The Emerald Heights International School

ECONOMICS - CLASS XII

Worksheet
Rural Development
NAME: UPANSHU SINGHAL
CLASS: XII
SECTION: G
ANSWERS:
Sn Questions
1 What do you mean by rural development?
ANS: Rural development generally refers to the process of improving the quality of
life and economic well-being of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely
populated areas.
2 What is cooperative marketing?
ANS: Cooperative marketing can be defined as an agreement between two
companies to promote or sell each other's product while selling their own. The
products can either be complementary or might have different seasonal cycles.
3 What are the two aspects of diversification of activities?
ANS: There are two ways to achieve diversification. The first aspect refers to
changing the cropping patterns which further means a change in the proportion of
areas dedicated to the cultivation of various crops. The second aspect focuses on the
shift of workforce to other related activities (poultry, husbandry etc.)
4 Which is the apex institution in rural financing?
ANS: The apex institution in India for financing agricultural and rural sector is
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the apex
institution for financing agricultural and rural sectors.
5 Name three institutional in rural financing?
ANS: 1. Cooperative Credit Society.
2. Commercial Bank.
3. Regional Rural Banks.

6 What is organic farming?

ANS: Organic farming is a method of crop and livestock production that involves
much more than choosing not to use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified
organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones to provide attentive care that promotes
the health and meets the behavioural needs of livestock.
7 What is micro finance?
ANS: Microfinance is defined as, financial services such as savings accounts,
insurance funds and credit provided to poor and low-income clients so as to help
them increase their income, thereby improving their standard of living.
8 Why have self-help groups been set up?
ANS: Self-help groups are informal groups of people who come together to address
 their common problems. While self-help might imply a focus on the individual, one
important characteristic of self-help groups is the idea of mutual support – people
helping each other. Self-help groups can serve many different purposes depending on
the situation and the need.
9 What do you mean by operation flood?
ANS: Operation Flood was started by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)
in 1970s. The objective of this programme was to create a nationwide milk grid. The
result was that India became the largest producer of Milk and Milk Products.
Operation flood is called White Revolution of India
10 Give any one limitation of organic farming.
ANS: Production costs are higher because farmers need more workers.
11 Why is minimum support price fixed by the government?
ANS: MSP is price fixed by Government of India to protect the producer - farmers
- against excessive fall in prices during bumper production years. The MSP is a
guarantee price for their produce. The major objectives are to support the farmers
from distress sales and to procure food grains for public distribution.
12 Why do people seek employment in non-farm sectors?
ANS: As agriculture is already over-crowded and cannot offer additional
employment, people seek employment in non-farm sectors.
13 What is the share of total fish production in the total GDP?
ANS: 0.91% of the GDP
14 Which state are major producers of marine products?
ANS: Gujarat Tops in Marine Fish Production in India. Gujarat tops
in marine fish production in India in year 2016.
15 What is the main aim of cooperative marketing societies?
ANS: The main objective of establishing a co-operative marketing is to encourage
the intelligent and orderly marketing of agricultural produce, to eliminate speculation
and waste, to make distribution of agricultural products between producer and
consumer as direct as can be efficiently done and  to stabilize the marketing of
agricultural productions.
16 State one advantage of organic farming.
ANS: Pollution of ground water is stopped.
17 Name the state, which has an efficient implementation of milk cooperatives.
ANS: Gujrat
18 Why do farmers need credit?
ANS: purchase of new inputs
Better management of risk
Improvement in land
Better marketing of crops
Facing crises
19 Match the items given under A with the suitable statement under B:
A B ANS:

a) Involves cultivating fruits, vegetables etc Information c)

technology
b) Operation flood or white revolution Animal husbandry
e)
 c) Involves use of computers to retrieve and Horticulture a)
transmit information

d) Involves catching, processing or selling Dairying b)

of aquatic animals

e) Involves breeding, rearing and caring for Fisheries d)

farm animals

20 Government established the institution sources of finance:

a) To provide adequate credit to farmers at a cheaper interest rate.
b) To assist small farmers in raining agriculture productivity and maximizing
their income
c) Both a and b
d) Neither a nor b
21 _______is the apex body which coordinates the functioning of different financial
institution working for expansion of rural credit.
a) NABARD
b) Self-help group
c) Reginal rural banks
d) Commercial banks
22 The scheme of micro finance is extended through:
a) Self-help group
b) Land development banks
c) NABARD
d) Regional rural banks
23 Organic farming is beneficial because:
a) It generate income through international exports
b) It is produced in an environmentally sustainable way
c) It provides healthy food
d) All of these
24 Why is minimum support price fixed by the government?
a) For government own benefit
b) To safeguard the interest of farmers
c) To safeguard the interest of consumers
d) None of these
25 What do you mean by rural development? Bring out the key issues in rural
development.
ANS: Rural development generally refers to the process of improving the quality of
life and economic well-being of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely
populated areas.
 The key issues in rural development are as follows:

 Development of human resources

 Land reforms
 Development of productive resources
  Infrastructure development
 Special measures for poverty alleviation

26 Discuss the importance of credit in rural development.

ANS: done in question 18
27 Explain the role of micro-credit in meeting credit requirements of the poor.
ANS: Micro-credit plays an important role in meeting the credit requirements of the
poor. Under micro-credit programmes, farmers get adequate credit at
cheaper rates. Micro-credit programme promotes thrift in small proportions by a
minimum contribution from each member. From the pooled money,
credit is given to the needy members which is
repayable in small instalments at reasonable interest
rates.
28 Explain the steps taken by the government in developing rural markets.
ANS: Following are the steps taken by the government in developing rural markets :
(i) The government collects market information relating to agricultural products
through different media like radio, television, newspapers, etc and make it available
to farmers.
(ii) It has made better transport arrangements to
encourage farmers to carry their products to the market.
(iii) It has provided warehousing and storage facilities in the villages.
(iv) It has promoted co-operative marketing through several ways.
29 Why is agricultural diversification essential for sustainable livelihoods?
ANS: Diversification is essential because there is greater risk in depending
exclusively on farming for livelihood and to provide productive sustain able
livelihood options to rural people
30 Critically evaluate the role of the rural banking system in the process of rural
development in India.
ANS: Rural banking system has created a positive effect on rural farm and non-
farm output, income and employment. It helps farmers to avail services and
credit facilities and a variety of loans for meeting their production needs.
31 What do you mean by agricultural marketing?
ANS: Agricultural marketing comprises all operations involved in the movement
of farm produce from the producer to the ultimate consumer. Thus, agricultural
marketing includes the operations like collecting, grading, processing, preserving,
transportation and financing.
32 Mention some obstacles that hinder the mechanism of agricultural marketing.
ANS: Some obstacles that hinder the mechanism of agricultural
marketing are:
Faulty weighing and manipulation of accounts by traders.
Farmers do not have proper storage Facilities
Farmers cannot avail agricultural credit, leading to their exploitation by
the moneylenders.
33 What are the alternative channels available for agricultural marketing? Give some
examples.
ANS: Following are alternative channels available for agricultural marketing.
 Cooperative credit societies.
 Reserve Bank of India.
 Commercial Banks.
  Regional Rural Banks.
 National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development.
 Self–Help Groups (SHGs).
34 Distinguish between ‘Green Revolution’ and ‘Golden Revolution’.
ANS: While Green Revolution is related to improved production of wheat and rice,
Golden Revolution is related to horticulture, i.e. production of fruits and vegetables.
35 Do you think various measures taken by the government to improve agricultural
marketing are sufficient? Discuss.
ANS: Government has adopted various measures for improving agricultural
marketing such as regulation of markets, provision of physical infrastructure, co-
operative marketing and policy measures like MSP, etc.
36 Explain the role of non-farm employment in promoting rural diversification.
ANS: Agricultural diversification is a system of farming that encourages
production of a variety of plant and animals and their products. Non-farm
employment provides greater income stability, economies of size also reduces
uncertainty of business.
37 Bring out the importance of animal husbandry, fisheries and horticulture as a source
of diversification.
ANS: Animal husbandry, fisheries and horticulture can be very important as a source
of diversification in rural economy. While animal husbandry and horticulture can be
practiced in almost every village, fishery can be practiced only at select locations.
However, these activities will help in ensuring alternate sources of income to the
farmers. These activities are also more sustainable compared to farming which
involves just two major cropping seasons in a year.
38 ‘Information technology plays a very significant role in achieving sustainable
development and food security’ — comment.
ANS: The government can use information technology to disseminate timely
information about areas susceptible to food insecurity so that timely action could be
taken. Farmers can get real time information regarding weather, seed price and farm
produce price. They can also get relevant information about best practices of farming
if they can be connected through internet.
39 What is organic farming and how does it promote sustainable development?
ANS: Organic farming, does not carry the risk of soil pollution or groundwater
pollution. Risk of harmful chemicals reaching our body through food is also
minimized if we use organic farm produce. Thus, organic farming is the way which
can be sustained in the long run. It can be said that organic farming promotes
sustainable development.
40 a) Identify the benefits and limitations of organic farming.
ANS: Benefits of Organic Farming: Organic farming is more environment
friendly than modern farming. It helps in preventing pollution of soil and
groundwater. Organic farming helps in promoting sustainable development.
Limitations of Organic Farming: There is a need for increasing awareness
about organic farming among the farmers. Proper infrastructure facilities need
to be provided so that farmers can be encouraged to go for organic farming.
b) Enlist some problems faced by farmers during the initial years of organic
farming.
ANS: Some of the problems faced by farmers during the initial years of organic
farming can be as follows:
 Lack of finance to buy farm inputs
 Fear of losing revenue because of low farm output
 Risk of losing farm produce because of shorter shelf life.