Green Revolution and Why Agrochemicals Are Not Enough

NCERT clearly says it TRIPLED the food supply (about 3 times). Many students wrongly write 'doubled'. NEET can test this exact word, so remember: Green Revolution = tripled food supply, but this was still not enough for the growing population.

NCERT says yields increased PARTLY due to improved crop varieties, but MAINLY due to better management practices and use of agrochemicals (fertilisers and pesticides). So the main reason is management + agrochemicals, not the new varieties alone. This 'partly vs mainly' wording is a common trap.

Two reasons from NCERT: (1) for farmers in the developing world, agrochemicals are often too expensive, and (2) further increases in yield with existing varieties are not possible using conventional breeding. So we need a new method — this is exactly why plant tissue culture and genetic engineering were developed.

NCERT lists them as (i) agrochemical-based agriculture, (ii) organic agriculture, and (iii) genetically engineered crop-based agriculture. This concept explains why option (i), agrochemicals, has a limit — which pushes us toward tissue culture and GM crops.

Traditional breeding techniques could not keep pace with the demand for food. They were not fast or efficient enough for crop improvement, and with existing varieties no further yield increase was possible. This failure led scientists to develop tissue culture and recombinant DNA technology.

It tripled the food supply, but even this was not enough to feed the growing human population.

Agrochemicals like fertilisers and pesticides are often too expensive for poor farmers, so they cannot use them enough to raise yields.

Plant tissue culture developed, using totipotency to regenerate whole plants from explants, followed by genetic engineering of crops.

Yes. It is the opening idea of Biotechnology and Its Applications, and NEET often tests the exact words 'tripled', 'partly/mainly', and the two reasons agrochemicals are not enough.