Consider the following statement: India continues to be dependent on imports to meet the require- ment of oilseeds in the country because: 1. Farmers prefer to grow food grains with highly remunerative support prices. 2. Most of the cultivation of oilseed crops continues to be dependent on rainfall. 3. Oils from the seeds of free origin and rice bran have remained unexploited. 4. It is far cheaper to import oilseeds than to cultivate the oilseed crops. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Question

YESPYQ · Accepted Answer

Correct answer: 1, 2 and 3. Statement 1 is correct : The government provides higher and more stable Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for food grains like rice and wheat, which incentivizes farmers to priori- tize these crops over oilseeds. Statement 2 is correct : In 2004-2005, much of India’s oil- seed farming depended on monsoon rains, making it sensitive to weather changes. The Economic Survey 2004-05 noted that irregular rainfall in 2004 caused a big drop in the production of rainfed crops like oilseeds and pulses. Most oilseed farming in India still relies on rainfall. Statement 3 is correct : By 2004, India was producing 650,000 tons of rice bran oil from 4 million tons of rice bran through sol- vent extraction. However, this was only half of the potential, as the country’s paddy production could generate 9.8 million tons of rice bran annually, but only 5 million tons were processed. The untapped potential of rice bran oil and other non-tradition- al edible oils, like tree-borne oils, contributed to higher import dependence. By 2004, India produced 650,000 tons of rice bran oil fro

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