Question

Difficulty: EasyIdentification of Main Idea and Supporting Details

Read the passage below carefully and answer the question that follows.

In recent years, smallholder farming communities in eastern Nigeria have actively revived traditional seed-saving practices to safeguard native cassava varieties. While commercial agricultural vendors promote high-yielding hybrid cassava stems that require expensive chemical fertilizers, indigenous tubers possess natural resilience against regional pests and unpredictable rainfall patterns. Local agricultural cooperatives have established community seed banks, allowing farmers to exchange climate-resilient strains without incurring annual debt from commercial suppliers. Consequently, these grassroots seed-saving networks serve as the primary mechanism for preserving regional agro-biodiversity and securing household food independence. Although critics point out that traditional varieties produce lower immediate crop yields than lab-engineered hybrids, community leaders emphasize that long-term ecological sustainability and financial autonomy far outweigh short-term volume gains.

Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

  1. Grassroots seed-saving networks in eastern Nigeria play a crucial role in ensuring long-term agricultural sustainability and financial independence for local farmers.Answer
  2. B
    Commercial hybrid cassava stems require costly chemical fertilizers and generate high crop yields.
  3. C
    Lab-engineered cassava hybrids have proven completely unsuitable for farming across eastern Nigeria.
  4. D
    Community seed banks will soon eliminate the presence of commercial agricultural vendors across West Africa.

Answer

The main idea of the passage is that grassroots seed-saving networks in eastern Nigeria play a crucial role in ensuring long-term agricultural sustainability and financial independence for local farmers.
The passage centers on why smallholder communities are reviving traditional seed-saving practices and highlights the ultimate benefit of these networks: preserving regional agro-biodiversity and providing long-term sustainability and financial independence for local farmers.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structure of the passage to distinguish the core message from subordinate details.
Identified that facts about chemical fertilizers, hybrid yield comparisons, and seed bank mechanics serve as supporting points.
The author introduces these contrasting details to build up to the broader significance of traditional seed-saving practices.
2
Synthesize the overarching thesis developed across the paragraph.
The text systematically emphasizes how revived seed-saving networks secure ecological resilience, biodiversity, and farmer independence despite lower short-term yields.
The main idea must synthesize the entire passage rather than focus on a single descriptive detail.

Key Concept

Distinguishing the Main Idea from Supporting Evidence
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