Green Revolution

1. The Green Revolution
AP Human Geography
2016

2. What was the Green
Revolution?
Termed coined by U.S. Agency for
International Development director William
Gaud (March 1968)
Movement to increase yields by using:
Hybrid seeds
Irrigation
Fertilizers
Pesticides
mechanization

3. 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

4. When did it begin?
Began in 1943 with funding from the
Rockefeller Foundation to support a group of
U.S. agricultural scientists

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Impact of the Green
Revolution
Decreased the production of biomass
fuels- wood, crop residues, and dung
Emphasis on monocultures has made
agric more vulnerable to disease and
pests