Important Revolutions in India: All About Yellow Revolution

Revolutions have always been a part of Indian history. The different revolutions were initiated to increase the production of various agricultural and industrial goods to meet India’s domestic demands.

The ‘Yellow Revolution’ is one of the revolutions that had a significant impact on India’s agriculture. The revolution targeted mustards, groundnuts, sesame seed, safflower, soybean, sunflower, linseed, niger and castor. The objective behind the revolution was to achieve self-reliance in the production of these items.

Why did the Yellow Revolution start?

The Yellow Revolution is related to producing oilseeds, like mustards, groundnuts, sesame seed, safflower, soybean, sunflower, linseed, niger, and castor. It was launched in 1986 and continued till 1987, and Sam Pitroda is known as the Father of the Yellow Revolution.

The objective behind the Yellow Revolution was to implant hybrid sesame and mustard seeds that would increase the production of edible oil. As a result, the agricultural land was increased to about 26 million hectares, and several modern technologies were used. Due to this, the revolution managed to bridge the socio-economic differences in several locations in India. It also marked the beginning of a new era in Punjab with sunflower plantations.

The Yellow Revolution is associated with a positive outcome as the oil production reached 24 million tonnes in ten years, which started at 12 million tonnes.

Features of the Yellow Revolution

The Yellow Revolution is related to a few features/objectives. These features span from the intention to the participation of several boards and authoritative bodies.

• The Oil Technological Mission was launched in 1986. The intention behind launching this mission was to ensure that the revolution was a success.
• The Yellow Revolution had some forms of incentives for the farmers. These incentives were provided in facilities for irrigation, pesticides, and fertilisers. The incentives also included various other benefits, like minimum support price, transportation facilities, and warehousing.
• The Oilseed Production Thrust was also established along with the Oil Technological Mission. This was formed to make four major types of oilseeds, soybean, groundnut, mustard, and sunflower, more popular. The drive included setting up 3,000 oilseed societies and 25 hectares of land in various states. As a result, 25 lakh farmers were working to cultivate oilseeds.
• The National Dairy Board also played a vital role in the success of this revolution. The board was responsible for promoting the production of a specific type of oilseeds. To be specific, the National Dairy Board was responsible for the increase in groundnut oil production in Gujarat.
• The National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oils Development Board were given the responsibility of enhancing the production of oilseeds in certain non-traditional areas.
• The result of the revolution was positive. The country achieved self-sufficiency in the production of oilseeds within the next decade. However, even though the Yellow Revolution is related to a positive outcome, it could not meet the total domestic demand.
• To meet the demand in the country, India had to import oilseeds. India imports around 60% of edible oils. In 2019, India imported 15 million tonnes of oilseeds from these mentioned countries.

Yellow Revolution in the modern times

The Yellow Revolution is associated with a mixed result. While the country managed to gain self-sufficiency and doubted its oilseeds production, it was not enough to meet the domestic demands.

Along with that, there are a lot of challenges to the cultivation and production of oilseeds. Some of the most common problems are pests and diseases. The cultivation was done in a poor environment, and pests and diseases also destroyed the crops.

Currently, the expansion of the cultivation area for oilseeds has reached an end and cannot be expanded anymore. So, oilseeds continue to be in shortage. So, the various aspects of the Yellow Revolution, like the OTM (Oilseeds Technology Mission) and growing oil palms, did not have any major impact. So, in recent years, farmers have had to cultivate high-yielding cereals to earn better profits and boost their output.

Conclusion

Oilseeds are one of the major cultivation crops in terms of the demand in the country. However, the Yellow Revolution did not reach any significant results as much as it was expected. So, there is a need for a second revolution of this kind.

There are some ways in which the second Yellow Revolution can be more impactful. One important way is to implement more technological advancements in the cultivation of drylands so that farming becomes more profitable and more areas are available. If India achieves self-sufficiency in oilseed production, it will have a significant impact on the country’s economy. It would reduce the import dependency on other countries.