CBSE 1th Date sheet 2024 CBSE 12th Date Sheet 2024
Class 12 Geography(India People and Economy) Chapter 5: 'Land Resources and Agriculture' - Questions and Answers of NCERT Book Solutions.
1. Choose the right answers of the followings from the given options:
(i) Which one of the following is NOT a land-use category?
(a) Fallow land
(b) Marginal land
(c) Net Area Sown
(d) Culturable Wasteland
Answer: (b) Marginal land
(ii) What one of the following is the main reason due to which share of forest has shown an increase in the last forty years?
(a) Extensive and efficient efforts of afforestation
(b) Increase in community forest land
(c) Increase in notified area allocated for forest growth
(d) Better peoples’ participation in managing forest area.
Answer: (c) Increase in notified area allocated for forest growth
(iii) Which one of the following is the main form of degradation in irrigated areas?
(a) Gully erosion
(b) Wind erosion
(c) Salinisation of soils
(d) Siltation of land
Answer: (c) Salinisation of soils
(iv) Which one of the following crops is not cultivated under diyland farming?
(a) Ragi
(b) Jowar
(c) Groundnut
(d) Sugarcane
Answer: (d) Sugarcane
(v) In which of the following group of countries of the world, HYVs of wheat and rice were developed?
(a) Japan and Australia
(b) U.S.A. and Japan
(c) Mexico and Philippines
(d) Mexico and Singapore
Answer: (c) Mexico and Philippines
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words:
(i) Differentiate between barren and wasteland and culturable wasteland.
Answer:
| Barren and Wasteland | Culturable Wasteland |
|---|
| (a)Barren and wasteland refers to that land which cannot be brought under cultivation practises even with the use of present technology. | (a) Culturable wasteland is the land, which is left fallow for more than 5 years |
| (b) It is the land which is depleted due to land degradation or other natural factors. Eg. Ravines of chambal. | (b) It can be brought under cultivation with present reclamation technologies. |
(ii) Tow would you distinguish between net sown area and gross cropped area?
Answer:
| Net Sown Area | Gross Cropped Area |
|---|
| (a) The physical extent of land in which crops are sown and harvested in a year is known as the net sown area. This is the area actually cultivated. | (a) The total area cultivated once, twice, or multiple times in a year is the gross cropped area |
| (b) Does not take into account multiple cropping. | (b) Multiple cropping is taken into account. |
(iii) What is the difference between dryland and wetland farming?
Answer:
| Dryland Farming | Wetland Farming |
|---|
| (a) In India it is confined to areas with rainfall of less than 75 cm in a year. Rainfall is less than the total moisture requirement of the soil. | (a) Rainfall is more than the total moisture requirement of the soil during rainy season. |
| (b) These areas face problems of drought | (b) Problems of flash flood and soil erosion are faced. |
| (c) Methods of water conservation are used also water harvesting is carried out. | (c) Aquaculture is practiced in these areas due to excess of water. |
| (d) Hardy and drought resistant crops like Jowar, Bajra, Gram are grown. | (d) Water intensive crops like rice, sugarcane and jute are grown. |
| (e) Practised in areas like Northern Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. | (e) Practised in rainier parts of Bihar and West Bengal. |
(iv) Why is the strategy of increasing cropping intensity important in a country like India?
Answer: The strategy of increasing crop intensity aims at increasing the productivity of a piece of land by increasing the number of times it is cultivated in a year. It aims at increasing the productivity of agriculture by increasing the productivity of already cultivated area. It is important for country like India where there is dearth of land so it is difficult to bring new pieces of land under cultivation to meet the ever-increasing demand of rising population.
(v) How do you measure total cultivable land?
Answer: Total cultivable land is the entire land which can be cultivated either in the current state or after reclaiming it through the available technologies. It is a sum of total culturable wasteland, Fallow other than current fallow, current fallow and net sown area.
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words:
(i) What are the different types of environmental problems of land resources in India?
Answer: Land resources in India are faced with multiple issues that lead to decline in their productivity. The causes are both environmental and related to malpractices. The main environmental issues confronting Indian resources are:
Dependence on Erratic Monsoon: Irrigation covers only about 33 per cent of the cultivated area in India. The crop production in rest of the cultivated land directly depends on rainfall. Poor monsoon adversely affects the supply of canal water for irrigation. Rainfall in drought prone areas is too meager and highly unreliable. Even the areas receiving high annual rainfall experience considerable fluctuations. This makes them vulnerable to both droughts and floods. Droughts and floods continue to be twin menace in India.
Low productivity: The yield of the crops in the country is low in comparison to the international level. Indian agriculture is also very low in comparison to international level. The vast rainfed areas of the country, particularly drylands, which mostly grow coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds, have very low yields.
Degradation of Cultivable Land: One of the serious problems that arises out of faulty strategy of irrigation and agricultural development is degradation of land resources. It leads to depletion of soil fertility. In irrigated areas a large tract of agricultural land lost its fertility due to alkalisation and salinisation of soils and waterlogging. Excessive use of chemicals such as insecticides and pesticides has led to their concentration in toxic amounts in the soil profile. Leguminous crops have been displaced from the cropping pattern in the irrigated areas and duration of fallow has substantially reduced owing to multiple cropping. This has obliterated the process of natural fertilization such as nitrogen fixation. Rainfed areas also experience degradation of several types like soil erosion by water and wind erosion which are often induced by human activities.
(ii) What are the important strategies for agricultural development followed in the post-independence period in India?
Answer: Indian agricultural economy was largely subsistence in nature before Independence. During partition about one-third of the irrigated land in undivided India went to Pakistan. After Independence, the immediate goal of the Government was to increase foodgrains production by
• switching over from cash crops to food crops;
• intensification of cropping over already cultivated land; and
increasing cultivated area by bringing cultivable and fallow land under plough.
Later, Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) and Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP) were launched. But two consecutive droughts during mid-1960s resulted in food crisis in the country.
New seed varieties of wheat (Mexico) and rice (Philippines) known as high yielding varieties (HYVs) were available for cultivation by mid-1960s. India took advantage of this and introduced package technology comprising HYVs, along with chemical fertilizers in irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh hnd Gujarat leading fast agricultural growth. This spurt of agricultural growth came to be known as ‘Green Revolution’. This also gave fillip to the development of a large number of agro-inputs, agro-processing industries and small-scale industries. This strategy of agricultural development made the country self-reliant in food grain production.
The Planning Commission of India focused its attention on the problems of agriculture in rained areas in 1980s. It initiated agro-climatic planning in 1988 to induce regionally balanced agricultural development in the country. It also emphasized ‘ the need for diversification of agriculture and harnessing of resources for development of dairy farming, poultry, horticulture, live- tock rearing and aquaculture.
Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Define land-use.
Answer: The different uses to which land is put to use. Different types of land are used for different purposes. Human beings thus, use land as a resource for production as well as residence and recreation.
Question 2. What factors influence land-use to a large extent?
Answer: Land-use in a region, to a large extent, is influenced by the nature of economic activities carried out in that region.
Question 3. Define Common Property Resources (CPR).
Answer: CPR’s can be defined as community’s natural resource, where every member has the right of access and usage with some obligations, without anybody having the rights to property over them.
Question 4. How is cropping intensity calculated?
Answer: Cropping intensity is the number of times of a crop is planted per year in a given agricultural area. It is the ratio of effective crop area harvested to the physical area.
Question 5. Which is the 2nd most important cereal crop in India?
Answer: Wheat is the 2nd most important cereal crop in India.
Question 6. Where is bajra grown in India?
Answer: Bajra is grown in Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Question 7. What are the main fibre crops of India? How are they used?
Answer: Cotton and jute are fibre crops of India. They provide fibre for making cloth, bags, sacks and other items of daily necessities and fashion.
Question 8. What is India’s rank in sugarcane production of the world?
Answer:. India ranks second after Brazil in sugarcane production of world as per 2011.
Question 9. Name the beverage crops of India.
Answer: Tea and coffee are two main beverage crops of India.
Question 10. Cotton is grown in which season? Name another crop of this season.
Answer: Cotton is tropical crop grown in kharif season in semi arid areas of the country. Rice is another kharif crop.
Question 11. Name the coarse cereals.
Answer: Jowar, Bajra, maize and ragi are course cereals.
Question 12. What is India’s rank in cotton production?
Answer: India ranks 4th in cotton production after China, USA and Pakistan.
Question 13. What percentage of cropped area in India is under rice & wheat cultivation?
Answer: 25% of the total cropped area is under rice, and 14% of the total cropped area is under wheat cultivation in India.
Question 14. What is India’s rank in rice production in the world?
Answer: India ranks second in rice production in the world after China.
Question 15. What are the functions of Land Revenue Department?
Answer: Land-use records are maintained by Land Revenue Department. The land- use categories add up to reporting area, which is somewhat different from the geographical area.
Question 16. What are the functions of the Survey of India?
Answer: The Survey of India is responsible for measuring geographical area of administrative units in India.
Question 17. Explain two reasons for the increase pressure on agricultural land in developing country like India.
Answer: Two reasons for the increase pressure on agricultural land in developing country are:
In developing countries, share of population development on agriculture declines more slowly compared to decline in sector’s share in GDP. The number of people that agricultural sector has to feed is increasing day by day.
Question 18. Why is it important for India to develop land saving technology?
Answer: In India land area is extremely less in comparison to its population. Therefore, India needs to develop land saving technology.
Question 19. Why are various crop seasons not found in south India?
Answer: Since weather does not change much in south India therefore the climate is suitable for the same types of crops throughout the year. Therefore,
there are not various crop seasons in south India.
Question 20. Explain why does the southern parts of India grow the same crops thrice a year?
Answer: In southern India the temperature remains high throughout the year. It is suitable for growing tropical crops throughout the year. Thus, in this region the tropical varieties of crop are grown thrice in a year.
Question 21. What are fibre crops?
Answer: The crops which provide us fiber for preparing cloth, bags, sacks and a number of other items. Cotton and jute are two main fiber crops grown in India.
Question 22. What are beverage crops?
Answer: Those crops which are used as beverage after processing are called beverage crops. Example; Tea and coffee.
Question 23. Name the programmes initiated in the end of 1960 for development of agriculture.
Answer: Green revolution or package technology was initiated in the end of 1960s for development of agriculture.
Question 24. What do you mean by low productivity?
Answer: Low productivity means output per unit of labour employed or per unit of land use is low.
Question 25. Name the two HYV seeds imported in 1960.
Answer: New seed varieties of wheat (Mexico) and rice (Philippines) were imported in 1960.
Question 26. What do you mean by small and fragmented landholdings?
Answer: Landholdings of less than 1 hectare are called small landholdings. When these are scattered at different places, it is called fragmented landholdings.
Question 27. What do you mean by under¬employment?
Answer: When a person is working below his potential, he is said to be under-employed and this situation is called under¬employment.
Question 28. What is barren and wasteland?
Answer: The land which may be classified as a wasteland such as barren hilly terrains, desert lands, ravines, etc. normally cannot be brought under cultivation with the available technology. ,
Question 29. Define fallow land?
Answer: This is the land which is left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year. Fallowing is a cultural practise adopted for giving the land rest. The land recoups the lost fertility through natural processes.
Question 30. What is fallow other than current fallow?
Answer: This is also a cultivable land which is left uncultivated for more than a year but less than five years. If the land is left uncultivated for more than five years, it would be categorized as culturable wasteland.
Last Updated on: February 16, 2024
