Use of all eco-friendly means in cultivation is the Second Green Revolution (SGR) or Evergreen Revoultion or Sustainable Agriculture. For experts55 it includes the agricultural practices such as,
(i) replacing chemical fertilisers by bio­ fertilizers;
(ii) in place of chemical pesticides using bio­ pesticides;
(iii) conserving water, balanced cropping pattern, proper crop combinations, etc;
Such agricultural practices are popular in developed economies as organic farming

Second Green Revoution (SGR) In India

The Second Green Revolution in India is a concept as well as the name of a programme. It was suggested as an idea of sustainable agriculture in mid-1990s by agro-scientists as the ongoing GR was not based on sustainable agricultural practices. When the Indian President, Dr. Kalam suggested for the same, he attached much wider meaning to it. For him it consisted of, crop management, cost reduction, value addition, processing and marketing other than the green farming.
In January 2004, the Government of India announced a major agricultural programme named as the Second Green Revolution with an initial fund allocation of Rs. 50,000 crore. This programme was so exhaustive that it had hardly left any problem area of Indian agriculture untouched and had every potential of solving all long-standing problems. In a sense it was a complete agricultural policy based on the concept of sustainable development and well-equipped to fight the challenges posed by the WTO and capable enough to make Indian agriculture to emerge as a winner in the globalising economy. As there was a government change at the Centre, the complete details of the programme were not made available. The present government at the Centre has not been referring to this programme, but in practice it looks like promoting the same causes more vigorously. In the meantime, the President has been quoting the need for a second green revolution time and again.

Summing up the Second Green Revolution

If we add up the different announcements by the governments time to time and the propositions of experts we may sum up the idea of the second green revolution in India with the help of its three broad coordinates
(i) Increasing Agricultural Production
(ii) Value Addition
(iii) Strengthening the Infrastructural/ institutional Aspects

(i) Increasing Agricultural Production

It includes four major things-
(a) Unlike the Green Revolution which was limited to only five foodgrains (wheat, rice, jowar, bajra, maize), the Second Green Revolution includes all agricultural products-cereals, cash crops, animal husbandry (dairy, goatry, piggery, poultry, etc.), fisheries, sericulture, etc. It is rightly called the Rainbow Revolution, Naturally, it is the most ambitious idea in the agriculture sector of India ever formalised.
(b) It deals with suitable kinds of cropping pattern, crop diversification, crop management, plant protection, checking per-harvest losses of agricultureal products, as well as post-harvest, integrated pest management, soil conservation, etc.
(c) Initiation of sustainable practices in agriculture are all instrumental factors of sustainable agriculture to be utilised.
(d) One very important point should be noted here that India cannot afford to go for only green farming or organic farming in the name of sustainable agricultural development. As the replacement of chemical inputs by the organic ones has every chance of reducing production and with use of costlier inputs, the produce of such a farming will not be economically accessible by the vast poor population of India (already due to costlier outputs, of the GR masses lack the required purchasing capacity). That is why 'cost cut' is an integral part of this revolution. And that is why agro­ scientists have suggested to base our agriculture on biotechnology. Use of biotechnology in agriculture does not only open new dimensions for it but it has every potential to cut costs of the agricultural products by doing miraculous and unthinkable kind of research and development. India is very much aware of this reality that without an active support of biotechnology, sustainable agricultural development will have only elitist value and nothing else.

(ii) Value Addition

Indian agriculture has been lacking the aspect of value addition. In the Indian agriculture sector right from farmers to the traders there has been a tendency of deposing agricultural goods in its primary form. That is why the real potential of Indian agriculture to create gainful employment has never been tapped. This green revolution tries to go for it in a big way. In this direction there will be an increased emphasis upon agro-processing, beverages and drinks industries.

(iii) Strengthening the Infrastructural/ institutional Aspects

Need to Improvise on
1> credit delivery
2> storage facilities
3> transport connectivity
4> telecommunication
5> irrigation preparedness
6> marketing network
7> insurance in agriculture sector

impact of second green revolution

The Second Green Revolution has every prospect of revolutionising the agriculture sector of India with multi-dimensional positive impact on agriculture in particular and the economy, in general:
(i) As agricultural production will increase, India will be safe from food security concern. This will provide India physical access to food.
(ii) Every Indian will have economic access to food because of increase in production and cost cut due to genetically modified foods (GMFs) will make food cheaper.
(iii) As this is a sustainable kind of agriculture revolution, India will also be able to make its agriculture sector ecologically safe­ theachievement of ecological access will become possible.
(iv) The surplus agricultural produce will enter the world market and agriculture sector will be able to tap the benefits of globalisation thus, farmers, rural areas and agri-business will be able to feel the benefits of economic reforms and globalisation.
(v) It will create gainful employment sources in the agriculture sector on which more than 58 per cent of the population depends for its livelihood. It will serve the purposes of poverty alleviation, bridging economic inequality, boosting rural development, solving the curse of unemployment, etc.
(vi) It will eliminate hunger and malnutrition from India.
(vii) India won't be an example of 'market failure'-its market will succeed by increasing the purchasing capacity of the population.
(viii) Living standard of the population will improve and development has to show up. Thus, India's rank on the human development index (HDI) will improve for sure.