On Mar. 8, 1968, the term Green Revolution was coined by William Gaud during a speech as administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

To achieve higher yields for rice and wheat, scientists needed to develop plants that were more responsive to plant nutrients and that had shorter, stiffer straw to support the weight of heavier heads of grain. They also needed to develop varieties that could mature quicker and grow at any time of the year, thereby permitting farmers to grow more crops each year on the same land. New varieties also needed to be resistant to major pests and diseases, which flourish under intensive farming conditions, and to retain desirable cooking and consumption traits.

Borrowing from rice-breeding work undertaken in China, Japan,and Taiwan, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines developed semi-dwarf varieties that met most of
these requirements. Similar achievements were made for wheat after Norman Borlaug (later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work) crossed Japanese semi-dwarf varieties with Mexican wheat at what is now known as the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) in Mexico.

Overall, the Green Revolution was a major achievement for many developing countries and gave them an unprecedented level of national food security. It represented the successful adaptation and transfer of the same scientific revolution in agriculture that the industrial countries had already appropriated for themselves.

The Green Revolution also lifted large numbers of poor people out of poverty and helped many nonpoor people avoid the poverty and hunger they would have experienced had the Green Revolution not occurred. The largest benefits to the poor were mostly indirect, in the form of lower food prices, increased migration opportunities, and greater employment in the rural nonfarm economy. The direct benefits to the poor through their own on-farm adoption, greater agricultural employment, and empowerment have been more mixed and depend heavily on local socioeconomic conditions.

In many cases inequalities between regions and communities that adopted Green Revolution technologies and those that did not also worsened. At the same time, the Green Revolution had many negative environmental impacts that have still to be adequately redressed.

By building on the strengths of the Green Revolution while seeking to avoid its weaknesses, scientists and policymakers can take significant steps toward achieving sustainable food security for all the world’s people.