Static Quiz 24 November 2022 (Agriculture)

Solution: d)
Justification: Statement 1: They provide minerals which dissolve in water and are immediately available to plants. But these may not be retained in the soil for long. They may escape from the soil and pollute groundwater, rivers and lakes.
Statement 2: Chemical fertilizers can also kill bacteria and other microorganisms in the soil. This means some time after their use, the soil will be less fertile than ever before. The continuous use of chemical fertilizers has led to degradation of soil health.

Solution: d)
Justification: Statement 1: Real agricultural growth since 1960 has averaged about 2.8 percent in India. The period before the Green Revolution saw growth of less than 2 percent; the following period until 2004 yielded growth of 3 percent; in the period after the global agricultural commodity surge, growth increased to 3.6 percent (Figure 1). China’s annual agricultural growth over the long run has exceeded that of India by a substantial 1.5 percentage points on average.
Statement 2: The volatility of agricultural growth in India has declined substantially over time: from a standard deviation of 6.3 percent between 1960 and 2004 to 2.9 percent since 2004. In particular, production of cereals has become more robust to drought.

Solution: a)
Justification: E-RaKAM is a digital initiative bringing together the farmers, FPOs, PSUs, civil supplies and buyers on a single platform to ease the selling and buying process of agricultural products. Under this initiative, eRaKAM centers are being developed in a phased manner throughout the country to facilitate farmers for online sale of their produce. The portal is a joint initiative by state-run-auctioneer MSTC and Central Warehousing Corporation arm CRWC.

Solution: d)
Justification: It was established as a Society in 1994 to facilitate agri-business ventures by catalyzing private investment through Venture Capital Assistance (VCA) Scheme in close association with financial institutions. The role of State SFACs is to aggressively promote agribusiness project development in their respective States.

Solution: a)
Justification: It is CHAMAN – Coordinated Horticulture Assessment and Management using geoinformatics. It is being implemented by the Delhi-based Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre. Under the project, the ministry will use remote sensing and geoinformatics data to integrate information on weather, soil, land-use, and crop mapping to prepare horticulture development plans. The idea is to use space technology to identify crops suitable to different areas and raise production of horticulture crops. The project will help states develop horticulture clusters and related infrastructure like cold chains. March 2018 is the deadline to completing the ambitious project.