Q1. [3] deep thorough-understanding
Plantation farming is the most commercially productive form of agriculture in India. Despite this, explain any TWO reasons why a policy of rapidly expanding area under plantation farming would be unsuitable for meeting the agricultural and livelihood needs of India's overall farming population.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:32 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Plantation farming, though commercially productive, is unsuitable for India's overall farming population for the following reasons:
- Large-scale, capital-intensive nature: Plantation farming covers large tracts of land using capital-intensive inputs and migrant labourers. India's majority of farmers have small, fragmented holdings and cannot afford such investment, leaving most small farmers without land or livelihood.
- Single-crop production for industry, not food: Plantation crops like tea, coffee, and rubber are used entirely as industrial raw material, not as food. India's farming population depends on agriculture for food security, and shifting to plantations would threaten subsistence and food needs of the rural poor.
Source: Chapter 4, Types of Farming — Commercial Farming (Plantation)
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Explanation
- The question asks for TWO reasons — award yourself marks only if both are clearly stated and distinct.
- Both points must be grounded in the textbook description of plantation farming: capital-intensive, large-area, single-crop, produce used as raw material, reliant on migrant labour.
- Contrast plantation farming with the reality of India's farmers: small holdings, food-dependent, labour-abundant — this contrast is what the examiner wants.
- Do not write about benefits of plantation farming; the question asks only why expanding it would be unsuitable.