Lessons from the asian green revolution, asian journal of agriculture and development, southeast asian regional center for graduate study and research in agriculture searca, vol. Lessons from the asian green revolution in rice springerlink. The speed and scale with which it solved the food problem was remarkable and unprecedented, and it contributed to a substantial reduction in poverty and the launching of broader economic growth in many asian countries. That structural food shortages have not led to a much higher. Description a comparative study between asian agricultural development during the green revolution in food production and the current problematic agricultural situation in subsaharan africa is presented. Grain, alongside a host of others, has written and commented extensively on the alliance for a green revolution for africa agra and the impact it will have on the continent. Lessons from around the world technical and vocational education and training. Can lei accelerate farm growth and eliminate food shortages.
Shortly after the overthrow of the marxist regime in 1991, the regional government of tigray launched a major land restoration campaign implemented with the support of village communities and donor agencies such as the world bank, usaid, german development cooperation, world food programme and others. African green revolution neednt be a mirage science. The context of africas food crisis an important feature of many african countries is that the bulk of the food output is produced by small familyoperated farms whose members form the largest group facing food insecurity. It also discusses some possible policy responses to this crisis. Input subsidies to improve smallholder maize productivity. Rice green revolution in asia and its transferability to. Alliance for a green revolution in africa agra solving. A detailed retrospective of the green revolution, its achievement and limits in terms of agricultural productivity improvement, and its broader impact at social, environmental, and economic levels is provided. The collision of climate change, population growth and regional conflict has created massive food shortages across multiple countries in africa.
The current global food crisis is due to the depletion of food stocks and increase in prices, especially of staples. Asia, which adopted the green revolution model in the 1960s, has invaluable lessons to offer to an africa striving for food security. During this time period, new chemical fertilizers and. Ghana, tanzania, ethiopia, kenya, malawi, nigeria, uganda and zambia and seven asian japan, taiwan, korea republic, the philippines, indonesia, india and bangladesh. This book is the outcome of a threeyear project coordinated by a group of swedish researchers with collaborating scholars from africa and asia. Countless people were left without livestock, harvests or livelihoods. Towards a truly green revolution for food security 71 the nature of the impact of price rises depends on countries economic struc ture, sectoral linkages, trade position, poverty levels and. The interagency assessment missions have been supported with funds from the. The current global food crisis has reemphasized the costliness of africas. Africa and the green revolution a global historical perspective. Transforming africas agriculture to improve competitiveness.
Lessons from the asian green revolution 20180126 pdf vocational education and training in times of economic crisis. Rural banks were first established in ghana in 1976 to provide banking services to the rural population, providing credit to smallscale farmers and businesses and supporting development projects, with the first being in agona nyakrom in central region. The green revolution brought modern science to bear on a widening asian food crisis in the 1960s. The puzzle of the policy shift the early green revolution in india, indonesia and the philippines, g djurfeldt and m jirstrom 5. The green revolution, or third agricultural revolution, is a set of research technology transfer initiatives occurring between 1950 and the late 1960s, that increased agricultural production worldwide, particularly in the developing world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s. Improving seeds through experimentation is what people have been up to. Lessons from the asian green revolution djurfeldt, goran, holmen, hans, jirstrom, magnus, larsson, rolf on. Most important, the green revolutions critics have no good answer to what would have happened to asias exploding population, already hungry, absent the doubling of yields. It was highest in asia at 82% and lowest in africa at 27%.
For a concise summary of the debate see this short paper pdf. The green revolution saved a billion people from starvation. Why did the original green revolution not reach africa. The asian green revolution benefited from highyielding crop varieties, fertile alluvial soils, and irrigation, with crop improvement accounting for 6688% of the yield increases. An estimated million people were affected across somalia, kenya and ethiopia. Coverage spans technology, irrigation, climate and agricultural policies in the asian green revolution, and probes whether geography explains why such a revolution has eluded africa. The purpose of this chapter is to identify important lessons from the asian green revolution in rice and examine whether the modern rice technology in asia could be appropriately transferred to contemporary sub. This paper aims to examine some important causes and challenges of the global food crisis from a developmental perspective. How ethiopia went from famine crisis to green revolution by chris reij as president obama traveled to ethiopia this week for meetings about security, human rights, and to visit the african union headquarters in addis ababa, most people likely conjured up images of the country from the 1980sa land ravaged by drought and famine. Saharan africa is in great need of a green revolution. How ethiopia went from famine crisis to green revolution. East africa food crisis our response oxfam international.
Green revolution farming has not yet reached deeply into subsaharan africa. The most salient, policyrelevant conclusions deal with maize, which is the biggest food crop in. Grain lessons from a green revolution in south africa. By the 1990s 75% of asian rice production was of green revolution varieties, and half of all wheat in africa, latin america and asia patel 20. To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, im or document to embed the entire object, paste this html in website to link to this page, paste this link in email, im or document to embed this page, paste this html in website. The latest rescue plan for africa is another green revolution. The green revolution has yet to be realized in subsaharan africa ssa even 40 years after its success in tropical asia, suggesting that there was a missing element in the basic principles. Based on case studies of eight african and eight asian countries focusing on the early part of the green revolution, this book presents a causal and. Lastly, land degradation and the loss of ground cover are taking their toll. Conversely, diversified farming can contribute for diet diversity and improve nutritional quality 24, 25.
Case studies of eight african and eight asian countries focusing on the early part of the green revolution were carried out. Lessons from the asian green revolution, countries such as zimbabwe, kenya, and nigeria launched efforts at agricultural reform in the 1970s and 1980s, but these attempts failed because funding was not sustained. Food selfsufficiency versus food security solution to underlying cause of food crisis africa needs a green revolution. The initiatives resulted in the adoption of new technologies, including highyielding varieties hyvs. Hira jhamtani asia, the rice barn of the world, has often been cited as a successful continent in implementing the green revolution, particularly in rice production. The international food policy research institute ifpri was established in 1975. As hans holmen of linkoping university in sweden writes in the african food crisis. It provides a comparative study between asian agricultural development during the green revolution in food production and the current problematic agricultural situation in subsaharan africa. Lessons from the asian green revolution 20100125 the african food crisis.
Africa and the green revolution a global historical. The millennium development goals and the african food crisis. By 2005 63% of cropland in developing countries used improved varieties. The millennium development goals and the african food crisis report from the afrint ii project 1 this report summarises research carried out during three years 2007 2010 in the sidafinanced afrint ii project. Transforming africas agriculture to improve competitiveness banks, while longterm credit was provided by development banks. The green revolution was a period when the productivity of global agriculture increased drastically as a result of new advances.
Case studies of eight african and eight asian countries focusing on the early part. Spurts in production africas limping green revolution, h holmen 6. In the middle of 2011 a massive food crisis hit east africa and the first famine of the 21st century was declared in somalia. However, i believe that africa has the capacity to feed itself and become a net exporter of food. Part i surveys the transferability of asias green revolution to subsaharan africa and explores whether africa should focus on staple crops and small farms. Lessons from the asian green revolution why can asia now feed its rapidly growing population, but africa continues to. The official prescriptions for solving the world food crisis call for more of the same policies that caused the crisis in the first place. Much of the human and institutional capacity essential for an agricultural revolution in africa was weak or nonexistent. Lessons from the asian green revolution, countries such as. This paper takes stock of the crisis and the broader issues related to food security and the ensuing implications for asia and partner aid agencies such as the asian development bank adb.
The green revolution in africa has not benefited similarly from improved crop varieties but must also redress nutrientdepleted soils and cope with little to no. Addressing food crisis in africa what can subsaharan. Largescale famines, a typically asian phenomenon until the 1960s, became. Myths about agriculture, obstacles to solving the african. Lessons from the asian green revolution by goran djurfeldt, hans holmen, magnus jirstrom and rolf larsson jan kees van donge african studies centre, po box 9555, 2300rb leiden, the netherlands. For example, researchers highlighted the decline in the food quality at the time of green revolution as a result of the conversion of pulse farms to rice production plots.
Hira jhamtani asia, the rice barn of the world, has often been cited as a successful continent in implementing the green revolution, particularly in. Goran djurfeldt, university of lund, sweden, hans holmen, linkoping university. This was done together with land reforms aimed at consolidating land holdings and giving farmers security of tenure, thereby enabling farmers to access credit facilities. Lessons from the asian green revolution, london, cabi publishing, 2005. Djurfeldt g, holmen h, jirstrom m, larsson r, editors. And india, one of the most famineprone regions of the world. Between 1970 and 1998, while the share of cropped area planted to modern green revolution varieties increased to 82 percent in the developing regions of asia and up to 52 percent in latin america, only 27 percent of area was planted to such varieties in subsaharan africa. An agricultural survey for more than 9,500 african. In the meantime, this model of a green revolution has already been implemented for the past five years in the eastern cape province of south africa. The immediate food crisis africa is currently facing the worst food crisis since 1945. The puzzle of the policy shiftthe early green revolution in india, indonesia and the philippines.
Lessons from the asian green revolution why can asia now feed its rapidly growing population, but africa continues. After several centuries of rising global inequality during the socalled era of the great divergence, our generation is witnessing a new epoch in world history, one of rapid economic convergence. A comparative study between asian agricultural development during the green revolution in food production and the current problematic agricultural situation in subsaharan africa is presented. While the cause varies from country to country, the needs are largely the. The asian green revolution in rice entailed a longterm evolutionary process spanning more than four decades since the mid1960s. Chapter iii towards a truly green revolution for food security. Looking beyond the emergency 9 agricultural revolution such as the green revolution in asia. Harriet friedman, phd, university of toronto the 20th century was the century of technological revolutions. The state and agricultural intensification in subsaharan africa, h holmen 7. A green revolution, this time for africa the new york times. While the first green revolution may have missed poorer areas with more marginal lands, we can learn valuable lessons from that experience to help launch a second green revolution to defeat hunger once and for all. Like cracks in the asphalt, solutions to global food crisis can restore resilient food systems across the world. In the 1960s, when the asian green revolution was launched, independent africa was born.
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