David M. Jones, “The Green Revolution in Latin American: Success or Failure?,” Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers Publication Series 6 (1977), 55-63.

Notes

• 55 – “The task of increasing the availability of food to Latin Americans remains a major one. Despite recent increases in regional agricultural production, per capita food oiutput remains near 1970 levels in most countries and, in some cases, there has been little improvement over 1960 figures. The data of the past decade also indicate that the rise in harvest totals was due more to an increase in planted area than to improved yields. This situation is sadly ironic since high yielding Mexican wheat varieties started the well publicized Green Revolution which has greatly aided other world regions. Indeed many accounts measuring the impact of the new grain varieties ignore Latin America altogether.”

• “It is the purpose of this paper to: 1) briefly trace the evolution and diffusion of the high yielding grain varieties (HYV’s) from their Mexican beginnings, 2) assess the importance of the HYV’s in Latin America, and 3) explore the causes of variations in acceptance of HYV’s by farmers within the region. Major emphasis will be placed on the role played by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) located in Mexico.”

• “[Green Revolution] . . . refers to the adoption in developing countries of high yield varieties of grain (wheat, rice and corn) along with an associated package of technological inputs. This ‘revolution’ involves methods that are neither new nor particularly revolutionary since similar agricultural research practices and technology ahve been part of temperate zone agriculture for some time. What is new is the interest in application of this technology in the developing nations of the tropics and subtropics.”
• 56 – “Plant varieties were collected from all areas of Mexcio and rapid progress was made in selection of high performance, resistant strains. By growing two generations a year, which was a major innovation in breeding techniques, the first improved varieties were released as soon as 1947.”
• “. . . by 1960 nearly 90 percent of the nation’s wheat acreage was devoted to improved varieties.”
• “Success was more limited in the corn program, but production still increased about 250 percent between 1950 and 1970. Acceptance of hybrid varieties was limited, however, and they never surpassed 15 percent of the planted area. Despite these discrepancies, production gains were clearly spectacular and Mexico attained self-sufficiency in grains by the early 1960s.”
• 62 – “Other major reasons given for lack of progress within Latin America include: 1) a lack of government support, and 2) the absence of a breakthrough in corn breeding. Since an entire crop production strategy is necessary for a successful program, a strong government commitment is crucial. There is a need to harness the yield potential and technology of the HYV’s to a sound economic policy, to assure the farmer a fair price for his grain, to make the necessary inputs available, and to guarantee credit opportunities. Such a commitment has not been forthcoming in most of Latin America. In addition, without a breakthrough in development of high yielding, open pollinated corn varieties, the majority of Latin American farmers remain nearly untouched by the revolution. The mountainous terrain, extensive environmental variations and innumerable micro-regions also make the task of developing appropriate, widely accepted varieties more difficult.”
  • So trying to apply a single agrotechnological regime to a region of diverse climates and cultural backgrounds wasn’t working?
• “A further ‘minor’ obstacle to rapid transfer of agricultural technology relates to Latin American chauvinism. The CIMMYT and CIAT centers offer assistance to countries on request and there has not been much demand from within the region. International efforts may be seen to threaten national programs.”