1. What is the primary role of agriculture in India?

It provides food, employment and raw materials for industries.

2. How does agriculture support rural development?

Through income generation, allied activities like dairy and providing livelihoods.

3. Name two industries that depend on agriculture.

Textile (cotton) and sugar industries.

4. How does agriculture contribute to national food security?

By producing food grains and vegetables to feed the population.

5. What is one way agriculture earns foreign exchange?

By exporting agricultural products like tea, spices and rice.

6. Why is agriculture important for employment?

It employs a large section of the Indian workforce, especially in rural areas.

7. What are the two broad types of farming in India?

Subsistence farming and commercial farming.

8. Define subsistence farming in one line.

Farming mainly to meet the food needs of the farmer's family.

9. Define commercial farming in one line.

Farming done to produce crops on a large scale for sale and profit.

10. Give one key feature of subsistence farming.

Small landholdings and low use of modern inputs.

11. Give one key feature of commercial farming.

Use of high inputs (fertilisers, machines) and large farms.

12. What is mixed farming?

Growing crops and rearing livestock on the same farm.

13. What is primitive subsistence farming?

Low-input farming using simple tools, often shifting cultivation like jhum.

14. Where is shifting cultivation commonly practised in India?

In the Northeastern states such as Nagaland and Mizoram.

15. What is intensive subsistence farming?

Farming with high labour on small plots, producing for family and local market.

16. Name a crop commonly grown in subsistence farming.

Millets or pulses.

17. Why is subsistence farming vulnerable?

Because it often depends on rainfall and has low access to technology.

18. How do small landholdings affect subsistence farmers?

They limit mechanisation and economies of scale, reducing incomes.

19. What is plantation farming?

Large estates producing a single cash crop like tea or rubber.

20. Name two regions known for plantation crops in India.

Assam for tea; Kerala for rubber and spices.

21. Give an example of a commercial crop in northern India.

Wheat in Punjab and Haryana.

22. What is dairy farming's relation to commercial farming?

It is an allied commercial activity providing regular income from livestock.

23. Why is irrigation important for commercial farming?

It ensures reliable water supply and higher yields for cash crops.

24. What is cash crop?

A crop grown primarily for sale in the market rather than personal use.

25. What are Kharif crops?

Crops sown with the monsoon (June–July) and harvested in autumn (Sept–Oct).

26. Give two examples of Kharif crops.

Rice and maize.

27. What are Rabi crops?

Crops sown in winter (Oct–Dec) and harvested in spring (Mar–Apr).

28. Give two examples of Rabi crops.

Wheat and gram.

29. What are Zaid crops?

Short duration crops grown between Kharif and Rabi seasons (summer).

30. Give two examples of Zaid crops.

Watermelon and muskmelon.

31. Where is nomadic herding practised in India?

In parts of Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan.

32. Which region is famous for tea cultivation?

Assam and Darjeeling regions are famous for tea cultivation.

33. Name a region known for cotton cultivation.

Gujarat and parts of Maharashtra.

34. Which area is known as the wheat belt of India?

Punjab, Haryana and parts of western Uttar Pradesh.

35. Where are plantation crops like rubber grown in India?

In Kerala and parts of the Western Ghats in South India.

36. What was introduced during the Green Revolution?

High-yielding variety seeds, chemical fertilisers and better irrigation.

37. Which crops benefited most from the Green Revolution?

Wheat and rice.

38. Name one positive effect of the Green Revolution.

Increased food grain production and reduced dependence on imports.

39. Name one negative effect of the Green Revolution.

Depletion of groundwater and environmental degradation due to excessive chemicals.

40. What role does mechanisation play in agriculture?

It increases efficiency and reduces manual labour for timely farm operations.

41. What is meant by fragmented landholdings?

When a farmer's land is divided into several small and scattered plots.

42. How does dependence on monsoon affect farmers?

Uneven rainfall can cause droughts or floods leading to crop failure.

43. What is Minimum Support Price (MSP)?

A government-set price to purchase certain crops to protect farmers from price fall.

44. Name one crop insurance scheme in India.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

45. How can better storage facilities help farmers?

They reduce post-harvest losses and allow farmers to sell produce at better prices.

46. Why do farmers need timely access to credit?

To buy seeds, fertilisers and equipment for timely sowing and better yields.

47. What is 'cropping intensity'?

The number of crops grown on the same field during a year.

48. Define 'plantation agriculture' in one line.

Large-scale farming of a single crop over large areas, mainly for export or market.

49. What is 'mixed cropping'?

Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land.

50. Why is soil health important for agriculture?

Healthy soil increases fertility and supports higher crop yields.