The evergreen revolution: Making hunger history

The evergreen revolution: Making hunger history

Subject :Agriculture

• The green revolution in the 1960s and 1970s was based on the development and spread of new genetic strains of wheat, rice, maize and other crops characterised by their ability to utilise water, sunlight and plant nutrients effectively and convert them into grains.
• According to most estimates, farming is no longer remunerative and over 40 per cent of farmers would like to quit if they have an option

Need for Evergreen Revolution:

Evergreen revolution refers to productivity improvement in perpetuity without ecological and social harm. The evergreen revolution involves the integration of ecological principles in technology development and dissemination.

Dr. M. S. Swaminathan coined the term ‘’Evergreen Revolution” to highlight the pathway of increasing production and productivity in a manner such that short and long term goals of food production are not mutually antagonistic. The logic is to produce more from less, less land, less pesticide, less water and it must be an evergreen revolution to get sustainable agriculture.

• Traditional crops like jowar, bajra, pulses and fodder should be revived and promoted under the Prime Minister’s package for seed replacement.

Millets

• Millets are often referred to as Superfood and its production can be seen as an approach for sustainable agriculture and a healthy world.

Millets in India:

• The three major millet crops currently grown in India are jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet) and ragi (finger millet).
• Along with that, India grows a rich array of bio-genetically diverse and indigenous varieties of “small millets” like kodo, kutki, chenna and sanwa.
• Major producers include Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.

Need for Reviving Millet Cultivation:

• Nutritional Security:
  • Millets are less expensive and nutritionally superior to wheat & rice owing to their high protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals like iron content.
• Millets are also rich in calcium and magnesium.
  • For example, Ragi is known to have the highest calcium content among all the food grains.
• Its high iron content can fight high prevalence of anaemia in Indian women of reproductive age and infants.
• Climate Resilient:
  • They are also harder and drought-resistant crops, which has to do with their short growing season (70-100 days, as against 120-150 days for paddy/wheat) and lower water requirement (350-500 mm versus 600-1,200 mm).
• Economic Security:
  • As low investment is needed for production of millets, these can prove to be a sustainable income source for farmers.
• Can Tackle Health Issues:
  • Millets can help tackle lifestyle problems and health challenges such as obesity and diabetes as they are gluten-free and have a low glycemic index (a relative ranking of carbohydrates in foods according to how they affect blood glucose levels).
  • Millets are rich in antioxidants.
• The Union Agriculture Ministry, in April 2018, declared millets as “Nutri-Cereals”, considering their “high nutritive value” and also “anti-diabetic properties”.
• 2018 was also observed as ‘National Year of Millets”.
• The government has hiked the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Millets, which came as a big price incentive for farmers.
• The United Nation General Assembly adopted an India-sponsored resolution to mark 2023 as the International Year of Millets.