Agriculture - Class 8 Resources Development - Solutions of NCERT Geography, Chapter 4 Exercise Questions

CBSE Class 8, Social Science (Geography)

AGRICULTURE

Chapter 4, Resources and Development

Solutions (Answers) of NCERT Textbook Exercise Questions

Question.1:

    (i)        What is agriculture?

   (ii)        Name the factors influencing agriculture.

  (iii)        What is shifting cultivation? What are its disadvantages?

 (iv)        What is plantation agriculture?

  (v)        Name the fiber crops and name the climatic conditions required for their growth.

Answer:

    (i)        Agriculture is the primary activity which includes growing of crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and rearing of livestock. It is also known as farming.

   (ii)        Various factors influencing agriculture are - Favourable topography, Soil and Climate.

  (iii)        Shifting cultivation is known as Slash & Burn agriculture. In this type of farming a plot of land is cleared by felling trees and burning them. The ashes are then mixed with soil and crops like maize, yam, and potato are grown. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the cultivator moves to another land. Disadvantages of shifting cultivation are:

a.    Deforestation

b.    After some time the land loses its fertility.

c.    Soil erosion.

d.    Small patches of cultivation which is insufficient for feeding a large population.

 (iv)        Plantation agriculture is a type of commercial farming in which a single crop from the group of ‘cash crops’ or ‘beverage crops’ such as - tea, coffee, sugarcane, cashew, rubber, banana or cotton is grown on large farms for commercial purpose. Large amount of labour & finance are required. The production may be processed on the farm itself or in factories nearby. This type of agriculture is found mainly in the tropical regions of the world like - Brazil, India and Srilanka. 

  (v)        Jute & cotton are known as fiber crops. The climatic conditions required for their growth are as follow:-

a.    Jute (Golden Fiber): High temperature more than 25^OC, heavy rainfall, warm and humid climate.

b.    Cotton: High temperature around 30 - 40^OC, low rainfall and most importantly 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine. Means lot of cloud-free sunny days is essential for cotton growing.    

Question.2: Tick the correct answer.

    (i)        Horticulture means

a.    growing of fruits & vegetables

b.    primitive farming

c.    growing of wheat

   (ii)        Golden fiber refers to

a.    tea

b.    cotton

c.    jute

  (iii)        Leading producers of coffee

a.    Brazil

b.    India

c.    Russia

Answer: (i) a (ii) c (iii) a

Question.3: Give reasons:

      (i)        In India agriculture is a primary activity.

     (ii)        Different crops are grown in different regions.

Answer:

(i)    In India agriculture is a primary activity because two-thirds of India’s population still depends on agriculture. We all know that agriculture includes growing of crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and rearing livestock.

(ii)   Different crops are grown in different regions because growing of crops depends upon the geographical conditions, demand of produce, labour and level of technology. Favourable topography of soil, climates also play an important role in selection of crops to be grown in that area.

Question.4: Distinguish between the followings.

    (i)        Primary activities and Tertiary activities.

   (ii)        Subsistence farming and Intensive farming.

Answer: (i) Distinction between Primary & Tertiary Activities:

Primary Activities	Tertiary Activities
·      Primary activities are those activities which are associated with the extraction & production of natural resources. ·      Examples are - Extraction (mining), gathering, fishing, agriculture.	·      Tertiary activities are those activities which provide support to primary and secondary activities through services. ·      Examples are - Transport, communication, trade, banking, media etc.

  (iii)        Distinction between Subsistence & Intensive Farming:

Subsistence Farming - This type of farming is carried out to meet the needs of the farmer’s family. It is done generally on a traditional basis using low levels of technology and household labour. A variety of crops are raised in small quantity on a small plot of land.

Intensive Farming - It is a kind of subsistence farming only where a farmer cultivates a small plot of land by simple tools and more labour. Climate with large number of day’s sunshine and fertile soils help in growing more than one crop on the same plot in a year. This type of farming is common in the thickly populated areas of the monsoon regions of south, southeast and east Asia.

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