Economic Implications of the “Green Re¬volution” and the Strategy of Agricultural Development in West Pakistan

The short-stemmed varieties of wheat and rice imported from abroad and the increased use of fertilizers have dramatically enlarged the potential for rapid increases in the agricultural output of West Pakistan. This recent break¬through in foodgrains production is sometimes referred to as the “green revolu¬tion”. Because of the generally favourable conditions in West Pakistan in regard to irrigation water and solar energy, and due to the unusually favour¬able weather in 1967/68 in particular, the “green revolution” is spreading most rapidly. It is high time to focus our attention on some of the economic implica¬tions of the new developments in agriculture. Recent agricultural growth in West Pakistan has been the result of im¬provements in the production relationship in the agricultural sector. However, the relationship between land and man in agriculture and that between agricul¬tural production and other economic activities tend to be neglected in the current discussions of the ways in which the country may sustain the recent growth per¬formance.