The seed industry revolution in India

摘要

With strong agricultural research pioneered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and half a dozen agricultural universities at the time of independence (1947), the Indian government was confident of its domestic capability and therefore worked for self sufficiency in seeds. Even acute food shortages and dependence on donations in the 1950s and 1960s could not influence India's policy that imposed restrictions on commercial seed imports. Food shortage was a global problem after World War II and the FAO launched a worldwide network of crop research to help the starving nations. India was identified as one of the centers for international research projects, and this included testing of a wide range of crop germplasm. This program laid the foundation of the international green revolution. India succeeded in identifying rust resistance and dwarf genes in Mexican lines, which could be transferred to excellent Indian wheat varieties. Norman Borlaug and M.S. Swaminathan pioneered this project, giving India modern dwarf rust resistant wheat varieties. These new wheat varieties not only supplemented India's food "kitty," they made the nation proud of self sufficiency in food. And now it has surpluses for export.