What are the major factors responsible for making rice-wheat system a success? In spite of this success how has this system become bane in India? (UPSC 2020)

The rice-wheat system became the backbone of Indian foodgrain production after the Green Revolution. It suited the agro-climatic conditions of the Indo-Gangetic plains and was strongly backed by policy, inputs and infrastructure.

• Why it succeeded

• Why it became a bane
• Rice is highly water-intensive. In many north-western states, groundwater extraction has far exceeded recharge, creating a serious water crisis.
• Continuous monocropping has degraded soils, reduced organic matter and caused nutrient imbalance due to excessive use of fertilisers.
• The short gap between paddy harvest and wheat sowing pushes farmers towards stubble burning, causing severe air pollution in north India.
• It has displaced pulses, oilseeds and millets, weakening crop diversity, nutrition and farm resilience.
• Flooded paddy fields emit methane, while heavy fertiliser use adds to greenhouse gas emissions.
• Large public procurement and subsidies have also created fiscal stress and huge grain stocks.

Thus, the rice-wheat system delivered food security and rural transformation, but its ecological costs are now high. The way forward lies in crop diversification, micro-irrigation, residue management, balanced fertilisation and stronger support for less water-intensive crops.