Chapter - 15 Agriculture part 1

Question 1

Importance of agriculture

Answer 1

It provide food for our expanding population
It provides employment to millions of people
It accounts for substantial portion of Indian exports
It provides large part of market for Industrial goods especially the farm input like fertilizers , pesticides , Machinery

Question 2

Problems of Indian agriculture can be categorised as

Answer 2

Environmental
Economic
Institutional
technological

Question 3

Environmental factor :

Answer 3

Unreliable rainfall 
Lack of irrigation facilities 
Soil erosion 
Demand for food crops 
Methods of cultivation

Question 4

Institutional factors

Answer 4

small and fragmented Landholdings

exploitation of farmers

Question 5

Small and fragmented landholdings means

Answer 5

Majority of land in India are small and fragmented .
This fragmented landholdings cannot promote modern agriculture .These farmers are poor and they can’t make heavy expenditure of Machinery . Therefore no scientific cultivation with improved techniques and seeds can take place

Question 6

Exploitation of farmers

Answer 6

land tenure is another important factor for low productivity in India
Under zamindari system , Cultivators are only a tenant who could turned out of land . eventhough zamindari system is abolished is effects are not wiped out
Thus neither the owners nor the tenants have urge to raise production

Question 7

Economic factor

Answer 7

Subsistence agriculture : This type of agriculture is practised in India because per capita cultivation land is mere one fourth hectare and farm produce is just enough to sustain the farmer

Human elements : farmers are Poor and uneducated , They don’t follow the morden techniques . Due to lack of marketing facilities and non availability of loans or fair interest , the farmers cannot invest in requisite resources in agriculture . They have no security against failure of crops

Question 8

Technological factor

Answer 8

Old and inefficient Techniques :
Farmers use old and inefficient machinery . Wooden ploughs and bullocks are still used By large number of farmers
with such methods , one third of the cropped area only could be provided Irrigation facilities .