Increasing YieldsThe Green Revolution.ppt

Increasing Yields:The Green Revolution Yields have increased British wheat yields tripled in last 50 years 15X increase from 500 years ago Cereal yield worldwide doubled since 1960s Reasons Yields Increase Increased inputs Labor Fertilizer Machinery increased output Using technology without increasing inputs Increased efficiency Production Function Initially, as input increases, output increases Eventually, a point of maximum efficiency will be reached Additional input will lead to diminished increases in output Inputs Fertilizer Can improve yields dramatically: 20-1000% Diminished response if keep adding Reduces growth at high levels Effectiveness depends on Water/Irrigation Timing of application Biggest increase will be in Africa Dem. Rep. Congo uses 1% fertilizer used in South Africa Inputs Animal Traction 400 million draft animals in world ? World’s ag land farmed with draft animals ? farmed with hand tools ? mechanized Use of Draft Animals Do the work of 3-4 humans Increase land able to be farmed Animal plowing breaks soil better than by hand Source of fertilizer Initial cost high Profitable if can expand land Tractors Poorest farmers will consider moving from hand tools to animals Farmers using animals will consider using machinery May not be efficient choice: Credit limited Gas expensive Maintenance expensive But labor cheap Big Growers More Efficient? Are big growers more efficient? have the know-how to produce Would redistribution of land would lower production? hurt the hungry? Answer Big Growers are actually less efficient than small growers in yield/acre Often land left idle by large landowners (89% in Brazil) Big operations are fossil fuel intensive requiring 10 Calories for every one produced: NeoCaloric Ag Answer Small farmers use labor more intensively Small farmers use space more efficiently Small landowners more motivated for production and conservation Big Growers Advantages of wealth and size Big farms can more easily survive Large operat