Brown Revolution 2.0, Features, Need, Benefits, Way Forward

Brown Revolution 2.0 focuses on restoring soil health and improving agricultural waste management in India through a cooperative-led, circular economy model. It aims to turn agricultural waste into organic inputs like compost and biochar, addressing soil degradation, reducing pollution from crop burning, and boosting rural income. 

Brown Revolution 2.0

While the first Brown Revolution, initiated by Hiralal Chaudhary, was for promoting leather and coffee in tribal areas of Visakhapatnam, Brown Revolution 2.0 seeks to restore soil health of India. 

The key aspects of Brown revolution 2.0 are: 

• • Soil Health Restoration: Enhancing soil organic carbon and nutrient retention.
  • Waste-to-Wealth: Converting crop residues (rice, wheat, cotton) and organic waste into fertilizer.
  • Cooperative Model: Utilizing a decentralized framework, similar to the Amul model, to manage waste locally.
  • Sustainability & Climate Goals: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting India’s net-zero commitments.

• Technology and Innovation: The integration of modern composting techniques, biochar units, and AI-based monitoring systems.

Read about: Purple Revolution

Brown Revolution 2.0 Need

India produces approximately 350-990 million tonnes of crop residues and agro-waste every year. However, less than 20% of this biomass is currently recycled in a scientific and productive manner, while the majority is openly burned, dumped, or left unmanaged, leading to severe air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, loss of soil organic carbon, and public health risks.

Water bodies suffer from eutrophication when run-off from waste dumps leads to excessive nutrient loads.

At the same time, Indian agriculture faces a steady decline in soil fertility, largely due to intensive farming practices, monocropping, and excessive use of chemical fertilisers. 

Brown Revolution 2.0 is proposed as a national movement to address this crisis.

Read about: White Revolution

‹ ›

Strategic Benefits of Brown Revolution 2.0

Brown Revolution 2.0 offers multiple long-term benefits. 

• Agriculturally, it restores soil fertility, improves resilience to droughts and floods, and stabilises crop yields.
• Economically, it creates rural employment, strengthens cooperative incomes, and reduces farmers’ input costs.
• Environmentally, it curbs pollution, enhances biodiversity, and supports climate mitigation.
• Socially, it promotes inclusive growth, with opportunities for women, youth, and self-help groups.

Way Forward

While the strategic benefits of Brown Revolution 2.0 are significant in terms of soil health, rural livelihoods, and environmental sustainability, achieving these outcomes requires a focused and coordinated policy push.

• Set up local cooperatives for collection and recycling of agricultural waste in every district.
• Give financial incentives to farmers for supplying crop residues instead of burning them.
• Promote decentralised composting and biochar units with government support.
• Strictly enforce a ban on crop burning while providing practical alternatives to farmers.
• Link agro-waste recycling with the Soil Health Card scheme to improve soil quality.
• Use technology and AI to monitor soil health and waste recycling.
• Create a national soil organic carbon credit framework to reward farmers and cooperatives for carbon sequestration.