Agricultural Modernization in Asia

Prior to and since gaming independence several countries in Asia, particularly on the Indian subcontinent, had been experi­encing critical shortages in food grains as their population pressures kept on increas­ing. The colonial policy had primarily emphasized the production of export-oriented crops, such as cotton, jute, tea, rubber, etc., with the result that these na­tions’ capacity to feed themselves had steadily deteriorated.

The historically rice- exporting countries, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia were the few exceptions. The nations in South Asia were particu­larly concerned as their populations began to mount, and they were faced with the task of increasing their food grain produc­tion.

The traditional approach to agricul­tural development had relied heavily on such methods as expansion of the culti­vated area and efficient utilization of land and farm labor. It was, however, quite ap­parent that nearly all of the available farmland had been put under plough in these countries. Agricultural modern­ization that could enhance crop-yield was perhaps the answer.

The successful route to increased food grain production lay in the creation and introduction of improved strains of cereal crops. A major break­through occurred in the early 1960s through the discoveries of Norman Borlaug who had developed higher yielding varieties of rice, wheat and maize (corn) in Mexico and tried these in the Philippines.

The results of initial experiments were so overwhelmingly successful that soon the new strains, the HYVs (the high-yielding varieties) of rice and wheat (and later on some other grains) were adopted in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and later on in several other areas (including Thailand, Taiwan, parts of China).

The modernization process of the dif­fusion of the high-yielding varieties of new strains of crops is based on several factors if satisfactory results were to be obtained. First, the new seeds increase yields only if they are to be supported by large quanti­ties of fertilizers and pesticides. Second, ample and careful application of irrigation is essential for the new “miracle strains” to develop properly during the growing sea­son.

Third, the new strains respond best to mechanized farming and modern agricul­tural techniques. The last factor is important, if not crucial, for the capital- scarce, poor farmers in countries where farming implements and techniques are traditional and lack modern sophistica­tion.

The “core area” of the diffusion of the new HYV of crops was India and Pakistan (the Indus-Ganga Plains) where the pro­duction of wheat and rice increased over 90 percent between 1966 and 1971, attrib­uted largely to the use of these “miracle strains,” although promising results were obtained in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the Philippines as well.

The success of the “food grain revolution” or the so-called “Green Revolution” depended largely on the grant of subsidies and loans to the farmers, and the development of irrigation facilities by the state in these nations where the farmers in many instances were largely poor, and short of capital.

The last item was important for the purchase of fer­tilizers, and agricultural implements. The bigger landlords and farmers could spare capital for the purchase of fertilizers, pesti­cides, and introduce mechanization and make use of irrigation facilities. They were the largest beneficiaries of the Green Revo­lution. Some studies indicate that the Green Revolution created wider social gaps between the big farmers and the smaller cultivators in many instances.

Clearly, the short-run prospect of the modernization process in agricultural de­velopment in several Asian countries has been that of averting food famines and other serious problems in food-deficit re­gions, for example, India and Pakistan are now self-sufficient in their food require­ments and several other countries have been able to increase their food grain sup­ply. But the long-term impact still remains uncertain for several reasons.

Firstly, the diffusion of new varieties is spotty in space and among farmers. Those areas have benefited most where the states could pro­vide facilities such as irrigation facilities, and provide capital subsidies to the farmers among the smaller and poorer farmers. Secondly, much depends on the rate of population growth.

A rapid increase in population growth means that, population can outpace the gains made through greater production of food grains. And thirdly, much of the success of the Green Revolution would depend upon the behav­ior of the economic and political conditions within the countries. For a vari­ety of reasons the implementation and diffusion of the high-yielding varieties of crops in areas which become politically and economically unstable will be difficult as the Green Revolution programs could be put in jeopardy.