Agricultural Technology in India: HYVs, Irrigation, and Sustainability Challenges

When India faced severe food shortages in the 1960s, technology emerged as the saviour. The introduction of High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and expanded irrigation systems transformed the country from a food-deficit nation into one of the world’s largest agricultural producers. Yet, this technological revolution came with a price that Mahatma Gandhi had foreseen decades earlier. Understanding how agricultural technology shaped India’s farming landscape-and the sustainability challenges it created-offers crucial lessons for the future of Indian agriculture.

Technology’s pivotal role in boosting productivity 🔗

The Green Revolution, initiated in the late 1960s, fundamentally changed Indian agriculture. The strategy combined three key elements: expanding cultivated area, double-cropping existing farmland, and introducing genetically improved seeds. The results were dramatic-food grain production jumped from approximately 33 million tonnes in 1965 to around 100 million tonnes by 1980.

The HYV seeds proved particularly transformative. These seeds, developed through cross-breeding programs led by scientists like Norman Borlaug and M.S. Swaminathan, could produce yields 25 to 100 percent higher than traditional varieties. Wheat production exemplified this success, rising from just 11 million tonnes in 1960 to 55 million tonnes by 1990. Rice cultivation saw even more spectacular growth, with land use increasing nearly 14-fold and production expanding 58 times in states like Punjab.

Irrigation coverage expanded significantly, with the area under irrigation almost doubling since 1960-61. The cropping intensity reached 134%, meaning farmers could now grow multiple crops on the same land within a year. This intensification was supported by tube well irrigation, with Punjab alone seeing the number of tube wells increase from 200,000 in 1970 to over 1.5 million today.

Expansion of HYV and changing cropping patterns 🔗

The adoption of HYV seeds transformed India’s agricultural landscape. The area under HYV seeds rose dramatically from just 1.2% of Gross Cropped Area in the initial years to over 41% by the 1990s. The coverage in HYV area reached 78.4 million hectares by 1998-99, compared to the target of 70 million hectares set in the Seventh Plan.

Focus on wheat and rice 🔗

The HYV programme initially concentrated on wheat, particularly in well-irrigated regions like Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh. Mexican varieties like Lerma Rojo 64 and Sonora 64 were introduced and then cross-bred with Indian varieties to create seeds suited to local conditions. Punjab and Haryana together contributed approximately 50% and 85% of government procurement of rice and wheat respectively, despite covering only a small fraction of India’s territory.

During the second phase, from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, the focus shifted to include rice and spread to wetter regions like West Bengal, Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, and coastal areas. This expansion diversified the geographic spread of the Green Revolution’s benefits.

Diversification beyond cereals 🔗

The technological changes also influenced cropping patterns beyond the major cereals. The area under oilseeds, fruits, and vegetables nearly doubled as farmers diversified their production. This shift was driven partly by changing dietary patterns-as household incomes rose with urbanization, the share of cereals in total food expenditure fell from 52% in 1972 to 29% by 2006. Farmers responded to these market signals by growing more non-cereal crops that commanded better prices.

Environmental consequences: Gandhi’s warning comes true 🔗

Despite its achievements in food production, the intensive agricultural technology brought severe environmental consequences. These problems became evident in the 1980s and have grown increasingly prominent through time, validating warnings that were made long before the Green Revolution began.

Water-logging and salinization in Punjab 🔗

Over-irrigation without proper drainage systems created widespread water-logging across Punjab and Haryana. Since 1985, water tables in some areas rose more than one metre annually, and patches of salinity started appearing at farm level. The deposition of minerals on soil surfaces during water evaporation led to salinization, making land progressively less productive. Heavy chemical use combined with poor drainage resulted in the formation of unproductive soils locally called reh and kallar.

According to research, approximately 60% of the geographical area in Haryana faces soil degradation through waterlogging, salinity, and alkalinity-threatening the region’s food security for the future.

Groundwater depletion in Maharashtra and Karnataka 🔗

While some regions faced water-logging, others experienced the opposite crisis-severe groundwater depletion. India now extracts more groundwater than any other country worldwide, even more than the United States and China combined. In Punjab’s central districts, water tables fell between 0.3 and 1.0 metres annually during 1993-2003. By 2006, water tables had sunk to depths as low as 28 metres in some areas.

The situation in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka mirrors these concerns. Farmers who once relied on tube wells at 100-150 feet depth now must drill to 400-500 feet. This deeper drilling brings its own problems-aquifers at these depths often contain minerals like uranium, lead, and arsenic, contaminating water used for both agriculture and household consumption. Of Punjab’s 150 administrative sub-units, 117 are currently drawing more water than is being replenished.

Soil nutrient imbalance and chemical overload 🔗

The intensive use of chemical fertilizers has destroyed the nutrient balance of soils across Green Revolution regions. While the world average for fertilizer input stands at 138 kg per hectare, India’s average reaches 165 kg per hectare-indicating excessive and inefficient use that leads to pest incidence, soil pollution, and crop nutrition concerns.

Punjab is at the top among Indian states in chemical fertilizer and pesticide consumption. The Malwa region of Punjab is particularly affected, with pesticide consumption estimated at over 75% of the total used in the entire state. This has resulted in groundwater with high concentrations of salinity, nitrate, and persistent organic pollutants. Contaminated groundwater has become a major cause of cancer and other serious health problems in districts like Mansa, Muktsar, Faridkot, and Bathinda.

Gandhi’s prophetic warning 🔗

Remarkably, Mahatma Gandhi had anticipated these consequences decades before the Green Revolution began. In 1946, speaking about agricultural reforms in a free India, Gandhi warned that trading soil fertility for quick returns would prove disastrous. He saw people dreaming of industrializing agriculture through large-scale application of steam and electricity, and cautioned that this short-sighted approach would result in virtual depletion of the soil.

Gandhi emphasized that farming should work with nature, advocating for organic farming, conservation of soil and water resources, and traditional agricultural methods in harmony with the environment. His concept of Sarvodaya-welfare of all-encompassed sustainable development principles long before the term became mainstream. As noted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, Gandhi’s seminal work Hind Swaraj, written in 1909, warned of environmental destruction that the world faces today.

Limitations in technology dissemination 🔗

Despite the technological gains, the spread of agricultural innovations remained uneven. The Green Revolution primarily benefited regions with existing irrigation infrastructure-states like Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh-while leaving dryland areas largely excluded. Villages without access to sufficient water were left out, widening regional disparities between technology adopters and non-adopters.

Absent extension services 🔗

A critical bottleneck has been India’s weak agricultural extension system. While India has one of the largest public extension systems in the world, it lacks coordinated effort in managing links between research, extension, and farmers. This results in non-uniform distribution of agricultural knowledge and technology.

Extension staff are concentrated at block level in most states, with only six states maintaining staff at village level. The vacancy position is particularly alarming in tribal and distant areas-precisely where extension services are most needed. India spends just 0.7% of agricultural GDP on research, education, and extension-far below the 2% recommended by the World Bank. Extension personnel numbers fall well short of the recommended ratio of 1:750, with China having over 7 million agricultural extension personnel compared to India’s approximately 1.2 lakh.

In remote and disadvantaged areas, farmers are rarely contacted by extension agents. Traditional information delivery through personal visits involves high transaction costs, limiting the number of farmers who can be reached. The information provided is often generic and not adapted to farmers’ specific needs and local conditions.

Multinational control over new technologies 🔗

A newer challenge concerns control over agricultural technologies. India’s liberalized economy has brought multinational corporations into seed, fertilizer, and pesticide markets. Environmental writer Vandana Shiva describes this as a “second Green Revolution”-one driven by private and foreign interests rather than public funding. This shift raises concerns about farmers’ access to technologies like organic farming methods, with smaller farmers potentially excluded from innovations that could help them transition to more sustainable practices.

The concentration of technology in private hands creates dependencies that can undermine farmer autonomy. When multinational companies control seed varieties, fertilizers, and pest management solutions, small farmers find themselves trapped in expensive input cycles with little bargaining power.

Looking ahead: balancing productivity and sustainability 🔗

India’s agricultural technology journey offers both achievements to celebrate and lessons to heed. The country moved from food insecurity to self-sufficiency-a remarkable transformation that saved millions from hunger. Yet the environmental costs were severe, and the benefits were unevenly distributed.

Moving forward, India faces the challenge of maintaining productivity while restoring environmental health. This requires integrating modern agricultural science with sustainable practices-reducing chemical inputs, improving water use efficiency, diversifying crops, and ensuring that new technologies reach all farmers, not just those with resources. Gandhi’s vision of farming in harmony with nature, once dismissed as backward-looking, now appears increasingly relevant for building a resilient agricultural future.

What do you think? Can India achieve sustainable agriculture without sacrificing the productivity gains of the Green Revolution? How might Gandhi’s principles of self-reliance and harmony with nature guide agricultural policy in an era of climate change?

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution_in_India
2. https://www.cimmyt.org/news/high-yielding-staple-crops-improve-health-and-prosperity-in-developing-countries/
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016788090000219X
4. https://vajiramandravi.com/current-affairs/green-revolution-in-india/
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/green-revolution
6. https://undark.org/2025/02/03/downstream-india-green-revolution/
7. https://millenniumwaterstory.org/Pages/Photostories/Water-and-Livelihood/Green-Revolution-in-India-and-its-Impact-on-Water-Resources.html
8. https://www.samanvaya.com/articles/gandhi-indian-ethos-agriculture-swaraj
9. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6515736/
10. https://ras.org.in/index.php?Article=public_sector_agricultural_extension_in_india
11. https://oar.icrisat.org/11401/1/Agriculture-Extension-System-in-India-A-Meta-analysis.pdf