Explain the Green Revolution and its regional impacts.

• A. A program of high-yield crop varieties, fertilizer, and irrigation that boosted yields.
• B. A program of expanding only irrigation without fertilizer.
• C. A program of high-yield crop varieties, fertilizer, and irrigation that boosted yields but increased inequality and environmental concerns.
• D. A program reducing agricultural input to cut pollution.

Answer: (C)

The main idea tested is that the Green Revolution blended high-yield crop varieties with modern inputs like fertilizer and irrigation to dramatically raise agricultural production, but it also brought social and environmental side effects that varied by region. The shift to high-yield varieties, especially for staple crops such as wheat and rice, combined with expanded irrigation and chemical inputs, led to rapid gains in yields and helped reduce hunger in many areas, notably in parts of Asia and Latin America. Yet these benefits were not evenly shared. wealthier farmers who could access credit, irrigation, and inputs captured most of the gains, while many smallholders faced higher costs and vulnerability to market and input shocks, widening rural inequality. Environmentally, intensive input use and irrigation brought concerns about groundwater depletion, soil degradation, salinization, pesticide and fertilizer pollution, and reduced biodiversity. Regions differed: some Asian and Latin American countries reaped large productivity boosts but also faced environmental stresses and growing disparities, while parts of Africa saw more limited yield gains due to infrastructure and resource constraints. The choice that includes both the yield increases and the connected inequality and environmental concerns best reflects the real complexity and regional variation of the Green Revolution.