Farming that caters to primarily production of elite items and requires high doses of fertilisers and pesticides is called:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Contract farming
Option (3) Contract farming — Correct. In contract farming the company identifies the crop, provides the seeds and other inputs, and guarantees to buy the produce at a predetermined fixed price. It is common in specialised items such as cut flowers, grapes, figs and pomegranates, and it caters primarily to the production of elite items; because it usually requires high doses of fertilisers and pesticides, it is often not ecologically sustainable.
NCERT (2025-26): “4.6 Globalisation, Liberalisation, and Rural Society … For instance, in some regions such as Punjab and Karnataka, farmers enter into contracts with multinational companies (such as PepsiCo) to grow certain crops (such as tomatoes and potatoes), which the companies then buy from them for processing or export. In such ‘contract farming’ systems, the company identifies the crop to be grown, provides the seeds and other inputs, as well as the know-how and often also the working capital. In return, the farmer is assured of a market because the company guarantees that it will purchase the produce at a predetermined fixed price. Contract farming is very common now in the production of specialised items such as cut flowers, fruits such as grapes, figs and pomegranates, cotton and oilseeds. While contract farming appears to provide financial security to farmers, it can also lead to greater insecurity as farmers become dependent on these companies for their livelihoods. Contract farming of export-oriented products such as flowers and gherkins also means that agricultural land is diverted away from food grain production. Contract farming has sociological significance in that it disengages many people from the production process and makes their own indigenous knowledge of agriculture irrelevant. In addition, contract farming caters primarily to the production of elite items, and because it usually requires high doses of fertilisers and pesticides, it is often not ecologically sustainable.…” “4.3 The Green Revolution and its Social Consequences … 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’.…” |