Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
Agriculture has always been celebrated as the primary sector in India: Thanks to the Green Revolution, India is now self-sufficient in food production. Indian agriculture has been making technological advancement as well. Does that mean everything is looking bright for Indian agriculture? A superficial analysis of the above points would tempt one to say yes, but the truth is far from it. The reality is that Indian farmers have to face extreme poverty and financial crisis, which is driving them to suicides. What are the grave adversities that drive the famers to commit suicide at a time when Indian economy is supposed, to be gearing up to take on the world?
Indian agriculture is predominantly dependant on nature. Irrigation facilities that are currently available do not cover the entire cultivable land. If the farmers are at the mercy of monsoons for timely water for their crops, they are at the mercy of the government for alternative irrigation facilities. Any failure of nature, directly affects the fortunes of the farmers. Secondly, Indian agriculture is largely an unorganized sector, there is no systematic planning in cultivation, famers work on lands of uneconomical sizes, institutional finances are not available and minimum purchase prices of the government do not in reality reach the poorest farmer. Added to this, the cost of agricultural inputs have been steadily rising over the .years, farmers margins of profits have been narrowing because the price rise in inputs is not complemented by an increase in the purchase price of the agricultural produce. Even today, in several parts of the country agriculture is a seasonal occupation. In many districts, farmers get only one crop per year and for the remaining part of the year, they find it difficult to make both ends meet.
The farmers normally resort to borrowing from money lenders, in the absence of institutionalized finance. Where institutional finance is available, the ordinary farmer does not have a chance of availing it because of the procedures involved in disbursing the finance. This calls for removing the elaborate formalities for obtaining the loans. The institutional finance, where available is mostly availed by the medium or large land owners, the small tamers do not even have the awareness of the existence of such facilities. The money lender is the only source of finance to the farmers. Should the crops fail, the farmers fall into a debt trap and crop failures piled up over the years give them no other option than ending their lives.
Another disturbing trend has been observed where farmers commit suicide or deliberately kill a family member in order to avail relief and benefits announced by the government to support the families of those who have committed suicide so that their families could at least benefit from the Government’s relief programmes. What then needs to be done to prevent this sad state of affairs? There cannot be one single solution to end the woes of farmers.
Temporary measures through monetary relief would not be the solution. The governmental efforts should be targeted at improving the entire structure of the small farmers wherein the relief is not given on a drought to drought basis, rather they are taught to overcome their difficulties through their own skills and capabilities. Social responsibility also goes a long way to help the farmers. General public, NGOs, Corporate and other organizations too can play a part in helping farmers by adopting drought affected villages and families and helping then to rehabilitate.
The nation has to realize that farmers suicides are not minor issues happening in remote parts of a few states, it is a reflection of the true state of the basis of our economy.
QUESTION:
1. What does the author mean by procedures when he says that farmers do not get a chance of availing institutional finance because of procedures involved in it?
(A) He refers to the government guideline of disbursing finance only to medium and. large land owners
(B) Refers to the strict government rule of providing loans to only such farmers who can guarantee a default free tenure
(C) The formalities to avail these facilities are enormous and too difficult for an ordinary farmer to understand
(D) Refers to the danger the farmers must face from the local money lenders if they availed the loan from government instead
(E) None of these
2. Why have many farmers resorted to killing family members?
(A) It is difficult for the farmers to sustain their family’s livelihood.
(B) So that the killed family member may get rid of the persistent adversities.
(C) To avail relief package announced by the government to support the family of those who commit suicide.
(A) Only A
(B) Only B
(C) Only B and C
(D) Only A and B
(E) None of these
3. According to the author why does the situation of agricultural sector remain grim even after making several technological advances?
(A) Indian farmers continue to face adversities from nature as well as the government
(B) India has failed to match the technological advances taking place in the rest of the world
(C) Natural calamities have been very frequent in India
(D) Banks have failed to provide adequate loans to the farmers
(E) None of these
4. Which of the following is not true in context of the passage?
(A) Many farmers struggle to sustain themselves after reaping one crop in a year
(B) The government has relieved the farmers from any elaborate formalities while availing the loans
(C) India was made self-sufficient in food production because of green revolution
(D) Some farmers commit suicide in order to avail relief package from the government
(E) None of these
5. What does the author suggest as opposed to providing temporary monetary relief to the farmers?
(A) To improve the entire agricultural setup in India instead of providing relief in the face of adversities.
(B) Providing the local money lender with large amount of money so that small farmers can easily obtain loans from them.
(C) Empowering the farmers so that they can sustain a livelihood throughout life without having to face the desperation that adversity drives them to.
(A) Only A
(B) Only A and B
(C) Only B
(D) Only A and C
(E) None of these
6. What are the adversities faced by Indian farmers according to the passage?
(A) Lack of adequate irrigation facilities
(B) Ownership of only a small piece of land by a majority of farmers, which fails to generate any profit
(C) Lack of financial help to the farmers
(D) All of these
(E) None of these
7. According to the passage why don’t farmers avail the institutional finance facilities?
(A) Banks are not willing to provide loans to the farmers because of high risk associated with it
(B) Many NGOs and corporate organizations provide them the loans in a hassle free manner
(C) Most of the farmers do not need finance in large scale since they work on small size lands
(D) The local money lenders charge lower interest rates as compared to such financial facilities
(E) None of these
8. According to the passage, how can general public lend a helping hand to the struggling farmers?
(A) By adopting the affected families and helping them to rehabilitate
(B) By acting as a belief worker in the draught hit areas
(C) To provide help for building dams and better irrigation facilities
(D) Not specified in the passage
(E) None of these
9. Why is the profit margin of farmers narrowing even after increasing the minimum purchase price?
(A) The minimum purchase price of the government is too low to make any profit.
(B) The quality of the inputs such as seeds and fertilizers is very poor.
(C) There has been a continuous rise in the price of agricultural inputs which adversely affects the profit.
(A) Only A
(B) Only B
(C) Only C
(D) Only A and C
(E) None of these
10. What is the author’s main objective in writing the passage?
(A) Criticizing the policy of providing relief packages to the family of farmers who commit suicide
(B) To appeal to the non-institutional money lenders for providing loans to farmers in a hassle-free manner
(C) To applaud the dauntless spirit of the farmers
(D) To highlight the corruption in the agriculture sector
(E) None of these
[LDAdvQuiz 1515]
(Source: SBI Assistant Manager (System) Exam – 2009)
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