Gujarat Board GSEB Class 12 Commerce Economics Important Questions Chapter 8 Agriculture Sector Important Questions and Answers.

GSEB Class 12 Economics Important Questions Chapter 8 Agriculture Sector

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Which is the primary sector of all economies of the world?
Answer:
Agriculture sector

Question 2.
What all does the agriculture sector provide?
Answer:
Food grains, vegetables, fruits, flowers and raw material to industrial sector.

Question 3.
What is the status of agriculture sector in India?
Answer:
Agriculture sector acts as a lifeline of India and thus, is considered to be the backbone of Indian economy.

Question 4.
What all is included in the income of primary sector?
Answer:
Income generated from agriculture crops, poultry farming, fishing, cattle rearing business, etc.

Question 6.
Which are the two types of crops produced by agriculture sector?
Answer:
Food grain crops and cash crops.

Question 7.
How much average food grain was available to every Indian in the year 1951?
Answer:
395 grams per head

Question 8.
Which are the factors determining agricultural productivity?
Answer:
Industrial factors, technological factors, population pressure and economic planning.

Question 9.
Which factors are a part of institutional structure in agriculture?
Answer:
Physical, social, economic and legal factors.

Question 13.
Which act was passed after independence to control rent of land?
Answer:
Land to Tiller Act.

Question 14.
Which are the industrial factors affecting agriculture sector?
Answer:

1. Land Revenue Collection Systems,
2. Agriculture finance,
3. Agriculture marketing,
4. Rural social structure.

Question 15.
When did government establish regional rural banks?
Answer:
In 1975.

Question 17.
Why did government establish who were exploiting farmers by banks?
Answer:
To reduce the importance of money nationalized banks and regional rural lenders providing finance at high rate of interest.

Question 18.
Why are the agriculture markets not able to connect with each other in India?
Answer:
The agriculture markets are not able to connect with each other due to lack of proper infrastructural facilities in India.

Question 19.
Why a farmer does not get good returns for his crop?
Answer:
Farmers are least informative and lack knowledge of market, knowledge of market rates and selling procedure. Hence,…

Question 20.
List four steps taken to improve agriculture productivity.
Answer:

1. Land related reforms,
2. Availability of institutional credit,
3. Improvement in structure of agriculture marketing and
4. Agriculture research.

Question 21.
Who governs NABARD?
Answer:
Reserve Bank of India.

Question 22.
Mention two steps taken to overcome shortcomings of the system of agriculture marketing.
Answer:

1. To protect farmer from market price changes bottom price should be announced by government, and
2. Develop systems to provide information about prices of agriculture produce.

Question 23.
What is introduced to classify the agriculture produce as per quality?
Answer:
‘AGMARK’ (Agriculture marketing) is introduced to classify the agriculture produce as per quality.

Question 24.
Give some examples of the agriculture reforms started to modernize the agriculture sector.
Answer:
Panchayati Raj, Integrated rural development programs, Jandhan yojana, and rural development programs.

Question 25.
Who gives importance to seed development to increase agriculture productivity?
Answer:
National agriculture research committee, National seed corporation and agriculture universities.

Question 26.
What is national income?
Answer:
Value of goods and services produced in a year with the help of factors of production is called national income

Question 27.
Define export.
Answer:
Selling goods/services to abroad economy is known as export.

Question 28.
What is NABARD?
Answer:
NABARD (National Bank of Agricultural and Rural Development) is an institute of Reserve Bank of India. It focuses only on monetary functions of agriculture sector. It is known as central bank of agriculture.

Question 29.
What did the government do to expand the service of irrigation?
Answer:
Government set-up ‘Development program of irrigation sector’ and ‘infrastructural development fund’ to expand the service of irrigation.

Question 30.
What do you mean by population pressure?
Answer:
When a bigger mass of population lives in small area or big mass of employment depends on a sector field area then, it can be said that there is population pressure on that area.

Question 31.
Name some of the modern machineries used in agriculture sector.
Answer:
Tractor, thresher, electric pump set, oil , engines, pesticide sprinkler pumps, etc.

Question 32.
What is the main objective of using pesticides in agriculture?
Answer:
Pesticides helps to prevent crop from various diseases and helps to protect plants from insects.

Question 33.
Define Green revolution.
Answer:
Fast technological growth attained by agriculture with the help of irrigation, fertilizer, seeds, pesticides and machines is known as Green revolution. In other words, Green revolution means, in short period when speedy growth is achieved by agriculture with the help of technological advancement.

Question 34.
How many districts were included for pilot pilot project in the year 1960-61 for use of new technology in agriculture?
Answer:
Seven districts were included for project in the year 1960-61 for use of new technology in agriculture.

Question 35.
What is cash crop?
Answer:
Mainly crops used as raw material in industries known as cash crops. Normally, these crops are non-food grains crops.

Question 36.
Give examples of oilseeds.
Answer:
Groundnut, sesame, castor, soyabean, linseed, sunflower, etc.

Question 37.
Mention some of the economic reasons for multiple cropping.
Answer:

1. To maximize price and income,
2. Availability of agricultural instruments,
3. Size of farm,
4. Protection of insurance and
5. Tenure.

Question 38.
Who is appointed to inform Indian farmers about various types of pesticides and its level of poison?
Answer:
CIBRIC (Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee).

Question 39.
Name the institute which manages agriculture researches?
Answer:
ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research).

Question 40.
What is the meaning of thresher?
Answer:
A machine which separates seeds from husks or straws.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Write in detail about the importance of agriculture sector in India.
Answer:
1. The economy of a country is dependent on three sectors namely,

1. The Primary (Agricultural) Sector,
2. Industrial sector and
3. Service sector.

2. Although these sectors are different, they are highly interdependent.

3. India has been an agriculture nation since ancient times.

4. Even today, India is highly dependent on its agriculture sector for producing food for its people, providing them employment and also earning export income.

5. So, we can say that agriculture is the life-line of India as well as the backbone of our economy.

6. India is densely and largely populated country. So, agricultural products are used extensively to feed the large population as well as raw materials in agro based industries.

7. If the agricultural sector is unable to produce enough then the prices of agricultural products as well as processed products rise. This leads to inflation.

8. About, 68.8% i.e. almost 70% of Indian population still resides in rural areas. This population is mainly dependent on agriculture. When these people cannot produce enough, their income levels drop down drastically. So, they reduce their consumption i.e. they do not demand industrial products.

9. So, reduced agricultural production hits the industry in two ways

1. First industries do not get enough raw material for production and
2. The demand of industrial production reduces.

10. This means failure of agricultural sector also leads to failure of industrial sector. Naturally, this will in turn badly affect service sector too.

11. Hence, we can say that for a country like Incfia, if the agriculture sector fails then entire economy fails whereas if agriculture succeeds then it brings prosperity to entire country. Hence, agriculture is considered as back bone of nation.

12. Although India has progressed much in the other two sectors namely, industry and service, India still largely depends on agriculture for its growth and development.

Question 2.
Failure of agriculture sector is failure of industry sector. Explain.
OR
Failure of agriculture sector is failure of both the other sectors. Explain. OR Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. Explain
Answer:

• India is densely and largely populated country. So, agricultural products are used extensively to feed the large population as well as raw materials in agro based industries.
• Moreover, 68.8% i.e. almost 70% of Indian population still resides in rural areas. This population is mainly dependent on agriculture. When these people cannot produce enough their income levels drop down drastically.
• So, they reduce their consumption i.e. they do not demand industrial products.
• The reduced agricultural production hits the industry in two ways
  1. First industries do not get enough raw material for production and
  2. The demand of industrial production reduces.
• Hence, we can say that failure of agricultural sector leads to failure of industrial sector.

Points for answer of other two questions:

• Since service sector cannot alone progress when the other two sectors fail, even the service sector will fall due to failure of agriculture.
• Hence, agriculture is backbone of our economy.

Question 3.
Discuss the contribution of agriculture in our national income.
Answer:
Contribution of agriculture in national income:

• Agricultural sector is called primary sector and so income earned from this sector is also knQWn as income from primary sector.
• Primary sector includes agriculture crops, poultry farming, fisheries, cattle rearing, etc.
• As per economic survey of 2011 -12, in 1950-51, the contribution of agriculture sector in national income (GDP) was 53.1%.
• This has constantly decreased because of more focus on industries and less on agriculture.
• In the year 2011-12 it decreased to as low as 13.9% (at constant prices).
• Fast rise of other sectors namely, industry and service the is one of the key reasons for reduced contribution of agriculture to such a great extent.

Year	Share of Agricultural Sector in National Income (in percentage %)
1950-51	53.1
1960-61	48.7
1970-71	42.3
1980-81	36.1
1990-91	29.6
2000-01	22.3
2011-12	13.9

Question 4.
Give an idea about the growth in agriculture since 1950.
Answer:
Growth of agriculture production:

• Our total agricultural production has increased tremendously. This can be seen in the table.
• On comparing the production of 1950-51 with 2013-14 we can see that the production has increased several folds.
• Although population has also increased in all these years but, it must be noted that rise in production has become possible due to rise in land under cultivation as well as rise in per-hectare productivity.

Question 5.
State the contribution of agriculture in generating employment.
Answer:
Employment generation:

• Although the contribution of agriculture is less in GDP, it provides maximum employment to people compared to other sectors.
• At the time of independence, 72% population was engaged in agriculture and allied agricultural activities. After independence, industry and service sectors developed quite fast and so people’s dependency on agriculture for employment reduced.
• For example, in the year 2001-02, agriculture provided employment to 58% people which then reduced to 49% in the year 2014-15.

Question 6.
How does agricultural export help India?
Answer:
Export income:

• We export our agricultural products to various countries. This earns us foreign exchange.
• The foreign exchange earned helps to buy such goods which India does not produce but needs for its economic development.

Question 7.
What is agriculture productivity? State the main factors responsible for low agriculture productivity in India.
Answer:

• The productivity of agriculture per hectare is called agricultural productivity. We can also know about agricultural productivity by finding the income earned per hectare of agricultural produce.
• Compared to the world productivity, India’s agriculture productivity is quite low.

Reasons for low agriculture productivity cap be classified into three major types:
(I) Institutional factors,
(II) Technological factors and
(III) Other factors

Question 8.
What do you mean by institutional factors with reject to agriculture sector?
Answer:

• The physical, social, economic and legal factors that affect agriculture are known as institutional factors.
• Farmers need to work under such factors. The problem is that these factors are not in much favour of farmers. As a result, the agricultural development and productivity is low in India.

Question 9.
Discuss the institutional factors for low agricultural productivity.
Answer:
Institutional factors for low agricultural productivity:

• The physical, social, economic and legal factors that affect agriculture are known as institutional factors.
• Farmers need to work under such factors. The problem is that these factors are not in much favour of farmers. As a result, the agricultural development and productivity is low in India.
• The Land Revenue Collection Systems such as the Zamindari system, Mahalwari system, Ryotwari system implemented by British badly affected agricultural productivity.
• Farmers did not have access to proper agriculture finance, agriculture marketing system, land ownership system, etc.
• All these institutional factors remained negative for farming and farmers and hence agriculture productivity remained low.

The institutional factors are discussed below:
1. Land Revenue Collection Systems:

• Even after India became independent, three Land Revenue Collection Systems namely, Zamindari system, Mahalwari system and Ryotwari system existed in India.
• The land tenants and landless labourers used to cultivate land under these systems.
• Under these systems, the landlords used to forcibly take most of the produced crops from the labourers or tenants as rent. As a result, the farmers had no motivation to increase production.
• So, neither individual productivity nor national productivity increased.
• To abolish all these systems, the government after independence passed ‘Land to Tiller Act’ and other such acts. However, these acts were not effectively implemented and so exploitation of farmers continued and the productivity remained low.

2. Agriculture finance:

• Majority of Indian farmers are poor. They take finance to buy fertilizer, seeds, pesticides, etc.
  After independence, private money lenders were one of the easiest and major sources of obtaining agricultural finance. But, these lenders used to charge very heavy rate of interest on the money lent. Moreover, they also used to fool farmers and manipulate records to loot the poor and ignorant farmers.
• As per a source, in 1951, about 71.6% agriculture finance business was controlled by money lenders.
• This problem was somewhat solved when the government established nationalized banks. Government also opened new avenues for agriculture finance by setting up regional rural banks in 1975 and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1982.
• Due to all these efforts only 27% finance remained in the hands of money lenders and remaining was taken care by agriculture credit institutes.
• High rate of interest on agricultural loans, difficulty in obtaining finance and ignorance about systematic channels of finance lowered the profit in agriculture and kept farmers demotivated and so productivity suffered.

3. Lack of agriculture marketing:

• Infrastructural facilities such as proper roads and bridges are not well developed in remote Indian villages. So, produce of these villages cannot reach the agricultural markets easily.
• Depending upon the season, the markets offer different rates to farmers for their produce.
• In any case, the majority of the profit goes in the hands of agents, traders and farce the indebted farmers to sell their crops at cheap rates before they grow fully.
• Moreover, farmers are illiterate and ignorant about knowledge of market, market rates, selling procedure, etc.
• All these factors break the profit and hence morale of the farmers and so
  their productivity remains low.

4. Rural social structure:

• Indian farmers are fatalist and possess least information about the government ‘ policies, framework, benefits, market, etc.
• Indian rural society is bound with old traditions and orthodox structure.
• These people believe that God has given them life full of problems and so they have to live with it.
• So, they do minimal farming and do not have any motivation to increase cultivation and income.

Question 10.
How existence of Land Revenue Collection Systems ruined Indian agricultural productivity?
Answer:
Land Revenue Collection Systems:

• Even after India became independent, three Land Revenue Collection Systems namely, Zamindari system, Mahalwari system and Ryotwari system existed in India.
• The land tenants and landless labourers used to cultivate land under these systems.
• Under these systems, the landlords used to forcibly take most of the produced crops from the labourers or tenants as rent. As a result, the farmers had no motivation to increase production.
• So, neither individual productivity nor national productivity increased.
• To abolish all these systems, the government after independence passed ‘Land to Tiller Act’ and other such acts. However, these acts were not effectively implemented and so exploitation of farmers continued and the productivity remained low.

Question 11.
Discuss the past and present scenario of agriculture finance in India.
Answer:
Agriculture finance:
1. Majority of Indian farmers are poor. They take finance to buy fertilizer, seeds, pesticides, etc.
After independence, private money lenders were one of the easiest and major sources of obtaining agricultural finance. But, these lenders used to charge very heavy rate of interest on the money lent. Moreover, they also used to fool farmers and manipulate records to loot the poor and ignorant farmers.

2. As per a source, in 1951, about 71.6% agriculture finance business was controlled by money lenders.

3. This problem was somewhat solved when the government established nationalized banks. Government also opened new avenues for agriculture finance by setting up regional rural banks in 1975 and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1982.

4. Due to all these efforts only 27% finance remained in the hands of money lenders and remaining was taken care of by agriculture credit institutes.

5. High rate of interest on agricultural loans, difficulty in obtaining finance and ignorance about systematic channels of finance lowered the profit in agriculture and kept farmers demotivated and so productivity suffered.

Question 12.
Explain the problem with agricultural marketing as a cause for low agricultural productivity.
Answer:
Lack of agriculture marketing:

• Infrastructural facilities such as proper roads and bridges are not well developed in remote Indian villages. So, produce of these villages cannot reach the agricultural markets easily.
• Depending upon the season, the markets offer different rates to farmers for their produce.
• In any case, the majority of the profit goes in the hands of agents, traders and farce the indebted farmers to sell their crops at cheap rates before they grow fully.
• Moreover, farmers are illiterate and ignorant about knowledge of market, market rates, selling procedure, etc.
• All these factors break the profit and hence morale of the farmers and so their productivity remains low.

Question 13.
How is poor technology affecting agricultural productivity?
Answer:

• In India, majority of the farming is still done with old traditional technology. -> Obsolete and worn put equipment, old ideologies, lesser mechanization, etc. all reduces agricultural productivity.
• Farmers also use traditional seeds instead of modern hybrid seeds which can give higher productivity.
• Many farmers use traditional manure such as cow dung instead of chemical fertilizers. This also reduces the productivity.
• Indian farmers do not use pesticides in sufficient quantity. As a result, the crops catch disease and the productivity suffers.

Question 14.
The roots of lower agriculture productivity lie in our economic planning. Explain.
Answer:

• When India became independent its economy was ruined completely.
• It had no choice but to develop at a very fast rate so as to stabilize the country and raise its economy. To do so, India started giving more importance to industries and ignored agriculture sector.
• India gave greater emphasis to agriculture during the first five year plan. But, second five year plan onwards, India started focusing on industries rather than agriculture.
• India did not put same efforts, time and money in agriculture sector as it did in industries. In other words, the economic planning ignored agriculture. Hence, agriculture suffered tremendously.
  Measures to Increase Agriculture Productivity

Question 15.
Discuss the institutional measures taken by the government to improve agricultural productivity.
Answer:
The government took the following steps to increase the agricultural productivity:
(I) Institutional measures:
The government has taken several institutional measures under its five year plans. These are:

Land reforms:

• Government framed laws to abolish Zamindari system. This has helped to protect tillers from getting exploited and to help them obtain ownership of land.
• These reforms help farmers to keep a major share of the crops with themselves for selling purpose unlike in the Zamindari system.
• As a result, the farmers have become motivated to increase the agricultural productivity and overall production.

Question 16.
What changes have been made in the structure of agriculture marketing?
Answer:
Improvement m structure of agriculture marketing:
The government has taken following steps to improve the structure of agriculture marketing:

1. Regulated markets have been set up.
2. ‘AGMARK (AGMARK = Agriculture Marketing)’ has been introduced to classify the agriculture produce on the basis of its quality.
3. National warehouse corporation and state warehouse corporation have been set-up to store agricultural produce of farmers.
4. System has been developed so that the farmer can be provided information about prices of agriculture produce.
5. To protect farmer from changes that take place in market prices, the government announces bottom prices below which the produce cannot be sold.

Question 17.
What role does NABARD plays in agricultural research?
Answer:
Agriculture research:

• Indian farmers are mostly uneducated and do not have sufficient capital to conduct experiments and research in their fields. So, NABARD has taken up this task.
• Although NABARD is an apex financial institution for providing credit to agricultural sector, it also undertakes several programmes and events and funds researches for agriculture and rural development.
• NABARD does .many researches and based on the outcomes it provides knowledge and training to the farmers to increase and improve their crops.
• This helps farmer to leave their traditional ways of farming and adopt new scientific methods. The farmers thus earn higher income and are also able to fulfill the rising demand of the nation.
• Moreover, to make farmers a part of agricultural reforms, collective rural development programs, Panchayati Raj, Integrated Rural Development Programs, Jandhan Yojana, etc. have been started. By becoming a part of these programmes the farmers are able to modernize the agriculture and increase their agricultural productivity.

Question 18.
Write in detail about the technical measures taken to increase agricultural productivity.
Answer:
Technological measures:
Institutional measures require major structural changes as compared to technological measures. So, it is easier to implement technological measures

Question 19.
What are hybrid seeds? How do they’help in agriculture?
Answer:
Improved seeds:

• Seeds developed with the help of scientific research are called improved seeds (hybrid seeds}.
• These scientifically developed seeds give more and faster production and also protect the crops against diseases.
• India has been able to tremendously increase its production using these seeds.
• Due to this extraordinary growth in food grains, the ‘Agriculture Revolution’ is also known as ‘Seed Revolution’.
• National Agriculture Research Committee, National Seed Corporation and agripulture universities gave utmost importance and top priority for developing hybrid seeds as a means to increase agriculture productivity.

Question 20.
State the role of chemical fertilizers in enhancing agricultural productivity.
Answer:
Use of chemical fertilizers:

• Use of chemical fertilizer increased with the use of improved seeds in India.
• Chemical based fertilizers give required nutrition to plants and help them to grow fast. So, chemical fertilizers have proved highly beneficial for increasing agriculture productivity.
• Nitrogen, phosphate, potash and other chemicals used as per crop.
• India has also set-up public sector units such as IFFCO to produce chemical fertilizers.
• The government also imports and distributes fertilizers at subsidized rates.

Question 21.
State the advantages of soil testing.
Answer:
Soil testing:

• By testing the soil, the farmer can find out about the properties of the soil and weather the soil is suitable for a particular crop or not. It also helps in knowing which minerals does the soil lack and which type of fertilizer will it need.
• Thus soil testing is an effective means to improve and maintain productivity. Government helps the farmers in getting their soil tested. It also guides them about the care they will have to take to retain the, soil quality.

Question 22.
Discuss green revolution as an important aspect of modern agriculture.
Answer:
Green Revolution:

• To tackle the problem of feeding the growing population, India in 1960-61 launched a project called Intensive Agriculture Development Programme (IADP).
• This programme was launched as a pilot project in selected 7 districts. India made use of modern technology for agricultural production.
• This programme became a great success and so India implemented it into 3 entire county.
• When this programme was implemented in whole India it was given the name of ‘High Yielding Varieties Program (HYVP)’. As the name suggests, the programme was launched for such crops that give high yield.
• This programme was also known as ‘Green Revolution’, ‘Modern agricultural technology programme’ and even ‘Programme of seeds, fertilizer and water technology’.

Question 23.
What is multiple cropping? Explain multiple cropping and crop rotation as ‘ a part of modern agriculture in India.
Answer:
Multiple Cropping:
The practice of growing two or more crops in the same piece of land during a single growing season is called multiple cropping.

Mostly two types of crops are grown more. They are:

1. Food grains such as wheat, paddy, jowar, maize, pulses, etc. and
2. Cash crops such as oil seeds such as groundnut, sesame, castor, soyabean, etc. and other crops such as sugarcane, rubber, cotton, jute, etc.

Multiple cropping has become wide spread because of two major reasons.
They are:

1. Technological factors and
2. Economic factors.

1. Technological factors:

• Multiple cropping depends on the soil, weather, rainfall, etc. of the region. For example, in Madhya Pradesh after taKing crop of bajri, the farmers sow paddy, sugarcane, tobacco, etc. depending upon the irrigation facilities available there.
• Multiple cropping has become possible due to capital, new seeds, fertilizer and credit facilities.

2. Economic factors:
Economic factors also play important role in multiple cropping.
The factors are:

1. Maximization of price and income
2. Availability of agricultural equipment
3. Size of farm
4. Crop insurance
5. Tenure (Tenure avail from landlord), etc.

• Which crops will be selected for multi-cropping as well as rotation of crops is dependent on the availability or scarcity of these factors. ‘
• In 1950-51, India cultivated approximately 75% food grains and 25% cash crops. After 1966, under the ‘Green Revolution’, India started taking multiple crops using the method of crop rotation.
• In the year 1970-71, India cultivated 74% food grains and about 26% cash crops. In 2006-07 this changed to 64% food grains and 36% cash crops. Again in the year 2010-11, India cultivated about 66% of food grains and about 34% of cash crops. These figures clearly indicate that India has been adopting crop rotation and cultivating multiple crops.

Question 24.
State the economic factors that affect multiple cropping and crop rotation.
Answer:
Economic factors that play important role in multiple cropping and crop rotation are:

1. Maximization of price and income
2. Availability of agricultural equipment
3. Size of farm
4. Crop insurance
5. Tenure (Tenure avail from landlord), etc.

Question 25.
IndIan farmer is fatalist. Explain. OR Indian farmer is born In debt, lives in debt and dies In debt.
Answer:

• Indian rural society is bound with old traditions and orthodox structure.
• These people believe that God has given them life full of problems and so they have to live with it.
• In the olden times the agriculture was controlled by the Zamindars who used to exploit farmerš till their last breath.
• The Zamindars used to forcibly take most of the -produced crops from the labourers or tenants as rent.
• Even after India became independent three Land Revenue Collection Systems namely Zamindari system, Mahaiwari system and Ryotwari system existed in India.
• The poor, illiterate and ignorant farmers have no option but to believe that they are born with an ill-luck and they will die so.
• As a result, Indian farmer is fatalist and it is said that he is born in debt, lives in debt and also dies in debt.

Question 26.
DifferentIate between Institutional changes and technological changes.
Answer:

Institutional changes	Technological changes
1. The changes brought ¡n the physical, social, economic and legal changes that affect agriculture are known as institutional changes.	1. The changes brought in technology to increase farm productivity are known as technological changes.
2. These changes affect productivity indirectly.	2. These changes affect farm productivity directly.
3. Land reforms, changes related to institutional credit, agricultural marketing, etc. fall under institutional changes.	3. Developing hybrid seeds, new and improved chemical fertilizers, farm machinery and equipment, etc. are part of technological changes.

Question 27.
Differentiate between food crop and cash crop.
Answer:

Food crop	Cash crop
1. Crops which are directly used as food are called food crops.	1. Crops which are used as raw material for industries and are primarily grown to earn more income are called cash crops.
2. Wheat, rice, bajra, pulses, etc. are food crops.	2. Cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, oilseeds, etc. are cash crops.
3. In India, the area under cultivation of food crop is declining	3. The area under cultivation of cash crop is rising.

Question 28.
Picture of use of pesticides in India is not good. Explain,
Answer:

• Compared to other nations India uses very less amount of pesticides per hectare. -» As per the economic survey of 2015-16, India uses 0.5 kg pesticide per hectare. On the other hand, countries like America uses 7.0 kg, Europe uses 2.5 kg, Japan uses 12 kg and Korea uses 6.6 kg pesticides.
• Less use of pesticides is the reason for 15 to 25% spoilage of crops in India. -> Indian farmers are not aware about proper use of pesticides. Some farmers put very less pesticides and some very large quantities. Also, they use poor quality of pesticides which affect the crop health and productivity.
• Improper and unregulated use of pesticides in India is posing great danger to health of people as well as danger to environment.

Question 29.
What steps has the government taken to tackle the problem of pesticides in India?
Answer:
To tackle this problem, the government has appointed ‘Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC)’ to provide information to the Indian farmers about various types of pesticides and their level of poison. -» CIBRS also publishes different booklets to guide farmers. These booklets explain about quantity of pesticides, time of usage and level of poison.

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1.
What is the status of agriculture in Indian economy?
(A) Blood
(B) Backbone
(C) Nervous system
(D) Brain
Answer:
(D) Brain

Question 2.
Which of the following sector contributes least share in the total revenue (National Income)?
(A) Industrial sector
(B) Agriculture sector
(C) Service sector
(D) Both (B) and (C)
Answer:
(B) Agriculture sector

Question 3.
What was the share of agriculture sector in national income in the year 1990-91?
(A) 22.3%
(B) 36.1%
(C) 42.3%
(D) 29.6%
Answer:
(A) 22.3%

Question 4.
In which year, was the share of agriculture sector in national income at its peak?
(A) 1950-51
(B) 2011-12
(C) 1980-81
(D) 2000-01
Answer:
(D) 2000-01

Question 5.
How much percentage of population was engaged in agriculture and allied agriculture activities at the time of independence?
(A) 54%
(B) 69%
(C) 72%
(D) 20%
Answer:
(C) 72%

Question 6.
How much percentage of population was engaged in agriculture and allied agriculture activities in the year 2001-02?
(A) 58%
(B) 72%
(C) 30%
Answer:
(B) 72%

Question 7.
Which of the following is the main reason for the fall of agriculture sector since the year 1956?
(A) Emphasis on industrialization
(B) Emphasis on operation flood
(C) Emphasis on service sector
(D) Disguised employment
Answer:
(A) Emphasis on industrialization

Question 8.
Which of the following is not a cash crop?
(A) Cotton
(B) Mango
(C) Sugarcane
(D) Groundnut
Answer:
(C) Sugarcane

Question 9.
What was the average food grain availability per head in the year 2013?
(A) 395 grams
(B) 420 grams
(C) 511 grams
(D) 678 grams
Answer:
(D) 678 grams

Question 10.
What was the food grain production in the year 2013-14?
(A) 51 metric tons
(B) 264.4 metric tons
(C) 200 metric tons
(D) 1000 metric tons
Answer:
(B) 264.4 metric tons

Question 11.
How much was the rise of production of sugarcane from the year 1951 to 2014?
(A) 3 times
(B) 4 times
(C) 5 times
(D) 6 times
Answer:
(A) 3 times

Question 12.
Production of which crops increased 17 times between the year 1951 to 2014?
(A) Pulses
(B) Oilseeds
(C) Food grains
(D) Cotton
Answer:
(A) Pulses

Question 13.
Which of the following is not a land revenue collection system?
(A) Barter system
(B) Zamindari system
(C) Ryotwari system
(D) Mahalwari system
Answer:
(A) Barter system

Question 14.
Who managed the agriculture finance majorly in the year 1951?
(A) Landlords
(B) Banks
(C) Panchayat
(D) Money lenders
Answer:
(D) Money lenders

Question 15.
When did government construct regional rural banks?
(A) 1973
(B) 1975
(C) 1982
(D) 1988
Answer:
(C) 1982

Question 16.
What do the Indian farmer use instead of chemical based fertilizers?
(A) Good amount of pesticides
(B) Cow dung manure
(C) Machineries and equipments
(D) Modern seeds
Answer:
(D) Modern seeds

Question 17.
In which year did Indian government implement second five year plan?
(A) 1952
(B) 1956
(C) 1955
(D) 1954
Answer:
(D) 1954

Question 18.
Which of the following is the governing body of NABARD?
(A) SEBI
(B) RBI
(C) CRISIL
(D) RRBs
Answer:
(B) RBI

Question 19.
Which of the following is an agriculture reform program?
(A) Panchayati raj
(B) Jandhan Yojana
(C) Integrated Rural Development Program
(D) All of these
Answer:
(A) Panchayati raj

Question 20.
Which of the following institutes work for hybrid seed development for increased agriculture production?
(A) NABARD
(B) RRBs
(C) Agriculture universities
(D) AGMARK
Answer:
(D) AGMARK

Question 21.
Which of the following chemicals are important for the growth of crops?
(A) Phosphate
(B) Nitrogen
(C) Potassium
(D) All of these
Answer:
(C) Potassium

Question 23.
When did modern agriculture emerge in India?
(A) 1960
(B) 1956
(C) 1966
(D) 1982
Answer:
(B) 1956

Question 24.
As a trial project, Green Revolution was launched in districts.
(A) 4
(B) 5
(C) 6
(D)7
Answer:
(B) 5

Question 25.
Which of the following is not the other name of green revolution?
(A) Modern agriculture technology program
(B) High yielding varities program
(C) Program of farmers, manure and technology
(D) Program of seeds, fertilizers and water technology
Answer:
(B) High yielding varities program

Question 26.
Which crop is taken after bajri/millet in Madhya Pradesh?
(A) Cotton
(B) Tobacco
(C) Oilseeds
(D) Rice
Answer:
(B) Tobacco

Question 27.
Which of the following is an institute focusing on monetary functions of agriculture?
(A) ICRA
(B) ICAR
(C) IDBI
(D) NABARD
Answer:
(D) NABARD

Question 28.
How much percentage of cash crop was grown in the year 1950-51?
(A) 75%
(B) 34%
(C) 26%
(D) 25%
Answer:
(C) 26%

Question 29.
How much percentage of food grains was grown in the year 2010-11?
(A) 34%
(B) 75%
(C) 66%
(D) 64%
Answer:
(C) 66%

Question 30.
How much percentage of Indian crop spoil by diseases, insects, and weeds?
(A) 5-10%
(B) 10-20%
(C) 15-25%
(D) 20-30%
Answer:
(C) 15-25%

Question 31.
How much is the use of pesticides in Europe based on economic survey 2015-16?
(A) 7 kg
(B) 2.5 kg
(C) 6.6 kg
(D) 6 kg
Answer:
(A) 7 kg

Question 32.
As per economic survey – 2015-16, which of the following country uses high pesticides as compared to other countries?
(A) Korea
(B) Japan
(C) India
(D) Europe
Answer:
(B) Japan

Question 33.
Which of the following institute is appointed to inform Indian farmers about various types of pesticides?
(A) ICAR
(B) NABARD
(C) CIBRIC
(D) CIBIL
Answer:
(D) CIBIL