Read the passage and answer the following questions.
The land reforms have had only limited impact on rural society and the agrarian structure in most regions. In contrast the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s bring about significant changes in the areas where it took place. The Green Revolution was a government programme of agricultural modernisation. It was largely funded by international agencies that was based on providing High Yielding Variety (HYV) or hybrid seeds along with pesticides, fertilizers, 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 received the first wave of the Green Revolution package. The rapid social and economic transformations that were seen in these areas stimulated a spate of studies by social scientists, and vigorous debates about the impact of Green Revolution.
Which of the following is incorrect with regard to High Yielding Variety seeds in Green Revolution?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Organic farming
Option (1) Use of pesticides — Linked with HYV seeds (Incorrect). The Green Revolution provided high-yielding variety (HYV) or hybrid seeds along with pesticides, fertilisers and other inputs to farmers. Pesticides were part of the same package as the new seeds.
Option (2) Mono-crop culture — Linked with HYV seeds (Incorrect). In most Green Revolution areas, farmers switched from a multi-crop system to a mono-crop regime. Growing a single crop for the market leaves nothing to fall back on if that crop fails.
Option (3) Organic farming — Not linked with HYV seeds (Correct). Organic farming grows crops with traditional seeds and natural manure, without chemical fertilisers and pesticides. HYV seeds needed the very chemical inputs that organic farming avoids. That is why, after seeing the harm done by modern methods, a number of scientists and farmers’ movements now suggest a return to traditional, more organic seeds and methods, the opposite of the HYV path.
Option (4) Agricultural modernisation — Linked with HYV seeds (Incorrect). The Green Revolution was a government programme of agricultural modernisation, and the HYV seeds were its centre.
Note: The passage of this question is taken from the section ‘The Green Revolution and its Social Consequences’ of the chapter ‘Change and Development in Rural Society’ in NCERT. NTA took the paragraph almost line by line from the book, so the main text of every chapter is worth reading with care.
NCERT (2025-26): “4.3 The Green Revolution and its Social Consequences … We saw that land reforms have had only a limited impact on rural society and the agrarian structure in most regions. In contrast the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s brought about significant changes in the areas where it took place. The Green Revolution, as you know, was a government programme of agricultural modernisation. It was largely funded by international agencies that was based 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, received the first wave of the Green Revolution package. The rapid social and economic transformations that were seen in these areas stimulated a spate of studies by social scientists, and vigorous debates about the impact of the Green Revolution.…” “…In most of the Green Revolution areas, farmers have switched from a multi-crop system, which allowed them to spread risks, to a mono-crop regime, which means that there is nothing to fall back on in case of crop failure.…” “…In view of the negative environmental and social impact of modern methods of cultivation that have been observed, a number of scientists as well as farmers’ movements now suggest a return to traditional, more organic seeds and methods of cultivation. Many rural people themselves believe that hybrid varieties are less healthy than the traditional ones.” |