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Difficulty: MediumPassage Assumptions and Underlying Premises

Read the following passage carefully:

To minimize severe post-harvest perishability losses and improve price realization for smallholder horticulture growers, the state agricultural infrastructure board has introduced a capital subsidy program to deploy community-managed solar cold storage micro-units across rural farming clusters. Policy analysts contend that establishing these localized cooling facilities will directly protect farmers from being forced into distress sales to intermediary commission agents immediately following harvest, thereby sustainably enhancing net household incomes.

Statement: The argument assumes that the immediate distress sales by smallholder growers are primarily caused by produce perishability rather than unyielding immediate debt-repayment pressures.

Is the above statement a necessary underlying premise of the passage's argument?

Answer: Answer

Answer

True. The statement correctly identifies an unstated assumption required for the author's conclusion to be logically valid.
The claim is True because establishing cold storage can only prevent distress sales if perishability—rather than financial urgency like immediate debt settlement—is the main factor driving farmers to sell immediately.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the author's core premise and conclusion in the passage.
Premise: Subsidized solar cold storage micro-units will extend produce shelf-life at rural farm-gates. Conclusion: Localized cooling will directly prevent farmers from making distress sales to intermediaries.
An assumption is an unstated bridge linking the premise (providing cooling storage) directly to the conclusion (eliminating distress sales).
2
Apply the Negation Test to the statement.
Negated statement: Immediate distress sales are NOT primarily caused by perishability, but by urgent debt-repayment pressures that demand immediate cash.
If the negated statement is true, cold storage cannot prevent distress sales because farmers would still need immediate cash to settle debts regardless of how long their crops stay fresh.
3
Evaluate the impact of negation on the conclusion.
The author's argument falls apart under negation, proving the original statement is a necessary underlying premise.
A claim whose negation invalidates the author's central conclusion is, by definition, an underlying assumption.

Key Concept

Identifying Necessary Assumptions via the Negation Test
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Topics

Passage Assumptions and Underlying Premises

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