This article attempts to determine the long-term productivity and sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the Indian and Pakistan Punjabs by measuring trends in total factor productivity for production systems in both states since the advent of the Green Revolution. These measurements over time and across systems have resulted in three major findings. First, there were wide spatial and temporal variations between the two Punjabs. Although output growth and crop yields were much higher in the Indian Punjab, productivity growth was higher by only a small margin. Moreover, the lowest growth in productivity took place during the initial Green Revolution period (as opposed to the later intensification and post-Green Revolution periods) and in the wheat-rice system in both states. The time lag between adoption of Green Revolution technologies and realization of productivity gains is related to learning-induced efficiency gains, better utilization of capital investments over time, and problems with the standard methods of productivity measurement that downwardly bias estimates, particularly during the Green Revolution period. Second, input growth accounted for most of the output growth in both Punjabs during the period under study. Third, intensification, especially in the wheat-rice system, resulted in resource degradation in both Punjabs. Data from Pakistan show that resource degradation reduced overall productivity growth from technical change and from education and infrastructure investment by one-third. These findings imply the need for policies that promote agricultural productivity and sustainability through public investments in education, roads, and research and extension; and that reduce resource degradation by decreasing or eliminating subsidies that encourage intensification of inputs.

'The Green Revolution' of the 60's and 70's produced immense gains in food cereal production in the Third World. But there are huge problems in the 'post-revolutionary' era: farmers with small or marginal holdings have benefited less than wealthier farmers; intensive mono-cropping has made production more susceptible to environmental stresses and shocks. Now there is evidence of diminishing returns from intensive and intensively chemical agricultural production. What is needed is a new approach, equally revolutionary, but different in its ideas and style. The authors set out what they mean by 'sustainable' agriculture in the new era and look at the effects of international economic restraints and of national policies on the kind of development they see as necessary. They chart a path for sustainable livelihoods for Third World farmers enmeshed by forces outside their control. They describe methods of evaluating and resolving the tough trade-offs all levels of intervention, from international trade down to the individual farm. This book cannot provide all the answers, but it does indicate what international conditions we need to be aware of, what national policies we need to advocate and what approaches at the local level we need to adopt to ensure the goal of agricultural sustainability. Originally published in 1990

'The Green Revolution' of the 60's and 70's produced immense gains in food cereal production in the Third World. But there are huge problems in the 'post-revolutionary' era: farmers with small or marginal holdings have benefited less than wealthier farmers; intensive mono-cropping has made production more susceptible to environmental stresses and shocks. Now there is evidence of diminishing returns from intensive and intensively chemical agricultural production. What is needed is a new approach, equally revolutionary, but different in its ideas and style. The authors set out what they mean by 'sustainable' agriculture in the new era and look at the effects of international economic restraints and of national policies on the kind of development they see as necessary. They chart a path for sustainable livelihoods for Third World farmers enmeshed by forces outside their control. They describe methods of evaluating and resolving the tough trade-offs all levels of intervention, from international trade down to the individual farm. This book cannot provide all the answers, but it does indicate what international conditions we need to be aware of, what national policies we need to advocate and what approaches at the local level we need to adopt to ensure the goal of agricultural sustainability. Originally published in 1990

Rising concerns about agricultural productivity and food security in rapidly changing economic and environmental contexts have led to renewed interest in agricultural development. But the extent to which new policies and programs will enable socially just and environmentally sustainable futures for rural communities remains a matter of intense debate. This book contributes to such debates by critically examining the intersection of agricultural histories, heterogeneous social contexts and new technological developments in rural communities across the Global South. It shows how experiences of the previous Green Revolution can inform new agricultural programs and enable equitable and participatory development in rural places. Through close engagement with rural communities, this book ensures that rural voices become part of the debate on agricultural development and suggests pathways for building on the gains of the Green Revolution without necessarily repeating its problematic social, technological and environmental aspects. This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability.

The introduction of green revolution technologies in wheat and rice production in Pakistan's Punjab province reversed the country's food crisis and stimulated rapid agricultural and economic growth. But resource degradation through intensification, monocropping, and mismanagement of water resources has offset much of the productivity effect of technological change.