urea bias, MSP skew).
• Policy interaction and unintended effects: the 2009 Punjab water law saved groundwater but worsened stubble burning. This makes the case for joined-up policy: water law + machines through CHCs/SMAM + crop diversification incentives.
• The Second Green Revolution should be spatial and crop-wise: shift the growth engine to eastern and rainfed India (BGREI) and to pulses and oilseeds. Close yield gaps before adding more inputs. Use micro-irrigation, SHCs and precision or digital agriculture (AgriStack) to get "more crop per drop and per bag".
• The Gene Revolution debate: genome editing (no foreign gene, lighter regulation) against GM crops (the DMH-11 case is still in court). Weigh yield, stress tolerance and lower methane against biosafety, farmers' seed rights and the precautionary principle.