Read the following passage and answer the items that follow the passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. In some places in the world, the productivity of staples such as rice and wheat has reached a plateau. Neither new strains nor fancy agrochemicals are raising the yields. Nor is there much unfarmed land left that is suitable to be brought under the plough. If global temperature continues to rise, some places will become unsuitable for farming. Application of technology can help overcome these problems. Agricultural technology is changing fast. Much of this change is brought about by affluent farmers in the West/Americas. Techniques developed in the West are being adapted in some places to make tropical crops more productive. Technology is of little use if it is not adapted. In the developing world, that applies as much to existing farming techniques as it does to the latest advances in genetic modification. Extending to the smallholders and subsistence farmers of Africa and Asia the best of today's agricultural practices, in such simple matters as how much fertilizers to apply and when, would lead to a greatly increased availability of food for humanity. So would things like better roads and storage facilities, to allow for the carriage of surpluses to markets and reduce wastage. Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Poor countries need to bring about change in their existing farming techniques. 2. Developed countries have better infrastructure and they waste less food. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Reviewed by Dalvoy

UPSC Civil Services preparation

Last updated 23 May 2026, 3:31 pm IST

1. A1 onlyCorrect
2. B2 only
3. CBoth 1 and 2
4. DNeither 1 nor 2