Question

The commercialization of agriculture benefited only the british and the indian peasants became ______ ?
(A) Impoverished
(B) Rich
(C) Bankrupt
(D) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: - While the farmers suffered due to commercialization of agriculture, the company and its executives reaped huge benefits. Indian crops were transferred to Britain as exports of commercial crops and India did not make any imports in return. Apparently, such transfers affected India. The benefit of commercialization of agriculture did not reach the Indian tenants.

Complete solution: - Some Indian commercial crops — such as cotton, indigo, opium, wheat, and rice made it to the global market under the British Raj in India. The late 19th century saw some increase in the land under cultivation and later by the 19th century, agricultural production expanded at an average rate of about 1% per year. Canal networks became centers of agricultural reforms due to extensive irrigation by Punjab, Narmada Valley and Andhra Pradesh. British rule in India supplied irrigation works, but rarely on the scale of necessity. Community efforts and private investment increased the market for irrigation. Agricultural prices of some commodities nearly tripled between 1870 and 1920.
A rich source of the state of Indian agriculture in the early British period is a report, circa 1774, prepared by a British engineer, Thomas Barnard, and his Indian guide, King Chengalvaraya Mudaliar. The figures for agricultural production in about 800 villages are included in this report. The area around Chennai in the years 1762 to 1766. The report is available in Tamil as palm leaf manuscripts at the Thanjavur Tamil University and in English at the Tamil Nadu State Archives. A series of articles in The Hindu newspaper in the early 1990s, written by researchers at The Center for Policy Studies led by Mr. Dharampal, highlight the impressive production figures of Indian farmers of that era.

So option A is the correct answer.

Note: - India's Five-Year Plans are headed for agricultural development - it will be followed soon. Land reclamation, land development, mechanization, electrification, use of chemicals especially fertilizers and development of agriculture oriented 'package approach' soon under the supervision of the government to set up a set of tasks rather than promoting a single aspect for taking. Several 'production revolutions' starting in the 1980s included the Green Revolution in India, the Yellow Revolution (oilseeds: 1986–1990), Operation Flood (dairy: 1970–1996), and the Blue Revolution ( Fishing: 1973–2002) etc. After the 1991 economic reforms, agriculture recorded significant growth. The region, which had hitherto benefited from earlier reforms and new innovations in agro-processing and biotechnology. After India's economic reforms, a strong middle class emerged as the main consumer of fruits, dairy, fish, meat and vegetables due to growth and prosperity - a marked shift from earlier staple-based consumption. From 1919, 'high value' agriculture underwent a 'revolution' due to changing consumption patterns, while the decline in the need for food grains was observed. From 19 1999 to 19, the per capita consumption of cereals decreased from 192 to 152 kg, while the consumption of fruits was 553%, in vegetables by 18%, in dairy products 105% and in non-vegetarian products by 5%. Decreased. Rural areas alone. Urban areas experienced similar growth. Agricultural exports grew by more than 10.1% annually during the 1990s. Contract farming — under which farmers have to produce crops for a company under contract and increased high-value agricultural produce. Contract farming reduced transaction costs, while contract farmers made more profit than non-contract employees. However, small landslides created problems for India's farmers as limited land resulted in limited production and limited profits.