Read the passage carefully and answer the questions based on the passage:
The Green Revolution was largely funded by international agencies. It focused on providing high-yielding variety (HYV) or hybrid seeds along with pesticides, fertilisers, and other inputs, to farmers. Green Revolution programmes were introduced only in areas that had assured irrigation, because sufficient water was necessary for the new seeds and methods of cultivation. It was also targeted mainly at the wheat and rice-growing areas. As a result, only certain regions such as the Punjab, western U.P., coastal Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Tamil Nadu were targeted. Though, it managed to increase the agricultural output, it also resulted in increased inequalities. In most of the Green Revolution areas, it was primarily the medium and large farmers who were able to benefit from the new technology. This was because inputs were expensive, and small and marginal farmers could not afford to spend as much as large farmers to purchase these inputs. When agriculturists produce primarily for themselves and are unable to produce for the market, it is known as 'subsistence agriculture' and they are usually termed 'peasants'. Agriculturists or farmers are those who are able to produce surplus, over and above the needs of the family, and so are linked to the market. In many cases, the Green Revolution led to the displacement of tenant-cultivators. For landowners began to take back land from their tenants and cultivate it directly because cultivation was becoming more profitable. This made the rich farmers better off, and worsened the condition of the landless and marginal holders.
Who are known as 'peasants'?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Those who produce only for their subsistence.
Option (1) Those who produce more than what they need. — Incorrect. Those who produce a surplus, over and above the needs of the family, are called agriculturists or farmers. Because they have something to sell, they are linked to the market.
Option (3) Those who produce only for their subsistence. — Correct. When agriculturists produce primarily for themselves and are unable to produce for the market, it is known as ‘subsistence agriculture’, and they are usually termed ‘peasants’. Their crop feeds the family, with little or nothing left to sell.
Note: The passage of Q6-Q10 is taken from section 4.3, ‘The Green Revolution and its Social Consequences’, of the NCERT chapter ‘Change and Development in Rural Society’, with a few sentences shortened. Two paragraphs of that section gave five questions, so read each section of the chapter through to its end.
NCERT (2025-26): “4.3 The Green Revolution and its Social Consequences … In most of the Green Revolution areas, it was primarily the medium and large farmers who were able to benefit from the new technology. This was because inputs were expensive, and small and marginal farmers could not afford to spend as much as large farmers to purchase these inputs. When agriculturists produce primarily for themselves and are unable to produce for the market, it is known as ‘subsistence agriculture’ and they are usually termed ‘peasants’. Agriculturists or farmers are those who are able to produce surplus, over and above the needs of the family, and so are linked to the market.…” |