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Green Revolution Timeline

(1940s–1970s)

The Green Revolution was a period of agricultural transformation that increased food production through high-yield crops, irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, and mechanization. Less

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Origins and institutions

Land reform reaches its apex in Mexico

1934 - 1940

During the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas, land reform reached its apex in central and southern Mexico, creating an important institutional context for later agricultural development.

Wallace visits Mexico

1940

U.S. Vice President-elect Henry A. Wallace made a lengthy visit to Mexico in 1940. His earlier work with hybrid seed corn and Pioneer Hi-Bred International helped inspire the agricultural transformation that became the Green Revolution.

Borlaug’s agricultural station is established

1941

After Norman Borlaug’s agricultural station was established in 1941, Richard Bradfield, Paul C. Mangelsdorf, and Elvin Charles Stakman surveyed Mexican agriculture and recommended policies and practices.

Mexico founds CIMMYT

1943

The Mexican government founded the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, or CIMMYT, in 1943. It later became a major base for international agricultural research.

China prioritizes agricultural development

1949

After the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party made agricultural development a priority.

China passes the Agrarian Reform Law

1950

The Agrarian Reform Law of 1950 ended private land ownership in China and gave land back to the peasants.

IRRI is established in the Philippines

1960

During President Carlos P. Garcia’s administration, the Philippine government, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation established the International Rice Research Institute in 1960.

The term Green Revolution is coined

Mar 8, 1968

William S. Gaud, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, first used the term Green Revolution in a speech on 8 March 1968.

CGIAR is established

May 19, 1971

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research was established on 19 May 1971, supported by the World Bank and co-sponsored by the FAO, IFAD, and UNDP.

Crop breakthroughs

Mexico imports half of its wheat

1943

In 1943, Mexico imported half of its wheat requirements, illustrating the food-production challenges that agricultural research would address.

Mexico increases corn and wheat production

1948 - 1960

Within eight years of Wallace’s visit, Mexico no longer needed to import food for the first time since 1910. Within 20 years, corn production had tripled and wheat production had increased five-fold.

Mexico becomes self-sufficient in wheat

1956

By 1956, Mexico had become self-sufficient in wheat after the introduction of improved agricultural practices and varieties.

India invites Norman Borlaug

1961

Norman Borlaug was invited to India in 1961 by Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, adviser to the Indian Minister of Agriculture, helping initiate the transfer of high-yield agricultural methods.

IRRI crosses Dee-Geo-woo-gen and Peta

1962

Researchers at IRRI made a rice crossing between Dee-Geo-woo-gen and Peta in 1962, creating the breeding material that led to a major new rice cultivar.

Mexico exports wheat

1964

By 1964, Mexico was exporting half a million tons of wheat, a major reversal from its dependence on imported wheat in 1943.

IR8 rice becomes a new cultivar

1966

In 1966, one of the IRRI breeding lines became IR8, a high-yield rice cultivar that became an important symbol of the Green Revolution in Asia.

IR8 changes Philippine rice production

1966 - 1986

The switch to IR8 made the Philippines a rice exporter for the first time in the 20th century, although imports still exceeded exports. From 1966 to 1986, the country imported about 2.679 million metric tons and exported 632,000 tons of milled rice.

De Datta reports IR8 yields

1968

Indian agronomist S. K. De Datta reported that IR8 rice yielded about five tons per hectare without fertilizer and nearly ten tons per hectare under optimal conditions.

India becomes self-sustaining in cereal production

1974

India became self-sustaining in cereal production in 1974, six years after Ehrlich’s prediction, following the introduction of Norman Borlaug’s dwarf wheat varieties.

Global impacts

World grain production rises sharply

1950 - 1984

Between 1950 and 1984, world grain production increased by 160% while the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe.

Cereal production doubles in developing nations

1961 - 1985

Cereal production more than doubled in developing nations between 1961 and 1985 as high-yield varieties, irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery spread.

The Population Bomb is published

1968

In his 1968 book The Population Bomb, Paul R. Ehrlich predicted that India could not feed two hundred million additional people by 1980 and warned that hundreds of millions would starve.

Food prices fall over the long term

1970 - 2001

Rice cost about $550 per ton in the 1970s but under $200 per ton in 2001, reflecting long-term changes in agricultural productivity and food prices.

Borlaug receives the Nobel Peace Prize

1970

Norman Borlaug, widely known as the Father of the Green Revolution, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his contribution to reducing hunger through agricultural science.

The world population doubles again

1973

The world’s population had doubled by 1923 and doubled again by 1973 without fulfilling Malthus’s prediction of impending famine.

China’s poverty declines substantially

1979 - 2014

China had 490 million people living in poverty in 1979, compared with 82 million in 2014. The share of the population that had been hungry and poor fell to 6% by 2014.

China’s fertilizer use rises

2003 - 2004

The quantity of agricultural input described in the source rose to 25 million tons in 2003 and 2004, equaling around five tons of lime per hectare.

India becomes a major rice exporter

2006

India became one of the world’s most successful rice producers and shipped nearly 4.5 million tons of rice in 2006.

India’s wheat production reaches 73 million tons

2006

India’s annual wheat production rose from 10 million tons in the 1960s to 73 million tons in 2006.

Research links crop varieties to lower infant mortality

2020

A 2020 study of 37 developing countries found that diffusion of modern crop varieties reduced infant mortality by 2.4 to 5.3 percentage points from an 18% baseline, with stronger effects among male infants and poor households.

Research finds high-yield crops reduced infant mortality in India

2020

Another 2020 study found that high-yield crop varieties reduced infant mortality in India, with particularly large effects among rural children, boys, and low-caste children.

A study finds reduced agricultural land use

2021

A 2021 study found that the Green Revolution led to a reduction in the amount of land used for agriculture.

A study estimates major yield gains

2021

One 2021 estimate found that the Green Revolution increased yields by 44% between 1965 and 2010.

A study links the Green Revolution to slower population growth

2021

A 2021 study found, contrary to Malthusian expectations, that the Green Revolution led to reduced population growth rather than increased population growth.

Challenges and future

Green Revolution crops face flavor criticism

1964

High-yield rice introduced after 1964 into impoverished Asian countries was criticized for having inferior flavor, being more glutinous and less savory than native varieties, and selling below average market value.

Philippine credit problems emerge

1980

By 1980, problems with the Philippine credit scheme made loans accessible mainly to rich landowners, leaving poor farmers in debt.

WHO and UNEP report pesticide poisonings

1989

In 1989, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme estimated around one million human pesticide poisonings annually.

The Evergreen Revolution is named

1990

Indian agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan coined the term Evergreen Revolution in 1990, while stating that the concept dated back as early as 1968.

The Rio Treaty addresses agricultural biodiversity loss

1992

The 1992 Rio Treaty, signed by 189 nations, generated national Biodiversity Action Plans that assigned significant biodiversity loss to agriculture’s expansion into new domains.

Malawi launches an input subsidy program

2005

After a 2001 famine and years of chronic hunger and poverty, Malawi launched the Agricultural Input Subsidy Program in 2005. Vouchers enabled smallholder farmers to buy subsidized nitrogen fertilizer and corn seeds.

Malawi reports a corn production decline

2015 - 2016

Malawi experienced a 40% drop in corn production in 2015 and 2016, highlighting the vulnerability of agricultural gains to economic and environmental conditions.

Mozambique subsidy trial finds lasting yield gains

2021

A 2021 randomized controlled trial of temporary subsidies for corn farmers in Mozambique found that adopting Green Revolution technology increased yields in both the short and long term.

Fakhri summarizes food-system emissions

2022

In 2022, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Michael Fakhri summarized the environmental costs of modern food systems, stating that they emit approximately one third of global greenhouse gases and contribute to the decline of animal and plant species.

Global food demand is projected to rise

2050

Global populations are projected to increase by one-third by 2050, requiring a 70% increase in food production, achievable with appropriate policies and investments.

Key Facts

  1. The Green Revolution began in the 1940s and expanded rapidly across Asia and Latin America during the 1960s and 1970s.
  2. Agronomist Norman Borlaug developed high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties and is often called the father of the Green Revolution.
  3. The movement relied on improved seeds, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, and modern farming equipment.
  4. India and Mexico achieved major increases in wheat and rice production, helping reduce the risk of famine.
  5. Although it improved food security, the Green Revolution also contributed to soil degradation, water depletion, biodiversity loss, and social inequality.

Source

This Green Revolution timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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