Rural Farming (Developing)

Question 1

CASE STUDY: Lower Ganges Valley, India

1.) • What are the main features of farming found in the Lower Ganges Valley, India? (5)

Answer 1

1.) • Rice
➞ is the main crop 🌾

2.) • The decision to grow rice
➞ is based on physical and human factors 🧑🌍
↳ (e.g. fertile soil, high rainfall & flooding, high population)

3.) • Subsistence farms are common
➞ (only produce enough food for farmers and their families
↳ (unlike commercial farms where produce is sold for profit, so none is sold for profit)

4. ) • High levels of poverty
5. ) • Small farms.

Question 2

• What are the main features of the traditional farming landscape?
➞ (FLBWW) - (Fields - Land - Bunds - Water - Workers)

Answer 2

1.) • Flooded fields 🌊
➞ as rice grows underwater for part of its life cycle
↳ (it also reduces the amount of weed growth) 🌾

2.) • Flat fields
➞ these are required to prevent the loss of water from the fields.

3.) • Small fields
➞ due to inheritance customs
↳ as when a farmer dies the land is divided to their two children
➜ and over time reducing the size of fields.

4.) • Terraces
➞ steps cut into the hillsides
↳ to create extra land.

5.) • Impermeable soil
➞ (“impermeable” means that water cannot pass through.)
↳ this helps to prevent the water from draining away from the flooded field.

6.) • Bunds
➞ (small mounds of soil along the edges of fields)
↳ these act as “field boundaries”
➜ and provide a barrier to prevent the loss of water from the field.

7.) • Bunds with banana trees
➞ helps to provide extra food for the village
↳ and tree roots help hold the bunds together.

8.) • River and irrigation channels
➞ to provide water to help flood the fields
↳ in case monsoon rainfall isn’t enough.

9.) • Water buffalo
➞ are used for ploughs
↳ and manure is used as fertiliser.

10.) • No machinery
➞ as farmers are too poor to afford it
↳ and fields are too small for tractors.

11.) • Many workers
➞ as there is much work done by hand
↳ as farmers are too poor to afford machinery.

Question 3

What are the advantages to the ‘Green Revolution’? 🌱 (4)

Answer 3

1.) • HYV’s
➞ have led to a more varied diet 🍎

2.) • Transport systems
➞ have been improved in rural areas to help get crops to market
↳ locals can also use these to access other services 🏬

3.) • New industries
➞ making fertilisers and pesticides 🦗
↳ have created new jobs 💵

4.) • Farmers with more increased yields
➞ have more income and a higher standard of living ⬆️✨