Green Revolution Myth and Agricultural Reality?

Gregori, Thomas R. De

doi:10.1080/00213624.2004.11506711

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Thus, the Green Revolution has contributed significantly to reducing undernourishment in Asia and Latin America. The predicted famines were prevented and poverty rates declined considerably (20)(21)(22)(23) . Norman Borlaug, the chief wheat breeder of the Rockefeller Program in the 1960s, and often referred to as the father of the Green Revolution, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his contribution to world food supplies.…”

Section: Green Revolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Globalisation of agrifood systems and sustainable nutrition

2016

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The globalisation of agrifood systems is a mega-trend with potentially profound nutritional implications. This paper describes various facets of this globalisation process and reviews studies on nutritional effects with a particular focus on developing countries. Results show that global trade and technological change in agriculture have substantially improved food security in recent decades, although intensified production systems have also contributed to environmental problems in some regions. New agricultural technologies and policies need to place more emphasis on promoting dietary diversity and reducing environmental externalities. Globalising agrifood systems also involve changing supply-chain structures, with a rapid rise of modern retailing, new food safety and food quality standards, and higher levels of vertical integration. Studies show that emerging high-value supply chains can contribute to income growth in the small farm sector and improved access to food for rural and urban populations. However, there is also evidence that the retail revolution in developing countries, with its growing role of supermarkets and processed foods, can contribute to overweight and obesity among consumers. The multi-faceted linkages between changing agrifood systems and nutrition are a new field of interdisciplinary research, combining agricultural, nutritional, economics and social sciences perspectives. The number of studies on specific aspects is still limited, so the evidence is not yet conclusive. A review at this early stage can help to better understand important relationships and encourage follow-up work.Agriculture: Food systems: Small farms: Triple burden of malnutrition

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Section: Green Revolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Globalisation of agrifood systems and sustainable nutrition

2016

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“…Without preserving genetic material in banks, sometimes ancient varieties can vanish without a trace due to anything from natural disasters to farmers gradually stopping to grow them. W ith a globalized pool of genetic material, a new HYV of rice can draw parentage from as many as forty different existing varieties, each native to a different region around the world (DeGregori 2004). In other words, a new variety can embody a level of genetic diversity that would not typically occur through natural cross-pollination on farms.…”

Section: Genetic Breakthroughsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other words, a new variety can embody a level of genetic diversity that would not typically occur through natural cross-pollination on farms. Despite the wide parentage, laboratory pollinating and testing ensures that new varieties are stable and succeed in carrying the desired characteristics from each parent (DeGregori 2004;Moore 2004). The result is reliable new seed varieties that out-perform locally developed landraces because they embody the best qualities from so many other varieties.…”

Section: Genetic Breakthroughsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wither biodiversity, whither food security? Participatory analyses of mixed cropping systems with Adivasi communities in India

Lundy¹

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The research for this thesis utilizes a new participatory research technique called Domain Analysis to understand farmers' knowledge regarding the values o f agricultural biodiversity. The Domain Analysis technique is applied toward two case studies featuring the mixed cropping practices of the Kuvi and Korku Adivasi tribes of India. The findings of the research indicate that these farmers employ mixed cropping practices because they offer stable and diverse food and economic security by maximizing resiliency against unpredictable ecological conditions despite minimal external inputs. In addition, a comparison of the Domain Analysis exercises of Kuvi and Korku farmers reveal that each has developed their mixed cropping practices along different lines according to their distinct socio-economic and environmental circumstances.Nonetheless, problems with the application of Domain Analysis exercises result in this research not fully realizing the ideals of "participation". An analysis of these problems concludes that rapport, experience and the flexible use of participatory techniques are necessary to ensure optimal participation and the genuine elicitation of farmers' knowledge.ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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“…DeGregori (2004) asserts that the GR led to reduction in the prices of food-grains, increase in the returns from land and smallholding farmers" incomes, and decline in the incidence of poverty. Hossain et al (2006) insist that a significant increase in rice yields in Bangladesh resulting from using modern high-yielding varieties has helped the country achieve national rice self-sufficiency in 2001, in spite of population growth and declining agricultural land area.…”

Section: Agricultural Intensification and Territorial Expansionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some argue that the GR saves many forest areas which would have been converted into farming areas in the absence of the GR technology, leading to further environmental impacts (DeGregori, 2004, World Bank, 2007.…”

Section: Agricultural Intensification and Territorial Expansionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agrarian transition in lowland southern Laos: Implications for rural livelihoods

Manivong¹

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Despite being a low-income, agriculture-based country with a subsistence orientation, Laos is in the early stages of a major economic transformation whereby rural households have been experiencing rapid change in their farming and livelihood systems. Some households have begun to engage in semi-commercial farming while others have adopted labour-oriented or migrationoriented livelihood strategies. This study explores livelihood strategies of rural households in lowland rice-based farming systems in Southern Laos in relation to government policies for agricultural development and the agrarian transition occurring in Laos and the region.The analytical framework used for this study draws on farming systems economics, agrarian systems analysis, and rural livelihoods analysis. Data were obtained from six villages in the lowlands of Champasak Province in Southern Laos through key informant interviews, village group discussions, household surveys, and household case studies. Survey and case study data were supplemented with project and historical agronomic trial results in order to construct model budgets for various input scenarios of rice production. To allow for the production and market risks facing farmers, the budgeting analysis was supplemented by the techniques of sensitivity analysis, threshold analysis, and risk analysis.The study shows that Lao farmers in areas such as the lowlands of Champasak are caught up in, and contributing to, a much larger regional process of agrarian transition. Despite the selective adoption of improved technologies, rice production in all the study villages was primarily a lowyield, subsistence-oriented activity, or at most a semi-commercial activity. Most farmers appeared to view rice production as a platform on which to construct a diversified livelihood strategy in which the use of family labour within and beyond the farm was the key element.An economic analysis of rainfed rice production suggests that, given current conditions, we are likely to continue to see the adoption of low-input, labour-efficient, and relatively stable rice production systems for most households, with small areas of high-input, commercially-oriented systems in favourable situations. Price fluctuations due to supply shocks and government responses have created a further disincentive to the intensification of rice production systems.With rice production providing a subsistence base, rural households in the study area were engaged in a range of other agricultural and resource-based activities, including cultivation of non-rice crops, livestock-raising, and forest-and river-utilisation. Water resources were extracted from streams, ponds, and groundwater, as well as irrigation systems. The diversification of cropping systems ii through cultivation of non-rice crops was one alternative for improving the productivity and profitability of farming systems and the productivity of water use in the irrigation areas.In all villages, off-farm and non-farm activities, particularly long-term migration of younger...

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Green Revolution Myth and Agricultural Reality?

Cited by 7 publications

References 3 publications

Globalisation of agrifood systems and sustainable nutrition

Globalisation of agrifood systems and sustainable nutrition

Wither biodiversity, whither food security? Participatory analyses of mixed cropping systems with Adivasi communities in India

Agrarian transition in lowland southern Laos: Implications for rural livelihoods

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