Identify the correct statements about plantation agriculture.
(A) It was introduced by Europeans in colonies situated in the tropics.
(B) It requires large estates, large capital investment and cheap labor.
(C) The British invested heavily in coconut and sugarcane plantations in the Philippines.
(D) Tea, coffee, and rubber are the few important plantation crops.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A), (B) and (D) only
Plantation agriculture is large-scale, profit-oriented farming of a single crop on a big estate. The produce is sent to factories and markets for export. The Europeans started it in their tropical colonies, where the hot, wet climate suits crops like tea, coffee and rubber.
(A) It was introduced by Europeans in colonies situated in the tropics. — Correct. European powers ruled many tropical lands. They set up plantations there to grow cash crops for profit and send them home.
(B) It requires large estates, large capital investment and cheap labor. — Correct. A plantation covers a very large area and needs money for land, machines, processing and transport. Many workers are needed to plant, care for and pick the crop, so it depends on cheap labour.
(C) The British invested heavily in coconut and sugarcane plantations in the Philippines. — Incorrect. The Spanish and Americans invested in coconut and sugarcane plantations in the Philippines. The British set up tea gardens in India and Sri Lanka, rubber plantations in Malaysia and sugarcane and banana plantations in the West Indies. NTA changed the Spanish and Americans to the British, and a true line became false. Read every word before you mark the answer.
(D) Tea, coffee, and rubber are the few important plantation crops. — Correct. Tea, coffee and rubber are among the main plantation crops. Cocoa, cotton, oil palm, sugarcane, bananas and pineapples are also grown on plantations.
NCERT (2026-27): “Plantation Agriculture … Plantation agriculture as mentioned above was introduced by the Europeans in colonies situated in the tropics. Some of the important plantation crops are tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, cotton, oil palm, sugarcane, bananas and pineapples.” “The characteristic features of this type of farming are large estates or plantations, large capital investment, managerial and technical support, scientific methods of cultivation, single crop specialisation, cheap labour, and a good system of transportation which links the estates to the factories and markets for the export of the products.” “The French established cocoa and coffee plantations in west Africa. The British set up large tea gardens in India and Sri Lanka, rubber plantations in Malaysia and sugarcane and banana plantations in West Indies. Spanish and Americans invested heavily in coconut and sugarcane plantations in the Philippines.” |