785 



since 1948. hns been able to satisfy its requirements for the production 

 of wheat find corn since the mid-l^oO's. As progressively increased 

 acrea.n'es are planted in the new varieties, further gains are hoped for. 

 Department of Agriculture experts estimate that roughly one-sixth 

 of the total wheat acreage in West and South Asia is planted with the 

 new wheats. Tt is also estimated that approximately seven percent of 

 the riceland in South and Southeast Asia is used for growing the 

 "miracle" rice. 



TABLE l.-EXPANSION OF ACREAGES IN HIGH-YIELDING GRAIN VARIETIES-SELECTED COUNTRIES* 



|ln thousands of acres] 



< Most of the wheat and all of the r^portfld rice area was in South and East Asl^ ; of the 1969-70 total for both, 59 percent 



.^- J_ t|^^|A BnH 90 p'-^— "* *~ n»t<LtvK_ l liaa^Aal AvnHtft rt4 kiirU _iiinlrlir\n ikikait li«i<A Kaan nlonfa<4 in ujoct Acta nnrth Arri^S 



and utin America. 



was in ^rKtis and 20 percent in Pakistan. Limited areas of high-yielding wheat have been planted in west Asia, north Africa, 

 I Ut " 



•Source: "Indexes of Agricultural Development, Less Developed Countries, 1970," May 1971. Foreipn Eonom'c De- 

 velopment Service, U.S. Department of Agrtcultu'e. cooperating with U.S. Agency for International Development, page 13. 



It must also be remembered that the available data reflect changes 

 in yield for only one crop. But the shortened growing cycle, permitting 

 two and even three crops a year, should further enhance agricultural 

 productivity. In Taiwan, for instance, general agricultural productiv- 

 ity increased 300 percent between 1950 and 1965, as a result of both the 

 adoption of improved rice, and the planting of more than one crop 

 in each growing season.^* 



From the standpoint of plant breeding, the Green Revolution is still 

 going on. A locally developed high-yield rice called ADT-27 has been 

 produced in India, while Ceylon has come up with a variety Icnown 

 as H-4. Scientists are working on wheats that will increase yields un- 

 der low rainfall conditions and rices that can tolerate flooding. A new 

 variety of rice also developed by the International Rice Research In- 

 stitute. IR (or TN) 20, has shown rather promising results in Viet- 

 nam. More effective seeds are constantly being produced. The new 

 wheats thus far have increased production in Asia as a whole by an esti- 

 mated 20 percent, and the new rice has increased production by an esti- 

 mated nine percent.^^ 



The Incomplete Promise of the Green RfVoJuilon 



There is no question but that the breathtaking statistics of the new 

 genetic science o,f graii,is offer hope to the hungry peoples of the devel- 

 oping Avorld. Sufficient food for the world is possible for perhaps the 

 first time in history. But, as the American poet, Walt Whitman, warns : 

 "No-vv^ understand me well — it is provided in the essence of things that 

 from any fruition of success, no matter what, shall come forth some- 

 thing to make a greater struggle necessary." 



-* Ibid., page 41. 



» Quoted In : "The Green Revolution. Symposium on Science and Foreign Policy." Pro- 

 ceediugs before the Subcommittee on National Security Policy and Scientific Developments, 

 op. cit.. page 6. 



