Today – South Asia
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© T. M. Whitmore

Last time – Questions?
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© T. M. Whitmore

South Asia & GR
Per hectare productivity up
 Yet still below world’s best
Poor performance due to
 Uncertain Monsoon and lack too little irrigation
Tenure uneven
 Most small holders are too poor =>
 Cannot afford inputs
But, since late 1960s S Asia has been able to feed itself – but for how long?
© T. M. Whitmore

Globally, Problems & Successes
– critics and advocates
Successes
 Improved productivity
2-3 times as much per hectare
 Far lower prices for main grain crops world wide
 Lower rates of extensification world wide
 Vastly increased food production
 Lower proportions of hunger
and lower absolute numbers
 But regionally variable
© T. M. Whitmore

Yields Are Up, But Growth is Slowing
5
4
3
2
1
0
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980
Wheat Yield Rice Yield
World Resources Institute
1985 1990 1995
Maize Yield
2000

Problems with the GR technology
• Chemical pollution
 Runoff can enter water tables and poison local water sources
 Individual farmers often have very little knowledge of risks using pesticides especially — thus compromising their health
© T. M. Whitmore

Problems with GR technology II
• Soil damage
 Chemicals, especial herbicides and other organic killers, can also kill micro organisms within the soils
 Very “tight” spacing of crops in the field lead to large demands on the soils for nutrients
 Tight spacing and mechanization can lead to soil compaction
 Erosion & salinization
© T. M. Whitmore

Other Problems
• Uneven geographic and cropspecific impacts
 Little improvement in pulses and root crops
 Little improvement in dryland crops - mostly un-irrigated
(barley, millets, and sorghums)
• Regionally uneven
• Recent increases due to increase in fertilizer use not seeds per se
© T. M. Whitmore

Problems continued
• Impacts on large and small holders
 Difficult for poor to afford the
“package”
 Benefits of improved output mostly to the already relatively better off
• Other criticisms
 Genetic loss
 Petroleum dependence (fertilizer)
 Dependence on irrigation
 Does not “solve” the food problem

Natural Resources & Industry
• India dominant for resources and industry
• Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan new centers for low-tech assembly
(maquiladora type labor)
• Indian natural resources:
 Iron; coal
 Little petroleum
© T. M. Whitmore

Industry & Economic Development
• Industrial development & British colonial legacy
• New “back office” and hi-tech developments
• Maquiladora-type, export led developments
• Micro-credit :
 Muhammad Yunus & Grameen Bank
Awarded The Nobel Peace Prize for
2006 www.grameen-info.org/
 Also see www.kiva.org
© T. M. Whitmore

Locales of industrial development
• Pakistan: Lahlore
• Bangladesh: Dhaka
• India
 Old colonial cities
 Mumbai/Bombay; Delhi – light industry & finance
 Calcutta & W Bengal – heavy industry
 New “Silicon plateau” Bangalore-
Madras
© T. M. Whitmore