India’s Turn to Repay the Green Revolution Debt
Why in News?
- USAID, the major funder of CIMMYT, was shut down from July 1, 2024 by the Trump administration.
- CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), crucial to India’s Green Revolution, now seeks increased support from India.
Relevance
GS Paper 2 – International Institutions & Relations:
GS Paper 3 – Agriculture, S&T, Food Security:
About CIMMYT
- Headquartered in Mexico, CIMMYT is a premier institute for wheat and maize research.
- Founded with Rockefeller Foundation and Mexican govt. support in the 1940s–50s.
- Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution, was closely associated.
- Developed high-yield semi-dwarf wheat varieties: Lerma Rojo 64A, Sonora 63.
- India first adopted CIMMYT wheat varieties in 1964–65.
- In 2024, USAID contributed $83 million of CIMMYT’s $211 million funding.
Wheat & Rice Research as Cold War Tools
- CIMMYT and IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) were strategic tools of US foreign policy to curb communism via food security.
- Helped boost cereal yields in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
- Borlaug’s varieties raised Indian wheat yields from 1–1.5 to 4–4.5 tonnes/hectare.
- Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for these contributions.
India’s Gains from the Green Revolution
- Indian scientists adapted CIMMYT and IRRI varieties to local conditions.
- Key Indian wheat varieties: Kalyan Sona, Sonalika, HD 2285, HD 2967.
- Key Indian rice varieties: Swarna, Samba Mahsuri; Basmati: Pusa 1121, 1509.
- Over 90% of Basmati exports are from IARI-bred varieties.
- In 2024–25, India exported 1 million tonnes of Basmati worth $5.94 billion.
Why India Still Needs CIMMYT and IRRI
- In 2024–25, 6 of top 10 wheat varieties (over 20 million ha) used CIMMYT germplasm.
- Indian-bred HD 2967 had peaked earlier; few successful post-2019 domestic varieties.
- CIMMYT/IRRI offer advanced germplasm, AI tools, gene-editing, and climate-resilient crop technologies.
- Critical for addressing heat, drought, nitrogen use efficiency, and future food security.
Conclusion & Way Forward
- India contributed just $0.8 million to CIMMYT vs $18.3 million to IRRI in 2024.
- Given its huge benefit, India must increase funding to CIMMYT.
- This global support should complement domestic R&D investment, not substitute it.
- Strengthening public research institutions like IARI is key for sustainable agri-growth.
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