CG Board Class 10 Social Science Chapter 3 Solutions: Agriculture (कृषि) (2026-27)

Paddy (rice) and vegetables** are cultivated in more than one season. Paddy is grown extensively as a Kharif crop during monsoon rains, while in irrigated plains (such as parts of Chhattisgarh and West Bengal), it is also grown as a Rabi or Zaid (summer) crop. Vegetables are grown across Kharif, Rabi, and Zaid seasons.

Irrigation Report:**

In our region, irrigation sources include canals, tube wells (bore wells), dug wells, reservoirs/ponds, and rivers.

1. Canals: Provide surface water from river dams to large agricultural areas during monsoon and post-monsoon months.
2. Tube Wells / Bore Wells: Underground aquifers extracted via electric or solar pumps serve as the primary source for Rabi and Zaid crops.
3. Ponds & Reservoirs: Harvest rainwater for localized farming.

• Observations: Over-reliance on bore wells is lowering the groundwater table, highlighting the urgent need for rainwater harvesting, drip irrigation, and sprinkler systems.

Textbook Passage Fill-in-the-Blanks:

Completed Text:

“The maximum increase in food-grain production in the country has been in wheat. In 1950-51, wheat production was 6 million tonnes, which increased to 86 million tonnes in 2010-11. In the last 60 years, wheat production has increased 14.33 times. Similarly, maize production increased 10.5 times from 2 million tonnes to 21 million tonnes. In contrast, the production of minor millets has declined from 6 million tonnes in 1950-51, the production came down to 3 million tonnes in 2010-11. Thus, while there have been substantial increases in the production of paddy, wheat and maize, the increase in jowar and pulses has been much lower.”

” 1950-51 6 , 2010-11 86 60 14.33 2 10.5 21 / 1950-51 6 * 2010-11 3 , , “

Based on Table 3.1 (1950-51 to 2010-11)

• Increased More Than 3-Fold (>3x):

1. Wheat (6 to 86 million tonnes – ~14.3x)
2. Maize (2 to 21 million tonnes – ~10.5x)
3. Oilseeds (5 to 32 million tonnes – 6.4x)
4. Paddy (21 to 96 million tonnes – ~4.57x)
5. Bajra (3 to 10 million tonnes – ~3.33x)

• Increased Less Than 3 Times (<3x) / Declined:

1. Pulses (8 to 18 million tonnes – 2.25x)
2. Jowar (6 to 7 million tonnes – 1.16x)
3. Minor Millets (6 to 3 million tonnes – Declined by 50%)

Comparing agricultural production with population growth is vital to evaluate national food security and per capita food availability. If population grows faster than food production, the country faces food shortages, inflation, and hunger. Between 1951 and 2011, India’s population grew 3-fold (36 crores to 121 crores), while total food-grain production rose nearly 5-fold (51 to 244 million tonnes), ensuring India achieved overall food self-sufficiency.

Reasons for the decline in minor millets (kodo, kutki, mandua) include

1. Shift in consumer preference towards fine grains like paddy and wheat due to the Public Distribution System (PDS) and urban food habits.
2. Higher financial profitability and procurement support for paddy and wheat compared to millets.
3. Expansion of tube well irrigation, encouraging farmers to switch from coarse rainfed grains to high-yielding cash crops.

Net Sown Area** represents the total physical area of land on which crops are sown and harvested during a specific agricultural year. Even if a single field is cropped two or three times in a year, its physical area is counted only once in the net sown area.

• Example: If a farmer owns a 5-hectare plot and grows paddy in Kharif and wheat in Rabi on the exact same plot, the net sown area remains 5 hectares (whereas the gross cropped area becomes 10 hectares).

No, it is practically not feasible to significantly expand the physical area under cultivation in India because available land is fixed, and the net sown area has remained stagnated around 140 to 142 million hectares since 1990-91. Any further expansion would encroach upon forests, pastures, or housing infrastructure.

No, forests must never be cleared to expand agriculture. Forests maintain ecological balance, regulate rainfall, prevent soil erosion, absorb carbon dioxide, and harbour vital biodiversity. Clearing forests leads to severe climate change, drought, and environmental destruction.

Increasing productivity boosts total agricultural production from the exact same plot of land without requiring additional land area. By raising crop yield per hectare (via high-yielding seeds, fertilizers, and irrigation), farmers produce higher crop outputs, enhancing national food supply and farm incomes.

Based on Graph 3.3 and text data (1950-51 to 2010-11)

• Maximum Increase in Yield: Wheat (increased from 663 kg/ha to 2,938 kg/ha – over 4.4 times) and Maize (547 kg/ha to 2,540 kg/ha – ~4.6 times).
• Lowest Increase in Yield: Pulses (increased marginally from 663 kg/ha to just 689 kg/ha).

Negative impacts of modern input-intensive agriculture include

1. Soil Degradation: Excessive chemical fertilizers kill beneficial soil micro-organisms and destroy long-term organic fertility.
2. Groundwater Depletion: Over-extraction via deep tube wells causes drastic decline in water tables.
3. Health Hazards: Toxic pesticide residues pollute food grains, drinking water, and human body systems.
4. Financial Dependence: Increased dependence on market traders for costly HYV seeds, chemicals, and machinery.

Yes, organic farming can serve as a sustainable alternative. It replaces chemical inputs with bio-fertilizers, vermicompost, green manure, crop rotation, and botanical pest repellents. Organic farming restores natural soil humus, protects groundwater, ensures toxic-free healthy food, and reduces input costs for farmers over time.

Crops no longer cultivated / drastically reduced:** Khesari, linseed (alsi), desi gram, kodo-kutki, mandua, barley.

• Reasons:

1. Widespread installation of bore wells enabling continuous paddy cultivation.
2. Lack of assured government procurement prices for traditional coarse grains and pulses.
3. High profitability and social preference for paddy and commercial cash crops.

Farmers of Sankara village (Dhamtari district) stopped growing gram, khesari, and linseed in Rabi because deep bore wells provided abundant water, tempting them to cultivate water-intensive summer paddy (Rabi/Zaid paddy) for higher cash income. Additionally, standing water in paddy fields left the soil too waterlogged for traditional pulse crops.

1. Income: Increased initially due to double paddy cropping, but input costs (seeds, fertilizers, power) rose steeply.
2. Soil Fertility: Monoculture of paddy destroyed traditional nitrogen-fixing pulse cycles, leading to soil compaction and fertility loss.
3. Health: Over-use of chemical sprays contaminated food grains and drinking water.
4. Employment: Year-round paddy provided continuous work, but reduced agricultural diversity.

(a) Kharif**

(b) With the onset of the monsoon**

(c) Decreases**

(d) Wheat**

(d) In all seasons**

To increase overall agricultural production sustainably, the following measures must be adopted

1. Enhance Crop Productivity: Utilize high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, organic compost, and balanced chemical fertilizers.
2. Expand Irrigation Facilities: Modernize canals and promote drip/sprinkler irrigation so more land can support double or triple cropping.
3. Adopt Crop Rotation & Organic Farming: Rotate legumes with cereals to maintain natural soil fertility and prevent land degradation.
4. Soil & Water Conservation: Implement watershed development, rainwater harvesting, and soil testing services.

Yes, modern commercialized farming has made farmers heavily dependent on the industrial sector.

• Inputs from Industry: Farmers must purchase factory-produced chemical fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, diesel, electric pumps, tractors, and machinery.
• Market Dependence: Farmers rely on agro-industries and commercial traders to buy processing machinery and hybrid seeds rather than storing home-saved seeds.

Developed countries (like USA, EU countries, Japan) provide massive financial subsidies to their farmers (up to 47% to 99% on paddy/wheat).

• Impact on India:

1. Subsidies artificially lower production costs in developed nations, allowing them to dump cheap agricultural exports worldwide.
2. Indian farmers, who receive far fewer subsidies, face unfair competition in global markets.
3. Cheap imported agricultural goods depress domestic prices in India, hurting small farmers’ livelihoods.

Large-scale extraction of underground water using electric bore wells creates several severe problems

1. Groundwater Depletion: Depletes water aquifers, causing nearby shallow wells and ponds to dry up completely.
2. Soil Salinization: Excessive underground water irrigation brings subterranean mineral salts to the surface, making soil alkaline and infertile.
3. Power Crisis & High Costs: Increases electricity consumption and burdens small farmers with heavy tube-well installation costs.

Globalization** is the process of integrating a country’s national economy with the world economy. Its primary objective is to remove or reduce trade barriers, customs duties, and import restrictions so that goods, services, capital, technology, and trade flow freely across international borders.

If agriculture ceases to exist, human survival would become impossible

1. Total Food Collapse: No grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables, or milk products would be produced, leading to immediate world starvation.
2. Industrial Shutdown: Agro-based industries (textiles, sugar, jute, food processing) would close, creating global unemployment.
3. Economic & Social Chaos: Human civilization would face total collapse without basic sustenance.

Completed Project Table:

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Comparative Project Table:

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