Strategies for Enhancement in Food Reproduction — BIOLOGY STD 12 Science — Question

This is a correct statement that modern methods of breeding animals and plants can alleviate the global food shortage. If we compare the status of food security during World War days with the current situation; it can be said that food security situation is much better in modern times than it was earlier. This could have been possible because of better varieties of plants and cattle. Food processing and food preservation technologies have also been responsible for this but their role was at best at augmentation level. Following are some examples which illustrate this;Before 1950s, India had to depend on wheat imports from the USA to meet its need. After Green Revolution, many better varieties of wheat have been introduced which helped in increasing the farm output. From 1960 to 2000, wheat production increased from 11 million tonnes to 75 million tonnes. In the same period, rice production increased from 35 million tonnes to 89 million tonnes. At present, India is not only a food sufficient nation but also exports a major chunk of its food grain production.
Introduction of hybrid breeds of cows made India a leading nation in terms of milk production.
Better practices in poultry farming has enabled majority of Indians to get access to chicken and eggs as part of regular diet.
Major developments have taken place in the field of pisciculture as well. This has helped in improving the income of fishermen and has also improved availability of fish throughout the country.