Agriculture and Rural Development
Agriculture remains the backbone of rural livelihoods even as its share in GDP falls. This domain tests land use, cropping seasons, irrigation, the Green Revolution, minimum support prices, food security, rural credit and employment schemes, with Karnataka's ragi, coffee, sugarcane and drought-prone districts as examples.
Core rules and concepts
- Land use: net sown area is cultivated once a year; gross cropped area counts all crops; cropping intensity = gross cropped area ÷ net sown area × 100.
- Seasons: kharif (monsoon), rabi (winter) and zaid (summer).
- Green Revolution: high-yielding varieties, fertiliser, irrigation and mechanisation raised wheat and rice output.
- MSP is a price floor announced by the government; procurement and buffer stocks support food security.
- PDS distributes subsidised food grains; MGNREGA guarantees rural wage employment.
- Credit: Kisan Credit Card, cooperative societies, regional rural banks, NABARD and self-help groups.
- Karnataka: ragi is a staple millet; coffee and arecanut are plantation crops; sugarcane and cotton are cash crops; watershed development helps drought-prone areas.
Worked example
A district has net sown area of 100 hectares and gross cropped area of 135 hectares because some land grows two crops. Cropping intensity = (135 ÷ 100) × 100 = 135%. If irrigation raises it to 160 hectares, intensity becomes 160%. This does not mean the land area increased; it means the same land is cropped more intensively. Higher intensity can raise farm income but may also stress soil and water.
Traps that cost marks
MSP is a price policy, not a direct subsidy to every farmer. Agriculture's falling GDP share does not mean output is falling. HYV seeds need water, fertiliser and pesticides as a package. PDS is a food security measure, not a minimum wage. Do not confuse net sown area with gross cropped area.