Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Intensive Subsistence Farming?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → It is characterized by heavy use of farm machinery.
Option (1) It is practiced with or without paddy. — A characteristic (Incorrect). There are two types of intensive subsistence agriculture: one dominated by wet paddy, and one dominated by crops other than paddy (wheat, soyabean, barley, sorghum) where paddy cannot be grown.
Option (2) Land holdings are small. — A characteristic (Incorrect). Monsoon Asia has a very high density of population, so the land is shared among many families and each holding is very small.
Option (3) It is characterized by heavy use of farm machinery. — Not a characteristic (Correct). Farmers work their tiny plots with family labour; with so many hands on so little land, the use of machinery is limited and most operations are done by hand. All this labour on each plot gives a high yield per unit of land, but the output of each worker stays low.
Option (4) Farm yard manure is used to maintain the fertility of soil. — A characteristic (Incorrect). The same small plots are cropped year after year, so farm yard manure is added to keep the soil fertile.
NCERT (2025-26): “Intensive Subsistence Agriculture … Basically, there are two types of intensive subsistence agriculture. (i) Intensive subsistence agriculture dominated by wet paddy cultivation: This type of agriculture is characterised by dominance of the rice crop. Land holdings are very small due to the high density of population. Farmers work with the help of family labour leading to intensive use of land. Use of machinery is limited and most of the agricultural operations are done by manual labour. Farm yard manure is used to maintain the fertility of the soil. In this type of agriculture, the yield per unit area is high but per labour productivity is low.…” “Intensive Subsistence Agriculture … Intensive subsistence agriculture dominated by crops other than paddy: Due to the difference in relief, climate, soil and some of the other geographical factors, it is not practical to grow paddy in many parts of monsoon Asia.…” |