After World War II, world population began to significantly increase, slowly out-pacing the production of food, and by the 1960s a large portion of the developing world was facing famine. Norman Borlaug, often called the father of the Green Revolution , was convinced that the solution to massive starvation was the use of high yield crops that produced more food on less land. Borlaug, a botanist with the Maize and Wheat Center in Mexico (CIMMYT), traveled to India in 1963 to convince the government to allow the importation and use of dwarf wheat, which at that time, was foreign to India. As war erupted and famine escalated, the Indian Government agreed, and in 1965 India's first season of wheat production increased agricultural yields in the geographic area by 78%; the second season increased the yield by 98%. New varieties were introduced, and by 1974 India and Pakistan were self-sufficient in wheat production.

The rapid growth in food production and reversal of starvation trends is credited with improving local economies. Statistics suggest that economic growth leads to reduced population growth, thus the Green Revolution is often credited with slowing population growth in India and Pakistan.

The Green Revolution however, did not continue for long. These high yield crops are monocultures that lack genetic diversity, and were criticized for their vulnerability, and for requiring the use of large amounts of inorganic fertilizers and irrigation - limiting factors in developing countries. They were also non-native species and the consequence of their introduction into untested ecosystems was contentious. Thus, Borlaug's subsequent efforts to address the African continent's famine were stalled by changing mindsets within the agricultural, environmental, and development communities.

Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for reversing the food shortages in India and Pakistan in the 1960s.