According to the World Bank, there was an increase in the need for rural labor in the 1970s to 1980s. This drove rural wages up while, at the same time, food prices declined. The result was a reduction in rural poverty. Yet, the agricultural growth spurred by the Green Revolution was short-lived. Even as the agricultural sector has undergone diversification and modernization, its contribution to India’s GDP declined from 1951-2011. By 2017, agriculture still only contributed 15.4 percent. Given that “About half of Indians work in agriculture and two-thirds live in rural areas,†this crisis has already caused significant economic damage.