JAGANNATH UNIVERSITY, DHAKA.

 

Assignment 
On 
“Agro Ecological Degradation after Green Revolution” 
“The assignment submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the course‐ 
Environmental Economics”     

                      

Submitted To 

Najneen Jabin 

Lecturer 

Department of Economics

Jagannath University 

Dhaka. 

 
This Assignment Prepared By… 

Name of the Group Members Roll No.

1. Sadiatul Fatema* 05071219

2. Md. Emtieaj Ahmed 05071221

3. Farzana Rahman. 05071238

4. Md. Saiduzzaman Pulak 05071250

5. Md. Ibrahim Kholil 05071251

6. Saiful Islam. 05071302

7. Shafiqul Islam. 05071366

*Group Leader

 
 

Letter of Transmittal  

October, 27, 2009.

Najneen Jabin
Lecturer
Department of Economics
Jagannath University, Dhaka.

Dear Madam,
It’s our pleasure to submit you our Report on “The Agro Ecological degradation after Green
Revolution”.
We have prepared this report based on the data gathered from various books, related
organizations and internet. For the preparation of the report we have focused on the information
that was found to be reliable and valid.
We truly appreciate our topic to be an important and significant one to enhance knowledge
without which we would be surely in vague position. And we deeply regret for any inconvenience
located in this report and we shall always be available for any clarification required.

Sincerely yours

Sadiatul Fatema
Roll-05071219
(On behalf of the group-‘H’)
3rd year 1st semester
Department of economics.
Jagannath University, Dhaka.
Objectives:

T he objectives of our task are to reveal out- the overall condition of agro ecological
degradation after the immense implementation of Green Revolution. Since the Green
Revolution came with a huge expectation of crop cultivation, it made some greater long term
effects to the agricultural ecosystem. To meet the huge food crisis to the world’s highly rising
population, the Green Revolution was an essential invention. Bangladesh –one of the highest
densely populated countries in the world also involves to the Green Revolution. How Bangladesh
can manage the negative effect of Green Revolution, (i: e: Agro ecological degradation) our paper
is for suggests this.

Executive Summary:

T his report prepared as a requirement of the course of environmental Economics,

Department of Economics, Jagannath University, Dhaka. This report focuses on the
agro ecological degradation after Green Revolution. It contains several parts, the introduction part,
focuses on the overall idea of the subject matter. In recent times, the world is so much concern on
the environmental degradation. But along with this food security is another headache for the
world leaders. To keep the environment suitable for living beings is an important concern. And
how the Green Revolution causes damages to the agro ecosystems, how the countries can manage
it, these are discussed in the paper. The paper has a part for Bangladesh, where we have shown
the condition prevails in Bangladesh. It also contains case studies of several countries like India
and china. And finally we have added a suggestive conclusion.

 
Contents 

1. Introduction-------------------------------------------------------------------2
2. Conceptual Idea--------------------------------------3
¾ Agro Ecosystem
¾ Green Revolution
¾ Agro Ecological Degradation
3. Causes of Agroeco Degradation-------------------------------------------------4
4. Agroeco degradation after Green Revolution----------------------------------4
5. Impact of Chemical Fertilizer-------------------------------------------5
¾ Level of Using C.F
¾ Effects of Using
¾ Management
6. Impact of Pesticide-----------------------------------------------------9
¾ Level of Using Pesticides.
¾ Effects of Using
¾ Management
7. Impact of Irrigation-----------------------------------------
¾ Effects of Irrigation
¾ Management
8. Green Revolution II as an Initial Solution…………………………
9. Bangladesh Context-------------------------------------------------------------------
¾ Consequences of Green Revolution
¾ Degradation of Soil
¾ Effect on Production
10. Concluding Remarks.-------------------------------------------------------18
11. References-------------------------------------------------------------------19
Introduction 

E xtreme poverty, food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition still bedevil the underdeveloped
and developing nations. Nearly a third of the world populations are malnourished and
almost half live on less than a dollar a day. It is the world’s present situation. Food security
has always been one of the development goals sought universally by men. The Green Revolution
of the 1970’s was major breakthrough in achieving food security. High yielding varieties(HYV)
brought about a revolutionary change in food production. Developing worlds with growing
population were quick to adopt the high yield varieties rice and wheat to boost their agricultural
production. The advantage of this variety was their shorter growing period, which made it
possible for up to three crops per year in the same field as well as their high yield of grains.
However, these varieties needed larger amounts of fertilizers and were more prone to disease and
pests than the local varieties. As such, widespread use of fertilizers and pesticides became the
order of the day. These varieties also needed more water, making irrigation an integral part of
agricultural practice. The net consequence of the intensive agricultural practice is pollution by
pesticide and chemical fertilizers, soil erosion and salinization. Besides these types of
environmental stress, the production of HYV may also lead to loss of biodiversity through total
elimination of local varieties of crops, which are more suitable to local conditions. With the great
benefit the gGreen revolution also leads to an agro ecological damage because of the high rate of
using fertilizers, pesticides, making irrigation etc.
Conceptual Idea

Agro Ecosystem:

A n ecosystem is a natural system that is formed by dynamic interactions between biotic and
non-biotic elements in a defined area. Biotic elements include plants, insects (pests, natural
enemies, decomposers), microbes and other living organisms, and non-biotic elements comprise
weather components such as temperature, relative
humidity, wind, sunshine, rain and soil. Each
element has its special characteristics and role in
the system that, as a function of time and place,
will influence the distribution and population of
living organisms. The term ecosystem also
involves nutrient and energy flows within the
system. An agro ecosystem is characterized by a
much simpler composition with regard to the
number of species residing in the system and the
relative simplicity of energy flows than a natural,
stable ecosystem. Therefore, the agro ecosystem
needs energy input to maintain its balance. The wet paddy ecosystem, although an artificial
system, has a rather complex composition of biotic and non-biotic elements, providing it with
relative stability. Injudicious use of pesticides, however, disturbs this balance due to the killing of
natural enemies and other organisms in the rice field. Sweetpotato ICM technical manual
The IPM and ICM concepts find their basis in the stability of the agroecosystem and in economic
efficiency. By maintaining the stability of the agroecosystem, pest populations can be kept at
manageable levels. To achieve this, the following important points need to be remembered: A.
Each ecosystem is dynamic with respect to numbers, position, role and intensity of each element
within that transform and develop continuously. They form a living, ever-changing system. B.
Each ecosystem contains a hierarchical structure. For example: plants are producers of vegetable
food which will be used to feed herbivores. The herbivores (including pests) eat the plants using
various modes of attack. The herbivores, in turn, serve as food for the carnivores (including the
natural enemies), which again may be eaten by other carnivores. Finally, all organisms serve as
food for the decomposers. In the agroecosystem, if no natural enemies exist, the pests will
multiply unlimitedly and destroy the crop. But if the crop is finished, the pests will die of
starvation. Many natural enemies are not choosy about their food and will eat other organisms,
such as decomposers or plankton eaters, when there are no pests. Hence, they form an important
protection mechanism in the field. C. All elements of the agroecosystem are strongly linked and
disturbance of one element disturbs the whole balance. Therefore, the task of farmers is to
maintain the natural balance among elements in the agroecosystem, ensuring a good environment
for the crop to grow well.

Agro Ecological Degradation:

R ecent increases in the human population have placed a great strain on the world's soil
systems. More than 6 billion people are now using about 38% of the land area of the Earth
to raise crops and livestock. Many soils suffer from various types of degradation that can
ultimately reduce their ability to produce food resources. Slight degradation refers to land where
yield potential has been reduced by 10%, moderate degradation refers to a yield decrease from
10-50 %. Severely degraded soils have lost more than 50% of their potential. Most severely
degraded soils are located in developing countries such as Asia and Africa.

Figure 1: Services of Agro-ecosystems

Feed for private Wild fruits, herbs,

animals mushrooms, birds,
animals, and fish
Herbs for honey bees
and medical products Ecosystem ZSP Clean mountain and
mineral water
Specific farm products
and services Purification of water
and air
Favorite life style Agro-
ecosystems Biodiversity
Traditions
Natural wonders
Soil quantity and
quality Recreation and
treatment
Landscape
Education and
Carbon sequestration discovery
Green Revolution:

G reen Revolution refers to the transformation of agriculture that began in 1945.

One significant factor in this revolution was the Mexican government's request to
establish an agricultural research station to develop more varieties of wheat that could be
used to feed the rapidly growing population of the country. In 1943, Mexico imported
half its wheat, but by 1956, the Green Revolution had made Mexico self-sufficient; by
1964, Mexico exported half a million tons of wheat. The associated transformation has
continued as the result of programs of agricultural research, extension, and infrastructural
development. These programs were instigated and largely funded by the Rockefeller
Foundation, along with the Ford Foundation and among other major agencies. The
Green Revolution allowed food production to keep pace with worldwide population
growth. The Green Revolution has had major social and ecological impacts, making it a
popular topic of study among sociologists. The term "Green Revolution" was first used in
1968 by former USAID director William Gaud, who noted the spread of the new
technologies and said,
"These and other developments in the field of agriculture contain the makings of a new
revolution. It is not a violent Red Revolution like that of the Soviets, nor is it a White
Revolution like that of the Shah of Iran. I call it the Green Revolution."

Causes of Agro Ecological Degradation

D egradation of the land resource means a degraded ecosystem on which depends the
livelihood of the worlds teeming millions. Agro ecology especially land is being
degraded in different ways other than pollution. Unstable agricultural practices urban
land development, construction of roads, earth excavation, quarrying, mining, and
construction of embankments and polders all lead to the degradation of land. But the
main cause, which affects the land as well as agro ecology, is the Green Revolution. The
degradation of agro ecosystems after the huge implementation of Green Revolution are
main topic of this paper.
Degradation of Agroecosytems after Green Revolution

A fter the immense implementation of Green Revolution overall production level of

the crops have risen a lot. But as a consequence the Green Revolution, productivity
declines in long term. Over use of chemical fertilizer, pesticides hybrid seeds etc cause a
degradation to the soil as well as overall. How the Green Revolution affect the
agroecology is widely discussed below ; The following chart shows the process of Green
Revolution and the way of agro-eco degradation……

Soil Degradation
Pollution of  Chemical
Soil‐Water‐Air‐ 
Fertilizer  Unhealthy 
Food 
Plants   
Monoculture 
HYV. F. Seeds  Genetic Base 
Erosion

Pest out 
Predator  break  
Elimination 
Chemical 
Pesticide 
Pest 
Health Hazard  Resistant   Food Quality 
Degradation  
Over Use of Chemical Fertilizer:

A fter the Green Revolution, the level of using chemical fertilizer increases
tremendously. At the initial level of Green Revolution over use of fertilizer leads to
a large number of crop yield, but it declines the fertility of soil as well as destroy the
suitable agro ecology. There is a standard for using chemical fertilizer, but it is useless,
because the farmers do not notice about the harmful effect of over use of fertilizer.The
majority of farmers make their decisions on fertilizer use without consulting the local
extension agent. Some policy-makers have seriously considered making it compulsory
for farmers to apply the recommended rates. Although most wheat farmers in the Syrian
Arab Republic have used fertilizer for 15 to 20 years, many of them have little
information on the recommended rates or the official fertilizer allocations for each crop.
They take whatever is allocated to them and rely on their own experience and that of
others to decide on their fertilizer strategy. When farmers make decisions about fertilizer
use, they consider the allocation of fertilizer between crops, the number of applications
per crop, the rates, timing, and method of application. All of these decisions are made in a
highly uncertain environment characterized by wide year-to-year variations in rainfall
levels and in seasonal distribution.
Recommended rates of fertilizer use by crop (kg/ha)
Crop Condition Zone Nitrogen Phosphate
Irrigated wheat 150 100
Rain fed wheat HYV 1 100 80
HYV 2 80 60
Local 1 80 60
Local 2 60 60
Local 3 30 30
Rain fed barley 1 50 40
2 40 40
3 20 20
Cotton Irrigated 200 150
Maize Irrigated 120 80
Sugar beet Autumn 200 120
Summer 180 120
Potatoes Autumn 150 120
Summer 120 120

HYV=High Yielding Varieties. Local= Local Varieties.

Effects of over using Chemical Fertilizer; A Case Study:

H aripur in Pakistan: Excessive use of the DAP fertilizer in an effort to reap extra yield
has seriously damaged the under soil of the farmland and affected its fertility, reducing
per acre yield , according to Baqir Farooqi, agronomist and former research officer of
Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC). He was speaking at the inauguration of a
private fertilizer factory in Hattar. About the excessive use of DAP fertilizer, Mr Farooqi
said that the country had suffered a loss of billions of rupees in foreign exchange
annually on the import of DAP while its excessive use had delivered no good to Pakistani
farms but given birth to a virus which caused a damage to the under-soil and stiffened it
to the extent that crops and fruit plants could not receive nutrients. He said, per acre yield
of Pakistani crops and fruit had fallen considerably. He referred, especially, to the
reduced area of banana crop in Sindh province which according to him had fallen to only
20,000 acres against 250,000 acres during the previous years. He said that the use of DAP
for banana crop had given birth to a virus in Sindh which had destroyed the fertility of
farm land. Chaudhry Ehsan, another agro researcher, and Naeemur Rehman of agriculture
department of Haripur in their speeches said that the use of DAP fertilizer had increased
acidity (PH value) of soil to the level of eight against permissible limit of PH 7 because
of which they added the weeding and watering of farm land had become difficult and
affected the farm land. They recommended the use of local fertilizers particularly having
rock of Kakul area which according to them had 2 to 3 PH (acidity) level and was better
or redemption of damaged fertility and yield. So in total, chemical fertilizer is worse than
natural fertilizer.

Management:

O ver use of chemical fertilizer must be discouraged and the use of manure and humus
should be encouraged. Planting crop fields with leguminous species such as
“dhonche” during seasons when the land is left fallow and ten using them as green
manure will definitely increase the productivity of land reduce dependence on chemical
fertilizers.
Use of Pesticides:

Pesticides have been in use in some form or the other since ancient time. The Chinese
used arsenic in 900 AD to control garden insects. Lime, soap, turpentine, tobacco,
mineral oil etc, were in use as pesticides up to the end of 18th century. ‘Paris Green’ was
developed first as a commercial pesticide in 1868 for the control of ‘Colorado beetle’
attacking potato.

Pesticides include insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, acaroids, rodenticides or any

chemical that has biocide action. In order to make more food available for human
consumption, pesticide use to minimize food losses has been on increase. Estimated
global use of pesticides from 1980 to 2000 is presented in the following table.

Regions  1980  1990  2000 

North America 2.03 2.41 2.56

Latin America-Medium Income 0.20 0.54 0.95
Latin America-Low Income 0.22 0.47 1.20
Soviet Union 0.38 0.70 0.84
Western Europe 0.44 0.51 0.53
Asia- Low Income 0.39 1.95 3.77

Japan 0.28 0.72 1.25

Middle East 0.17 0.59 1.00
Africa 0.04 0.08 0.42
Oceania 0.02 0.03 0.04
Bangladesh 0.08 0.13 0.19
Source: Leontief, et al. 1977. Statistical Pocket Book of
Bangladesh2003, DOE-1990, 2000.
Effect of Using Pesticides:

The success of pesticides in controlling pests in a short term basis cannot be denied, but
their long term efficacy against pests, their overall effects on ecosystems(including
human health) especially agro ecosystems are very much doubtful for two major reasons:
rapid evolution of new breed of pests, resistant to the pesticide applied and increasing
pesticides hazards.

Pesticides kill non-target organisms including parasites and predators of pests that are
innocuous prior to the application of pesticides, resulting in outbreaks of those pests.
Insect pollinators, bird’s fish, and other animals have also been killed by pesticides.
Repeated application of insecticides over a long period to protect vast areas of rice fields
have been reported to have serious adverse effect on the microbial population, essentially
needed for maintaining soil health. According to WHO, about 500,000 people are
subjected to insecticide poisoning annually in the developing countries in the above
mentioned figure is however widely quoted but the victims may be in millions, and not in
thousands.

The history of world agriculture during 1951-1966 recorded a 34% increase in production
and it was made possible by the following increase: 63% in farm machinery, 146% in
nitrogenous fertilizers and 300% in pesticides (Meadows et al, 1972). This study shows
that rate of using pesticides is much more than food production.

As for example, with the govt. emphasize as well as financial and technological support
from the cotton development board and Bangladesh Tobacco company, production of
these crops rapidly increase in areas like old Kushtia and some of Jessore Districts during
the first half of 1970. After a few years the Tobacco cultivation sharply declined due to
shortage of fuel. Then they started to cultivate cotton which needed a lot of pesitcides to
use. And for that reason most of the farmers complained about the rapid decrease of
cotton yield in greater Kushtia. According to them increase incidence of insect pests are
the causes for that kinds of declining.
  
A worker wearing protective clothing is spraying crops with pesticides 

Resistance Management:
esistance management is a key concept in efficient pesticide use. Pesticides should be
R used in such a way that the development of pest resistance is prevented, or at least
delayed as long as possible. Farmers should avoid frequent, repeated applications of the
same pesticide. Instead, they should alternate different products. In this way, pest
populations do not have time to build up resistance to any one product.
There is something of a conflict between commercial interests and the need to avoid pest
resistance. By promoting their products, chemical companies are striving to dominate the
market. If they succeed, all local farmers will be using the same product. This is exactly
the way to promote the development of pest resistance!
Banned and Restricted Pesticides a major concern is the use of highly toxic and
dangerous pesticides. Many of these are imported from Western countries who have
banned their own farmers from using them, because they are so dangerous. Participants at
the meeting emphasized the value of toxicity data, and hoped that the different countries
in the region would find some way of sharing this data.
Of course, chemical companies developing new pesticides carry out toxicity tests before
they put them on the market. However, the results are a commercial secret - the
companies do not have to make them public. Naturally enough, there tends to be selective
disclosure. Companies make public only the data which gives a favorable picture.
National governments must carry out their own toxicity tests before a pesticide can be
registered. This testing is a heavy burden on countries which have only only limited
funds and personnel for testing.
The most serious problem is that many farmers prefer them! According to the FFTC/APO
survey, a list of the twenty most popular chemical pesticides used by farmers in the
region includes a substantial number of the Dirty Dozen. These pesticides are cheap and
effective, and farmers don't understand how dangerous they are.
It is important to educate farmers about the risks, as well as the benefits, of pesticides.
Also, if pesticides are to be banned, farmers must be given safer alternatives which are as
effective, and which cost about the same price.

Irrigation:

A ll over the world irrigation is practiced in one form or another to increase

agricultural productivity from the view of Green Revolution. Irrigation affects
Weather/Environment irrigated lands contributed to most of the world’s food supply and
output. It was estimated that around half of the increased agricultural production was in
the 35 years before 1986. One third of the crops grown around the world were on
irrigated land. The irrigated land was twice as productive as rain-fed land. The United
Nation’s predicted that in the year 2025 the food production will have to increase about
40 to 45 percent to support the world’s population. When this happens they will have to
increase off develop new irrigation systems. There are a wide variety of ways to irrigated
but some of them are harmful to the weather and the environment. There are irrigation
system that we use today that are from the early 1990s and then the new, updated ones.
97 percent of the world’s water lies within the ocean and the sea. Two percent of all the
water is in the glaciers. We can only use one percent of the world’s water. Even though it
rains a lot 60 percent of the rain gets evaporated back into the atmosphere. Also, there is
an uneven distribution of water around the world. Most of the water scarcity is in large
parts of Africa and the Middle East. With the population growing the food production has
to increase. Before the food production can increase the water that we can use needs to
increase. Claudio O. Stockle is a professor at the Washington state university that
believes “The world population is expanding rapidly, with corresponding increased
pressures on the food supply and the environment Competition for water is becoming
critical, and environmental degradation related to water usage is serious.” The number
of people living in water-stressed countries is projected to climb from 500 million to
three billion by 2025.” This means that for the world to grow any more town folks and
farmers need to come up with.
Effects of Irrigation:

There are three obvious salinity risks associated with irrigation:

The irrigation water may contain high levels of salt that may either directly affect
plant growth or add salt to the soil so that plant growth is eventually affected by
the increasing level of soil salinity.
Applying more irrigation water than is actually required by plants may raise the
water table under the area. If the water table is saline, and shallow enough to be in
the root zone, plant growth could be affected. Deeper saline water tables may also
be a problem; if within 2 meters of the surface dissolved salt can be moved into
the root zone by capillary movement in profiles with a high clay content.

Irrigated cropping changes the water balance in a number of ways compared to

perennial pasture. A key factor is cultivation, and fallowing before sowing.
During this period, evaporate-transpiration is reduced and more water will
infiltrate to the groundwater, with the potential to raise the level of a saline water
table. In summary, the main irrigation hazards are applying salts to the plants and
the soil if the water is saline, and raising the height of a saline water table.

Crop tolerance to irrigation water salinity

Crop/pasture Irrigation water salinity, Crop

ECw (dS/m) tolerance rating
Up to 10% 25% yield loss
yield loss
Barley 5.3 8.7 Very High
Pea 1.7 2.4 Medium
Potato 1.1 2.5 Low
Onion 0.8 1.8 Low
Bean 0.7 12.5 Low
Tall Wheat 5.0 9.0 High
Grass
Perennial 3.7 5.9 High
Rye Grass
Lucerne 1.3 3.6 Medium
Strawberry 1.1 2.6 Low
Clover
White Clover 1.0 2.4 Low

T he table shows examples of crop tolerance to water salinity, with ECw levels at
which crop yields are reduced by 10 and 25%. If salt added through saline irrigation
water is not leached by rainfall or irrigation water in excess of crop water requirements,
there is a risk of salt accumulating in the soil profile and eventually affecting plant
growth. For example, water of 1 dS/m salinity contains about 640 parts per million of
salt. That is equivalent to 640 kilograms of salt per million litres megalitres) of water
applied to the land (a mealtime is equivalent to 100 mm of water over 1 hectare). The
first mistake that most of these governments in Latin America and many developing
countries make is imitation. They try to copy technological models and try to put them in
use regardless of the environment and social cost. For example: many irrigation systems
are out of order, while others consume too much water, not delivering with the actual
amount of water that the plants need. This causes soil erosion in the Andean plain.

Stalinization effect on cultivable land causes agro ecological degradation.

, 
Management:

I rrigation schemes should be manage properly to avoid continuous water loggings.

Over extraction of ground water should be prevented. Methods should be adopted that
will lead to more economic use of irrigation water. Loss of water through evaporation
should be minimized when it is channeled.

Reclamation of saline soil is more difficult than prevention. Usually excess salts
accumulated on the surface are washed away by rain. Good drainage should be provided
so that water recedes after the flood. Where soil has become too saline and salts cannot
be flashed out naturally, other steps should be taken to reclaim to land Salt tolerant
species of vegetation may be planted as a first step towards the process. Planting of crop
varieties that need less water and are less dependent on irrigation should be encouraged
and popularized. Find out whether there is a saline water table under the area that is being
 irrigated. This is particularly important in the areas of the State where salinity risks are
higher (for example, lower rainfall, flat areas and drainage lines near areas with surface
expressions of salinity). In these areas drill test holes to 5 metres and check for saline
groundwater; install piezometers and monitor the groundwater depth and salinity.
Sometimes a freshly drilled hole will not reveal groundwater immediately after drilling,
so allow a week for groundwater to seep into the bore. If irrigating with Medium or High
salinity water, monitor soil salinity levels by measuring at the soil surface and in the
subsoil. If the irrigation water is saline, make sure that surface drainage is good.
Preferably, do not apply Medium or High salinity water to poorly drained soils because
there will be less leaching than where the soil profile is well-drained. Irrigating at night
will reduce the direct effects of salt on the leaves of plants. Keep soil moisture levels high
by irrigating with smaller amounts less often. This reduces the opportunity for salt in the
soil water to concentrate between irrigations. Growing crops on mounds or raised beds
will provide a volume of soil that is better drained, and irrigation will provide some
leaching of salts from the root zone. Use an irrigation scheduling system to ensure that
irrigation water applications do not exceed the water holding capacity of the soil.
Consider mixing High salinity water with better quality water if another source is
available – “shandying” water is a good strategy.

Green Revolution II as an Initial Solution 

T he Green revolution of the 1970’s was a major breakthrough in achieving food

security. Hybrid varieties of high yield grains brought about a revolutionary change
in food production. These varieties of high yield grains need needed large amounts of
fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation. The net consequence of the
intensive agricultural practice is pollution by pesticides and
chemical fertilizers, soil erosion, and salinization. To solve
these environmental risks in the late 1980’s agriculture was at
the threshold of another revolution; The Green Revolution II
brought about by the development of biotechnology. Scientists
started to hope that a new milestone could be added to
agricultural production through the application of genetic
engineering to evolve new varieties of crops, which may be
pest resistant or tolerant to salinity or flooding. This would be

Genetically Modified Wheat
possible through gene transfer between different species having the desirable
characteristics. Genetic modification allows selected individual genes to be transferred
from one organism into another, including genes from unrelated species. The technology
can be used to promote a desirable crop character or to suppress an undesirable trait.

Possible benefits of GM Food:

G enetic modification can provide improved resistance to disease and pests. It may
enable the production of more nutritious staple crops which provide essential
micronutrients, often lacking in the diets of poor people. GM crops that are better suited
to cope with stresses such as drought or salty soils, common to many developing
countries, are also being developed.
Furthermore, proponents note that GM crops might prove to be an important tool in
accelerating the increase of crop yields, especially of staple crops. This might be
particularly relevant for small-scale, resource-poor farmers in developing countries.
Seventy per cent of the world’s poor live in rural areas and about two-thirds of these rely
primarily on agriculture for their livelihoods.9 Increased yields through improved seeds
normally lead to higher demands for labour in agriculture. This usually implies growth in
employment income among the malnourished, and would have a positive effect on their
ability to afford sufficient food. Such developments would be valuable. It has become
clearer that both the reduction of poverty and growth in crop yields have slowed in most
of the developing world since the 1980s. Moreover, poverty has persisted and crop yields
have remained low in most of Africa, the poorest continent of the world.10 In this Paper,
we examine which kinds of GM crops have been grown in particular developing
countries, and assess whether there have been, or are likely to be, significant
improvements for farmers who grow them. However, any deliberation about the benefits
of a technology also needs to address likely risks.
Bangladesh Context: 

B angladesh is a very small country of 1, 47,570 square kilometer area having a

population of 130 millions. The country has only 8.29 million hectare (Bangladesh
Krishi Diary 2003) cultivable land against the huge population. The land area is gradually
decreasing because of population growth, industrialization and other infrastructure
development. This results a declining trend of per capita land availability from 0.13
hectare to 0.06 hectare during last few decades (1960 to 2000) . However, agriculture
plays a pivotal role in overall economic development of the country, not only in terms of
it contribution to GDP (about 20% of the GDP). More than 70% of the population
depends on agriculture. In order to feed the huge population green revolution has
emerged in 1960s and priority was given to produce more food in terms of grain through
intensification of land usage. It has created a tremendous pressure on limited land
resources. New crop variety (HYV) was introduced as well as chemical fertilizers and
pesticides, irrigation in the name of modernization. As a result immediate objectives of
more grain production have achieved and grain (rice) production has increased by
manifold. For a shorter period Bangladesh has achieved so called self sufficiency in food
(rice). A suicidal policy of just extraction of soil was followed. A lot of HYVs, Hybrids
has introduced that require increased amount of chemicals. Soil fertility conservation
issue is totally ignored. As a result, soil is rapidly losing its fertility. Acreage production
is getting downward despite of using high doses of chemical fertilizer and pesticides.

Production stages after green revolution:

F armers reports national statistics and the results of long-term cropping trials at BRRI
all indicate that yields are stagnating and productivity is declining .Both production
and mean yields of rice has risen and thus leading food-grain self-sufficiency production
increases have resulted from a substantial intensification of agricultural rather then from
in cultivated area. Intensification has taken several forms. Adoption of modern rice
varieties has increased substantially.
The irrigated area has expanded rapidly specially after the liberalization of minor
irrigation cropping intensity has grown substantially with an increasing proportion of
land being double or triple cropped use of chemical fertilizers has doubled. Yields can be
decomposed into two components in allocate efficiency (Yo-Yo).this gap is between
production achieved yields given the current technology.

Introduction of modern varieties increases the yield potential dramatically as illustrated

by curve mpv , but requires higher input levels. Under this technology, optimal fertilizer
use in FP which produces output Yp.

Green revolution yield increased have generally occurred in a series of stages, as

illustrated in figure 4 adoption of modern varieties led to a significant immediate yield
increases. Following this transition, further yield increases have tended to come first from
increasing allocative efficiency and then from increasing technical efficiency [Byerlee,
1992] these are shown as movements along a production function and as upward shift of
the achievable production function, respectively.
As illustrated in the figure the stages of improving allocate and technical efficiency
overlap with improvements in allocative efficiency dominating initially and
improvements in technical efficiency becoming important later.

Declining evidence:

T he implications of yield stagnation or decline for productivity are severe, since this
trend has occurred despite rapid growth in the use of chemical fertilizer. Figure 7
shows that use of chemical fertilizers on modern verities crops has increased markedly in
the last decade. As in other green revolution countries, input use was initially very low.
Cash –constrained, risk averse Bangladeshi farmers had difficulty in financing the
required high input levels. Moreover, in the early stages of the green revolution in
Bangladesh the fertilizer distribution system was controlled by a state monopoly, the
Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC), whose performance
proved woefully inadequate. Although there is evidence that some allocate inefficiency
persist, input use has gradually increased overtime. Despite these increases in fertilizer
use, Boro yields have stagnant or decline in two-thirds of the area planted to them, and
Amon yields have stagnant throughout Bangladesh .
Consequences of green revolution:

A fter the green revolution, when the technology and the notion of chemical
agriculture were introduced, it seems that the gross production of main grain, rice,
has increased. It has, however created a large negative impact on rural farmers and the
environment. Chemical agriculture is only oriented to economic profit, ecological and
social factors are totally ignored. Chemical agriculture is totally anti-natural and
destructive. Consequently this agricultural technology creates many problems.
Prominent among these are topsoil depletion and degradation, groundwater
contamination, the decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working
conditions for farm laborers, increasing costs of production, and the disintegration of
economic and social conditions in rural communities, health hazards due to food
degradation and environment (soil, air and water) pollution because of agricultural
poisons.

Degradation of soil:

U se of inorganic fertilizer and pesticides without use of any organic fertilizer results
lack of organic matter supply which caused a lot of problems to the soil. Soil
become hard, water holding capacity reduced, soil pH become imbalance that caused
some micro-nutrient deficiency, reduced soil microbial activities resulted less availability
of plant nutrients.
Degraded soil become unhealthy and unhealthy soil grows unhealthy plants. Without
considering the root cause use of chemical poisons to destroy the pest and consequently
the pest problem is not solved and become worsen.
The products grown with excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticides are low in quality.
These low food qualities become apparent in taste and preserving capacity of the
products. Chemically grown products have less nutrient content (protein, vitamins and
minarets) and higher water content. The high water content may be one of the main
reason for lack of taste and low preserving capacity of chemically grown product.
Use of chemical pesticides results pollution of the environment as they are chemical
poison. They are very much effective in killing living things and have long term residual
effect (some cases more than 10 years). The poison pollute the product first and then soil,
air and water consequently. This pollution results in poisoned product, soil degradation,
and the disappearance of fish, birds and other animals.
People experienced health hazards in two ways. Firstly, people eat the poisoned
agricultural products and other contaminated food like, meat, milk, fish etc from
chemical agricultural production. The poison accumulates in the living body and through
the food chain, the poison is condensed and creates different health hazards. The ultimate
destination of any chemical poison, wherever it is used, is the human body. Secondly, the
chemical pesticide directly affects the farmers who use it. In Bangladesh, most farmers
handle pesticides without protection for their bodies and they are usually the most serious
victims. The chemicals also produce a health hazard to other living things, especially
livestock’s and poultry birds. Now days, a common accident in the rural area is death of
poultry birds and livestock’s which fed on crop residues and grasses.

Disappearance of Local Genetic Resources:

L ocal varieties are the genetic base for improving seeds and are very important
resource for the future. However, local varieties are disappearing each year. The
main reason is the introduction of HYV seeds and hybrid seeds. That also accelerates
mono-culture and create ecological imbalance in agriculture.
Severi Mapp Mapp Populati Populati Populati Wastela Infrequ Comm Frequ Very Domin Degrad Degrad
ty ed ed on on % on nd ent on ent frequ ant ed ed %
(km2) density (km2) (km2) (km2) (km2) ent (km2) (km2)
(km2)
4,873,79
None 4.7 6,442 3.8 756.53 6,442 - - - - - 0 0.00
2
Moder 102,035,
67.2 92,527 80.4 1102.76 - - - 16,655 - - 16,655 12.09
ate 488
19,707,4
Severe 26.9 37,000 15.5 532.63 - - - 3,566 6,017 - 9,583 6.96
48
Not
Classifi 1.3 1,750 275,556 0.2 157.50 1,750 - - - - - 0 0.00
ed
TOTAL 137,71 126,892,
100.0 100.0 921.38 8,192 0 0 20,221 6,017 0 26,238 19.05
S 9 284
Case Study: India 

A s the world's population surges, the international community faces a pressing

problem: How will it feed everybody? Until recently, people thought India had an
answer. Farmers in the state of Punjab abandoned traditional farming methods in the
1960s and 1970s as part of the national program called the "Green Revolution," backed
by advisers from the U.S. and other countries. Indian farmers started growing crops the
American way — with chemicals, high-yield seeds and irrigation. Since then, India has
gone from importing grain like a beggar, too often exporting it. But studies show the
Green Revolution is heading for collapse.

Agro Ecological degradation:

O
n a recent morning, a drilling rig is pounding away in the middle of a wheat field
near the village of Chotia Khurd. The sound, part jackhammer and part pile
driver, is becoming increasingly common in the farm fields of northern India's
Punjab region. The farmer, Sandeep Singh, is supervising and looking unhappy as the rig
hammers away, driving deeper and deeper under his field in search of water.
When India's government launched the Green Revolution more than 40 years ago, it
pressured farmers to grow only high-yield wheat, rice and cotton instead of their
traditional mix of crops. The new miracle seeds could produce far bigger yields than
farmers had ever seen, but they came with a catch: The thirsty crops needed much more
water than natural rainfall could provide, so farmers had to dig wells and irrigate with
groundwater. The system worked well for years, but government studies show that
farmers have pumped so much groundwater to irrigate their crops that the water table is
dropping dramatically, as much as 3 feet every year. So farmers like Sandeep keep hiring
the drilling company to come back to their fields, to bore the wells ever deeper — on this
day, to more than 200 feet. As for this the groundwater crisis is evident at the edge of the
fields — thin straggly rows of wheat and a whitish powder scattered across the soil. The
white substance is salt residue. Drilling deep wells to find fresh water often taps brackish
underground pools, and the salty water poisons the crops."The salt causes root injuries,"
The district agriculture director, Palwinder Singh, says. "The root cannot take the
nutrients from the soil."
.
Destroying the Soil :
In the village of Chotia Khurd, farmers agree that the Green Revolution used to work
miracles for many of them. But now, it's like financial quicksand. Studies show that their
intensive farming methods, which government policies subsidize, are destroying the soil.
The high-yield crops gobble up nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, iron and manganese,
making the soil anemic. The farmers say they must use three times as much fertilizer as
they used to, to produce the same amount of crop.”

A System About to Collapse?

S ome leading officials in the farming industry wonder when this house of cards might
collapse. "The state and farmers are now faced with a crisis," warns a report by the
Punjab State Farmers Commission. India’s population is growing faster than any country
on Earth, and domestic food production is vital. But the commission's director, G.S.
Kalkat, says Punjab's farmers are committing ecological and economic "suicide. "If he is
correct, suicide is coming through national policies that reward farmers for the very
practices that destroy the environment and trap them in debt. Kalkat says only one thing
can save Punjab: India has to launch a brand new Green Revolution. But he says this one
has to be sustainable.
The problem is, nobody has yet perfected a farming system that produces high yields,
makes a good living for farm families, protects and enhances the environment — and still
produces good, affordable food. But create hazards for long time soil fertility, which is
widely seen in India after the implementation of Green Revolution.
Conclusion 

Agriculture from the Green Revolution has been a failure because they are putting into
use techniques that don't work in these agro ecological conditions. The Green Revolution
was particularly a fight between western visions on development, agriculture and science
and the indigenous Indian vision. The western vision who promised so much won, but
most people and ecosystems have lost. Although even the Green Revolution was bounded
by ecological limits, and by attempting to break out of them, if further increased those
limits, generating new levels of scarcity, insecurity and vulnerability. Conflicts which
arose are much more a result of the political, economic and cultural processes inherent to
Green Revolution. Bangladesh is under tremendous pressure to produce food grain for a
image population utilizing very limited land resource of 8.3 millions hectare. It is it is
claimed by the government that if the natural factors remain favorable Bangladesh can
grow sufficient food grain (cereals) for its nation. Now the question is how long? It has
already proved that land and other natural resources cannot be exploited endlessly by this
time we have damaged our soil, genetic and other natural resources to a great extent. We
must find the alternate way out before going the situation at an unprecedented level. We
should not utilize the technology for only exploitation of natural resources. We must
choose the environment friendly technology that can meet the present need and also
conserve the resources for future use. We have huge natural resources, thousands of
indigenous knowledge gathered by our ancestors whom they learn from nature. We
required necessary harmonization between indigenous knowledge and technologies.

Sustainable agriculture concept would be very much helpful to overcome the situation. A
sustainable, pro-people agriculture policy should be developed by the government and a
strong long term social movement is required for that.

 
References: 

1. Environmental Degradation __Zinatunnesa R.M.M. Khuda.

2. Banglapedia.
3. Consequences of Increased Pesticide Use_Dr. Amirul Islam.
4. Department of Environment (DOE), Bangladesh.
5. World Bank Survey Report.(1997).

Inrenet:

1. www.wikipedia.com
2. www.fao.com
3. www.un-bd.org/undp
4. www.adb.org
5. www.worldbank.org/bd