New Perspectives on Indian Agriculture

The Green Revolution (GR) ushered in an era of unprecedented food security in India. The country not only became self-sufficient in providing food grains to its citizens, but it also started to export them to other countries. However, the intensive agriculture propagated by the GR has also left the land, soils, water, and below and above ground biodiversity severely degraded. The burning of agricultural residue has become a major driver of air pollution, resulting in health hazards during early winters in northern India. This is compounded by additional health risks from water pollution due to the leakage of pesticides and fertilizers into surface and ground water. The impacts of climate change will cause further disruptions to an already unstable system, which continues to generate a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions, thus perpetuating the problem. This issue of the journal focuses on alternatives to intensive agriculture.