I wouldn't say it saved lives as much as provided a way to continue stable population growth and prevent food shortages.

The increase in production from use of technology and new farming methods allowed people to produce more at a time when countries were struggling for food. For example over the period of it's Green Revolution India went from a country which was having serious food issues to one that was now an exporter of grains and rice.

This is possibly the best source i've found online.