Read the passage and answer the questions:
Types of Farming
On the basis of the main source of moisture for crops, the farming can be classified as irrigated and rainfed (barani). There is a difference in the nature of irrigated farming, as well as based on the objective of irrigation, i.e., protective or productive.
The objective of protective irrigation is to protect the crops from adverse effects of moisture deficiency, which often means that irrigation acts as a supplementary source of water over and above the rainfall. The strategy of this kind of irrigation is to provide soil moisture to the maximum possible area. Productive irrigation is meant to provide sufficient soil moisture in the cropping season to achieve high productivity. In such irrigation, the water input per unit area of cultivated land is higher than protective irrigation.
Rainfed farming is further classified on the basis of adequacy of soil moisture during the cropping season into dryland and wetland farming. In India, dryland farming is largely confined to the regions having annual rainfall less than 75 cm. These regions grow hardy and drought resistant crops such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram and guar (fodder crops) and practise various measures of soil moisture conservation and rain water harvesting. In wetland farming, the rainfall is in excess of the soil moisture requirement of plants during the rainy season. Such regions may face flood and soil erosion hazards. These areas grow various water intensive crops such as rice, jute and sugarcane and practise aquaculture in the fresh water bodies.
Which of the following programmes was based on productive irrigation strategy?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Green Revolution
Option (1) Green Revolution — Correct. Productive irrigation gives sufficient soil moisture to achieve high productivity, with a higher water input per unit area. The Green Revolution brought high yielding varieties with chemical fertilisers to irrigated areas; these seeds give their high yield only when the soil never runs short of water, so an assured supply of soil moisture through irrigation was a basic pre-requisite for its success.
Option (2) Land reforms — Incorrect. Land reforms dealt with who owns the land, not with how much water it gets.
Option (3) Small Farmers Development Agency — Incorrect. It is a target group programme for small farmers, not an irrigation strategy.
Option (4) Agro-climatic zonation — Incorrect. Agro-climatic planning (1988) turned to rainfed areas, the very areas the irrigated Green Revolution had left out.
NCERT: India - People and Economy — Chapter 3: Land Resources and Agriculture, Types of Farming; Agricultural Development in India (2025-26)
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