Green Revolution in Eastern India

ASHA has been raising its concerns on a new initiative of the Government of India called “Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI)” which began in 2010, with the Union Ministry of Agriculture keen on importing the “Chinese model” of intensive agriculture through hybrid rice, for improving productivity. BGREI appears not to base itself on the inherent strengths of Eastern India, but on importing a failed model of intensive agriculture paradigm based on hybridisation of seed, chemicalisation of agriculture, mechanisation and water use intensification. It is alarming that no lessons have been learnt from the crisis created by the earlier Green Revolution and the same Rice-Wheat thrust (with private sector’s hybrid rice as the main vehicle this time) is being continued with the same unsustainable production technologies. To create an informed debate on this new initiative, including within state governments, amongst farmers and other stakeholders, ASHA has been taking up several activities and dialogues on the matter.

ASHA organised a regional workshop on BGREI in Bhubaneswar on September 6th and 7th, 2010. The proceedings of the workshop can be downloaded here.

An ASHA April 2011 fact finding visit report to look into Hybrid Maize promotion in Odisha in the BGREI programme in a PPP mode is available here.

A Fact Finding report to look at (proprietary) hybrid rice promotion as part of BGREI found that it has no solutions for smallholders of Odisha and would in fact increase the risks in farming for them. The report can be downloaded here.