Which one of the following best describes the concept of ‘Small Farmer Large Field’?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Many marginal farmers in an area organize themselves into groups and synchronize and harmonize selected agricultural operations
UPSC's official key marks option (b) as correct; we could not confirm the definition of this concept from an official source, so we do not explain it here. A company that supplies loans, inputs and know-how to farmers for the crop it needs is contract farming (NCERT).
- ✓ (b) UPSC's official key marks this option as correct; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
- ✗ (d) A company supplying loans, inputs and know-how so that farmers grow the crop it needs is contract farming. NCERT describes it: the company identifies the crop, provides seeds and other inputs, and the know-how.
- ✗ (c) This option describes farmers handing their land to a corporate body for a fixed term against a payment; UPSC's official key does not mark it correct.
Remember · Company-led inputs-plus-buyback = contract farming (NCERT).
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Social Change and Development in India, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Social Change and Development in India, Chapter 4 “In such 'contract farming' systems, the company identifies the crop to be grown, provides the seeds and other inputs, as well as the know-how and often also the working capital.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·