RA 00015.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

nearly suit the requirements of borrowers during
such times. Links are established between factor
and product markets to enable repayments to be
made using a variety of vehicles-such as exchange
labor, grain, etc. Formal credit agencies
could profit by providing more flexibility in
repayment terms through integration of credit
services with factor markets more explicitly.
Effect of "Green Revolution" in W h e a t on
Pulse and Nutrient Production in India
High-yielding varieties of wheat were introduced
into India in the mid-1960's, and their effect on
the production of pulses and major nutrients has
been evaluated by ICR1SAT. Linear trend lines
were fitted to data from the six major wheatgrowing
states of India for the 10-year period
preceding 1964-1965, and separately for the
subsequent 10-year period. The states were Punjab,
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan,
and Madhya Pradesh. It is apparent that 22
percent of the expansion in wheat hectarage
which occurred in the latter period could be
accounted for by reductions in the area sown to
pulses, particularly chickpeas. Eight percent of
the expansion in wheat came at the expense of
winter rice and barley. The vast majority of the
growth in area sown to wheat in the six states was
due to increases in cropping intensities resulting
from the HYVs and the expansion in irrigation,
and an increase in net sown areas.
Total annual trend food-grain production in
1974-1975 in the six states would have been 13.4
percent less, had HYVs of wheat not been
introduced. This takes into account the reduction
in production of pulses, winter rice, and
barley, as well as the increased wheat production.
The following percentage reductions would have
occurred in total annual 1974-1975 production
of various nutrients: protein, 10.0; energy, 13.5;
methionine and cystine, 15.5; tryptophan, 11.3;
leucine, 5.9; and isoieucine, 2.0.
Per-caput production of food grains and the
above nutrients would also have been less had
HYVs of wheat not been introduced. Generally,
the per-caput reductions would amount to between
1 to 2 percentage points less than the above
figures. Total lysine production would have been
about 6.4 percent more had HYVs not been
introduced. Calories, rather than protein or
amino acids, seem to be the first limiting nutrient
in the diets of most Indians (including those in
the least affluent socioeconomic categories). Vitamin
A and vitamin B complex, calcium, copper,
iron, and zinc follow. The small reduction in
lysine is hence an acceptable price to pay for the
substantial increases in production of food
grains, energy, and protein resulting from use of
the HYVs. When the record production year of
1975-1976 is compared with projected pre-green
revolution trends, the production of all nutrients,
including lysine, shows a substantial increase
over what would have occurred had pre-green
revolution conditions continued. The percentage
increases in 1975-1976 nutrient production as a
result of the green revolution are estimated to be
as follows: protein, 20.1; energy, 21.9; lysine, 6.9;
methionine and cystine, 20.9; tryptophan, 32.5;
leucine, 16.2; and isoieucine, 12.1.
Even though the prices of chickpea relative to
wheat have risen since 1964-1965, the real prices
of protein and energy from both sources has
substantially fallen. For chickpea, the real prices
of protein and energy have fallen more than 20
percent between 1964-1965 and 1974-1975. For
wheat the reduction has been more than 33
percent. Every hectare of 1974-1975 wheat
which substitutes for a hectare of chickpea also
adds a further 55 kg of protein and 2527000
kilocalories of energy to what the chickpea
would have produced.
Hence, it is clear that the net nutritional
impact of the new HYVs of wheat introduced in
the mid-1960's in India was both positive and
substantial. The success of these wheats clearly
illustrates how a plant-breeding strategy which
emphasizes increased yield potential can result in
significant improvements in aggregate nutritional
well-being.
Breeding strategies which emphasize yield and
yield stability offer the best prospects for improving
nutritional well-being of the least nutritionally
and economically affluent groups in
the SAT. Increased yields and production of
food grains has a direct impact on prices and real
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