Consider the follow statements: 1. India has more arable area than China. 2. The proportion of irrigated area is more in India as compared to China. 3. The average productivity per hectare in Indian agriculture is higher than that in China.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Explanation:
1. India has more arable area than China.
- India has a total arable land area of 1,656,780 square kilometers, while China has a total arable land area of 1,084,461 square kilometers. (source)
- Therefore, statement 1 is correct.
2. The proportion of irrigated area is more in India as compared to China.
- India has 57 million hectares of irrigated land, whereas China has 54 million hectares. (source)
- Therefore, Statement 2 is also correct.
3.The average productivity per hectare in Indian agriculture is higher than that in China.
- India had a lower productivity level in terms of tonne per hectare for both paddy and wheat compared to China. India’s productivity for paddy was 3.1 tonne/hectare, while China’s was 6.5 tonne/hectare. Similarly, India’s productivity for wheat was 2.9 tonne/hectare, while China’s was 4.7 tonne/hectare. (Source)
- Even with much lesser land under cultivation, China produces agricultural output valued at $1,367 billion—more than three times that of India’s $407 billion. (Source)
- Therefore, the statement 3 is not correct.
Hence, only two statements are correct.
The answer is: (b) Only two.
