The Green Revolution Vs The Brown Revolution

In 1959, when I came in as Freshman at the UPCA, now UP Los Baños, IRRI was starting to become. In 1965, I graduated with a BSA major in Ag Edu; in 1966, IRRI “graduated” from low-yielding rice varieties to “IR8,” which produced almost 10 tons/ha – vs 01 ton in traditional varieties – with 120 kg of nitrogen (N) per hectare (“Miracle Rice,” Farming In The 1950s & 60s, livinghistoryfarm.org).

What happened? The whole rice world rejoiced – Rice, Rice, Rise! What happened? More than 60 years later, our farmers are deeper in debt and the Philippines is drowning in the Climate Crisis!

What has Miracle Rice wrought?!

“Naghangad ng kagitna, isang salop ang nawala.” Translation by Ling (Ling, ling-app.com): “He who takes a lot of risks loses more than he can gain.” My translation: “You lust more, you lose more.”

With IRRI’s Miracle Rice (IR8), we have been enjoying the high yields for more than 60 years – and suffering from Climate Change, which is brought about by greenhouses gases (GHGs) such as methane and nitrous oxide, unwanted byproducts using chemical N fertilizers. We get higher yields of rice; we also get higher yields of GHGs – we pay dearly for what we dearly desire!

According to Bill Ganzel (2007, “Miracle Rice,” Farming In The 50s & 60s, livinghistoryfarm.org):

The story of the Green Revolution in rice actually begins in India, moves to the Philippines and then throughout Southeast Asia. … The search for semi-dwarf rice varieties that could produce high yields under fertilization began at Cuttack.

In India, local scientists crossed a short japonica, Japanese or temperate, rice with taller indica, a tropical local [variety]. They were able to produce two good strains known as ADT-27 and Mahsuri that yielded well and were adapted to the Indian environment. ADT-27, in particular, created the first phase of the Green Revolution in rice.

So, actually, the world owes India the Green Revolution – and then again, we do not! Because the Green Revolution had brought along with it the necessary condition of chemical fertilizers, especially N and, along with N, Climate Change.

I go back to my UP Los Baños days – after I graduated. Sometime in 1966, an inveterate reader since high school, American & British literature, ransacking the open shelves of the UPLB library, I chanced upon the book Plowman’s Folly by American gentleman farmer Edward H Faulkner. From personal experience, among other things Mr Faulkner wrote, “The fact is that no one has ever advanced a scientific reason for plowing.”

And now I say, “The fact is that no one has ever advanced a scientific reason for fertilizing except to increase yield.” And as an agriculturist, I know that we can increase the yield of any crop naturally by applying organic matter on the soil in the form of compost or organic mulch.

Today, we need the Brown Revolution! And so I hereby challenge IRRI and/or PhilRice to grow, cultivate and produce rich harvests of knowledge about organic rice! Time to get off Climate Change!@517
(“Green Revolution” from stock.adobe.com, “Brown Revolution” from nature.com)