UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Lessons from India’s smallholder farmers

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the eligibility conditions and support package under the Central Sector Scheme for Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs): 1. An FPO in the plains must have a minimum of 300 farmer-members to be eligible under the Scheme, whereas in the North Eastern Region and hilly areas the corresponding minimum is 100. 2. The matching equity grant admissible to an FPO is capped at ₹18 lakh, while the credit guarantee cover available to it is capped at ₹2 crore. 3. Under the Scheme every FPO is formed exclusively by NABARD, all other agencies being confined solely to post-registration handholding. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. An FPO in the plains must have a minimum of 300 farmer-members to be eligible under the Scheme, whereas in the North Eastern Region and hilly areas the corresponding minimum is 100.
  2. The matching equity grant admissible to an FPO is capped at ₹18 lakh, while the credit guarantee cover available to it is capped at ₹2 crore.
  3. Under the Scheme every FPO is formed exclusively by NABARD, all other agencies being confined solely to post-registration handholding.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Under the Central Sector Scheme for Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs, a Farmer Producer Organization becomes eligible for the Scheme's financial benefits and technical handholding only if it is registered under which one of the following?

  • A. The Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, or the Societies Registration Act, 1860
  • B. The Societies Registration Act, 1860, read with the relevant State Cooperative Societies Act
  • C. The Companies Act, 2013, or the relevant State Cooperative Societies Act
  • D. The Companies Act, 2013, or the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002

Q3. With reference to the place of small and marginal farmers in Indian agriculture, consider the following: 1. They contribute nearly 52% of the country's total cereal production. 2. They contribute nearly 70% of the country's vegetable production. 3. They contribute nearly 55% of the country's fruit production. 4. They constitute nearly 52% of the total operational holdings in the country. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. They contribute nearly 52% of the country's total cereal production.
  2. They contribute nearly 70% of the country's vegetable production.
  3. They contribute nearly 55% of the country's fruit production.
  4. They constitute nearly 52% of the total operational holdings in the country.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 2 and 4

Q4. With reference to the structure of operational holdings underlying India's smallholder agriculture, consider the following: 1. Marginal holdings constitute about 68% of all operational holdings but account for only about 24% of the operated area. 2. Small and marginal holdings together constitute about 86% of total operational holdings. 3. The average size of an operational holding in India declined to 1.08 hectares in 2015-16. 4. The average size of an operational holding in India stood at 1.41 hectares in 1970-71. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Marginal holdings constitute about 68% of all operational holdings but account for only about 24% of the operated area.
  2. Small and marginal holdings together constitute about 86% of total operational holdings.
  3. The average size of an operational holding in India declined to 1.08 hectares in 2015-16.
  4. The average size of an operational holding in India stood at 1.41 hectares in 1970-71.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 3 and 4

Q5. For the purposes of Government of India programmes for farmers' welfare, the expression 'small and marginal landholder farmer family' is defined as which one of the following?

  • A. Any farming family whose income is derived exclusively from the cultivation of land up to four hectares
  • B. A family owning cultivable land up to one hectare, irrespective of the number of its members
  • C. A family that operates only leased-in land up to two hectares and owns no land whatsoever
  • D. A family comprising husband, wife and minor children that owns cultivable land up to two hectares

Q6. With reference to the size classes used for tabulating operational holdings in the Agriculture Census, consider the following: 1. Marginal — below 1.00 hectare 2. Small — 1.00 to 2.00 hectares 3. Medium — 2.00 to 4.00 hectares 4. Large — 10.00 hectares and above Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Marginal — below 1.00 hectare
  2. Small — 1.00 to 2.00 hectares
  3. Medium — 2.00 to 4.00 hectares
  4. Large — 10.00 hectares and above
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q7. The Small Farmers' Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), an autonomous society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, functions under which one of the following?

  • A. The Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development
  • B. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
  • C. The Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
  • D. The Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

Q8. In the institutional history of India's rural credit architecture, CRAFICARD (1979) refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A refinance facility of the Reserve Bank of India extended to cooperative banks for financing seasonal agricultural operations
  • B. A consortium of public sector commercial banks constituted to extend crop loans in chronically drought-prone districts
  • C. A dedicated fund created by statute to finance rural infrastructure projects executed by State Governments
  • D. A committee constituted to review arrangements for institutional credit for agriculture and rural development

Q9. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization created in 1974 to finance food production in developing countries
  • B. A specialized agency of the United Nations that is also an international financial institution, set up in 1977 after the 1974 World Food Conference
  • C. An intergovernmental lending arm of the World Bank Group devoted to agricultural development in low-income member countries
  • D. A trust fund of the World Food Programme that provides emergency food aid together with rural credit in food-deficit regions

Q10. With reference to India's partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development, consider the following: 1. IFAD has maintained a presence in India since 1979. 2. India and IFAD have together supported 36 rural development projects of a total value of about US$4.4 billion, of which about US$1.5 billion was contributed by IFAD. 3. India currently has six ongoing IFAD-supported projects amounting to about US$459 million, with a co-financing ratio above the global average. 4. IFAD, headquartered in Nairobi, functions as the rural development arm of the United Nations Environment Programme. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. IFAD has maintained a presence in India since 1979.
  2. India and IFAD have together supported 36 rural development projects of a total value of about US$4.4 billion, of which about US$1.5 billion was contributed by IFAD.
  3. India currently has six ongoing IFAD-supported projects amounting to about US$459 million, with a co-financing ratio above the global average.
  4. IFAD, headquartered in Nairobi, functions as the rural development arm of the United Nations Environment Programme.
  • A. 4 only
  • B. 1 and 2
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 2 and 4

Q11. In IFAD's engagement with its member countries, a 'Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP)' — such as the one adopted for India for 2026-2033 — refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A strategic peer-review mechanism under which member countries assess one another's rural poverty reduction performance
  • B. A concessional lending window offering sovereign loans on highly concessional terms to low-income members
  • C. A multi-year country strategy setting out IFAD's priorities and investment direction for that country
  • D. A strategic annual statement of disbursements and co-financing achieved across IFAD projects in that country

Q12. India's wheat Green Revolution was launched with the import of about 18,000 tonnes of high-yielding Mexican wheat seed — in which year, and under whose scientific leadership within India?

  • A. 1961, under the scientific leadership of M.S. Swaminathan
  • B. 1971, under the scientific leadership of Norman Borlaug
  • C. 1966, under the scientific leadership of Verghese Kurien
  • D. 1966, under the scientific leadership of M.S. Swaminathan