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Article: Grain and Gross National Happiness
- Article from:
- The Hindustan Times
- Article date:
- November 20, 2005
CopyrightCopyright © HT Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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NEW DELHI, India, Nov 20 -- MSS: Women played a key role in the Green Revolution from three angles. First, they were always the seed selectors and the ones who kept seeds pure and rodent-free. Second, in the days before mechanisation, women did the drudgery, like transplanting rice. In addition, they were largely responsible for crop management. Third, women judge grain quality. They judge whether it is good for cooking.
Before any new variety was released, we would present it to home-science colleges to try out. Then the women would spread the word about it, not always favourably. Once I gave some hybrid seeds to women in Pondicherry, who decided it was not worth growing the following year ...