General Knowledge · Class 11 · Nature and animals
Feeding the world: crops and food
In the 1960s India had to import grain to feed its people. Today it sends rice and wheat to other countries. What changed, and what did it cost?
Small test at the end: scroll down to the end of this page for five short questions that check what you have learnt. Tap an answer, then press Check answer. Go to the questions ↓
Jump to: Read first · Try it away from the screen · Check it yourself · Check yourself · For teachers
Read first
5 facts. The questions below make you use them, not just remember them.
- The Green Revolution of the 1960s brought high-yield varieties of wheat and rice, more irrigation and fertilisers. Scientists M. S. Swaminathan in India and Norman Borlaug led the work, and India's grain output rose sharply.
- There were costs: in Punjab and Haryana, groundwater levels fell as tube wells pumped water for rice, and heavy fertiliser use harmed some soils.
- Millets such as jowar, bajra and ragi grow with much less water and are rich in fibre and minerals. At India's suggestion, the United Nations named 2023 the International Year of Millets.
- India is the world's biggest producer of milk. Operation Flood, led by Verghese Kurien from the 1970s, linked village dairy co-operatives like Amul to cities.
- About a third of the food produced in the world is lost or wasted between the farm and the plate.
Offline
Try it away from the screen
For one day, list everything you eat. Next to each item write which crop or animal it came from. Which grains appear most? Ask an elder what grains they ate as children.
Make it on paper. Keep it with you. Nothing to upload.
Check it yourself
Food claims ("superfood", "this grain causes disease") are often marketing. Check with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) or the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) diet guidelines.
Check yourself
Five questions about what this page teaches. Choose an answer and press Check answer, or open "See the answer and why". Nothing is saved or sent: your choices stay on this screen and disappear when you leave or reload the page.
How do you want to answer? You choose, and you can change at any time.
See the answer and why
- A. C. V. Raman Not this one. Raman was a physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 1930.
- B. M. S. Swaminathan Correct. Yes. He worked with Norman Borlaug on high-yield wheat.
- C. Verghese Kurien Not this one. Kurien led the White Revolution in milk.
- D. Homi Bhabha, who began India's nuclear programme Not this one. Bhabha led India's nuclear science.
See the answer and why
- A. The soil became too rich Not this one. Overuse of fertiliser harmed soils; it did not make them "too rich".
- B. Farmers stopped growing wheat Not this one. Wheat output rose greatly.
- C. There was too little rain for any crops at all Not this one. Punjab has good irrigation; the problem is overuse of groundwater.
- D. Falling groundwater from pumping for rice Correct. Yes. Rice needs a lot of water, much of it pumped from wells.
See the answer and why
- A. 1 Not this one. That is the extra per hectare. There are 50 hectares.
- B. 100 Not this one. That is the old total.
- C. 150 Not this one. That is the new total, not the extra.
- D. 50 Correct. Yes. 150 − 100 = 50 extra tonnes.
See the answer and why
- A. They grow only in cold countries, so they are rare Not this one. Millets have grown in India for thousands of years.
- B. They need little water and are very nutritious Correct. Yes. They suit dry areas and a warming climate.
- C. They need more fertiliser than any other crop Not this one. They need less, not more.
- D. They taste exactly like rice Not this one. They have their own taste. They are chosen for nutrition and low water needs.
See the answer and why
- A. Operation Flood linked village co-operatives to cities Correct. Yes. Farmers sold milk through co-operatives like Amul.
- B. Making milk from powder in factories Not this one. Real milk production rose; powder came from surplus.
- C. A law that every family must keep a cow Not this one. There was no such law.
- D. Importing millions of cows from Europe and America Not this one. Most milk comes from Indian cows and buffaloes.
For teachers and grown-upsWhere the facts come from, and how to use this round.
Sources and notes
- FAO estimates about one-third of food is lost or wasted (2011 report; later reports split loss and waste).
- Groundwater: Central Ground Water Board reports on Punjab. International Year of Millets: UN General Assembly, 2021 resolution.