Change in climate jeopardizes the green revolution

After several praises to the green revolution implementation due to an accountable yield by many land tillers who have always taken cultivation as the bread and butter of their existence, effect of climate changes has become a threat that will soon give numerous farmers a virtual image to what they had expected of the green revolution.

Sunday, May 10, 2009
Change in climate jeopardizes the green revolution.

After several praises to the green revolution implementation due to an accountable yield by many land tillers who have always taken cultivation as the bread and butter of their existence, effect of climate changes has become a threat that will soon give numerous farmers a virtual image to what they had expected of the green revolution.

The green revolution for Rwanda is known as the planting of crops in accordance with their ecological zones. And among others is addition of right quality and quantity of fertilizers, land status, soil contents such as the PH conditions and all other requirements that support plants to grow well, and give a healthy production to the farmer.

Recently the agriculture survey indicated that there had been some rapid increase to at least 16% in the agricultural yield due to the application of the green evolution policy.

And as of the present the unreliable climate condition is in contradiction with the positive effect that had risen hope in many farmers.

After a very tough struggle to install the advantage of green revolution method into the minds of many farmers, who did not want to believe in theories and were demanding for sampling first of which was fortunately and promising.

According to scientist ROBERT MENDELSOHN who presented what they term as ricardian analysis, which is an approach for estimating the impact of global climate change on land values; low temperature below 0oC in land is not suitable for agriculture, because this will be too cold to maintain life in plants.

But as the temperature increases at least 5oC it will favour agriculture since warmth is one of the necessities for proper growth of plants.

However rise in temperature above optimal temperature will lead to an extra hot climate that that is not favourable to agriculture hence the green revolution will loose its meaning.

Global warming is not a natural factor as most people take to be instead it is accumulated by human activities on land, such as release of industrial fume to the atmosphere, burning fossil fuels e.t.c

However if the irregular change in climate persists, it will be next to impossible to keep the ball rolling as far as the green revolution is concerned.

Because the majority of the people are not yet fully acquainted with the green revolution method being a smart way of increasing the country’s economy through agriculture but instead regard it as a malicious intent of the government to benefit from their toils; and still the majority of the farmers are still narrowed minded that any slight change can easily jeopardize them more especially if it has got something to do with the green revolution.

For centuries the land of a thousand hills has been experiencing a predictable climate in four regions namely; worm and dry eastern low lands, temperate land and central plateau foot hills, mountain region climate as well as Lake Kivu region climate.

So it’s in this monotones belief that the green revolution was able to bear ripe fruits. Hence why the frequent change in climate those farmers have been accustomed to for ages, blows forth the breeze of doubt.

Hopefully  there will soon be an adaptation that will help in maximizing the efficiency and sustainability of production methods such as incorporating socially beneficial genetic biotechnologies less the green revolution becomes a fairly tale to some people who are still determined to cling to their old farming method.

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