When agriculturists produce primarily for themselves and are unable to produce for the market, it is known as:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Subsistence Agriculture
Option (2) Subsistence Agriculture — 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’. Farmers, by contrast, produce a surplus over the needs of the family and so are linked to the market.
Option (3) Economic Agriculture — Incorrect. Agriculture carried on for the market is commercial agriculture: the farmer produces a surplus to sell. That is the opposite of producing only for oneself.
Option (4) Sericulture — Incorrect. Sericulture is the rearing of silkworms to obtain silk. It names a particular kind of produce, not farming carried on only for the family’s own needs.
Note: The concept in Option (4), ‘sericulture’, is not in the pre-rationalised NCERT, nor in NCERT (2025-26); explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2025-26): “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’. 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. It was the farmers who were able to produce a surplus for the market who were able to reap the most benefits from the Green Revolution and from the commercialisation of agriculture that followed.…” |