Technical Change, Productivity, and Sustainability in Irrigated Cropping Systems of South Asia: Emerging Issues in the Post-Green Revolution Era

Recent trends in South Asia's irrigated cropping systems are analyzed, giving particular attention to systems in which wheat is an important crop. Much of the recent success in increasing food production In South Asia is due to success in wheat production. The paper presents an overview of the stages of technical and Institutional changes in South Asian agriculture from the pre-Green Revolution era through to the current post-Green Revolution stage. The paper then identifies emerging problems, both technical and institutional, which will Impinge on the ability to maintain gains in food grain productivity and sustain the resource base over the next 10-20 years. A new strategy Is proposed to ensure productivity increases in South Asian cropping systems in the future. This strategy not only implies profound changes in agricultural research priorities, but also in the institutions that foster technical change in agriculture