Which of the following is not a cause of backwardness of agriculture…

The correct answer is Option (3) → Large net sown area

Option (1) Dependence on Monsoon — A cause (Incorrect). Irrigation covers only about 33 per cent of the cultivated area, so crops on the rest depend directly on rain. When the monsoon fails, the fields get no water and the harvest falls (drought); when it is too heavy, floods destroy the crop. So farm output rises and falls with the rain.

Option (2) Constraints of financial resources — A cause (Incorrect). Modern inputs are very expensive, and small and marginal farmers have little or no savings. They borrow to buy them, and when a crop fails they cannot repay, so they sink deep in debt and can afford still less next season.

Option (3) Large net sown area — Not a cause (Correct). Net sown area is the physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested. A large area under crops is a resource: more land in use means more can be grown. It does not hold agriculture back the way a weak monsoon, debt or low yields do.

Option (4) Low productivity — A cause (Incorrect). Crop yields in India are low compared with the international level, and so is labour productivity, because of the heavy pressure on land. Low yield per hectare means small output and low farm incomes from the same land and work.

NCERT: India - People and Economy — Chapter 3: Land Resources and Agriculture (2025-26)