Agricultural Revolutions — Set 13

Correct Answer: B. Setting MSP at 50% profit over C2 cost (comprehensive cost of production)

The Swaminathan Commission (National Commission on Farmers, 2004-2006) recommended MSP should be set at C2 cost + 50% profit, where C2 is the comprehensive cost including imputed rent of land and interest on capital. This recommendation, if implemented, would significantly increase MSP and farmer income. Farmers' protests (2020-21) demanding legal guarantee of this MSP formula were a major political movement. The government claimed it was already providing this, but farmers disputed the calculation methodology.

Correct Answer: B. It is India's most productive agricultural belt where the Green and subsequent revolutions achieved the greatest impact

The Indo-Gangetic Plain stretching through Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar, and West Bengal is India's most productive agricultural belt and the heartland of agricultural revolutions. Its deep alluvial soils, flat topography, and access to Himalayan river water made it ideal for Green Revolution HYV wheat and rice. This region produces the majority of India's food grains and is the primary zone of MSP-based procurement. Its groundwater sustainability is India's most critical agricultural challenge.

Correct Answer: B. Food security = having enough food; Food sovereignty = people's right to define their own food systems and agricultural policies

Food security means having physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Food sovereignty (a concept advocated by La Via Campesina) goes further — arguing that people have the right to define their own food systems, policies, and agriculture rather than being subject to international trade rules and corporate-controlled seeds. Critics of the Green Revolution's dependency on multinational corporations for HYV seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides argue it compromised food sovereignty even while improving food security.

Correct Answer: B. World Food Prize — the equivalent of Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture

M.S. Swaminathan received the World Food Prize in 1987, considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for achievements in food and agriculture. He was also awarded Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Ramon Magsaysay Award, and numerous international honors. He was appointed to India's Planning Commission and served as Director General of IRRI and IUCN. Swaminathan passed away in September 2023, leaving an unparalleled legacy in Indian agriculture.

Correct Answer: B. High-yielding rice with tolerance to drought, floods, pests — using genetic improvement for climate resilience

Green Super Rice (GSR) is a rice breeding program jointly developed by IRRI and China's CAAS, creating rice varieties that combine high yield with multiple stress tolerances — drought, floods, poor soils — while requiring fewer chemical inputs. GSR represents the next agricultural revolution in rice: maintaining Green Revolution's productivity gains while dramatically reducing the environmental footprint and improving resilience to climate change, exemplifying the Second Green Revolution's sustainable intensification principles.

Correct Answer: B. It replaced thousands of traditional crop varieties with few HYV varieties, causing genetic erosion and biodiversity loss

The Green Revolution paradox regarding diversity is that while dramatically increasing food production, it replaced the thousands of traditional crop varieties that farmers had maintained for millennia with a handful of high-yielding varieties. This 'genetic erosion' lost irreplaceable diversity that could be used in future breeding for disease resistance, climate adaptation, and nutritional improvement. Seed banks and farmers' variety conservation efforts became critical responses to this unintended consequence.

Correct Answer: C. 7 or more revolutions covering all major agricultural sectors

India's Rainbow Revolution encompasses 7 or more sectoral revolutions: Green (foodgrains), White (dairy), Blue (fisheries), Yellow (oilseeds), Golden (horticulture/honey), Silver (eggs/poultry), Pink (meat/onions), Brown (leather/non-conventional energy), Round (potato), Golden Fiber (jute), and others. Each represents a major transformation in a specific agricultural sector. Together they represent India's comprehensive achievement in agricultural development across all food system components since independence.

Correct Answer: B. Eastern India, tribal areas, rain-fed regions, and small farmers excluded from first Green Revolution

The Second Green Revolution specifically targets Eastern India (Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam) and other regions with rain-fed agriculture where the first Green Revolution had limited impact due to poor irrigation. It also focuses on small and marginal farmers, tribal farmers, and degraded land rehabilitation. BGREI (Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India) scheme targets achieving food grain potential in eastern states that have underperformed relative to their agro-climatic potential.

Correct Answer: B. Converting cattle dung from dairy cooperatives into biogas — byproduct of the dairy revolution creates energy

The biogas revolution in India is closely linked to the White Revolution, as the millions of dairy cattle whose milk created the White Revolution also produce enormous quantities of dung suitable for biogas production. GOBARdhan scheme leverages this connection by converting animal waste (primarily from dairy cattle) into biogas/bio-CNG for cooking and electricity, and bioslurry for organic fertilizer. This creates a circular economy where the dairy revolution enables an energy revolution simultaneously.

Correct Answer: B. Transforming the entire chain from production to consumption to be sustainable, equitable, nutritious, and resilient

Food system transformation in the 21st century context means transforming the entire food system — production, processing, distribution, retail, consumption, and waste management — to be simultaneously sustainable (environmentally), equitable (socially just), nutritious (healthy diets), and resilient (climate adaptive). This goes beyond production-focused agricultural revolutions to address how food is grown, distributed, and consumed. India's food system transformation includes reducing food losses, improving nutrition outcomes, and transitioning toward sustainable farming.