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Difficulty: EasyPassage Assumptions and Underlying Premises

Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows:

Community seed banks have emerged as a vital mechanism for preserving indigenous crop varieties across drought-prone agricultural districts. By maintaining locally adapted seeds, these community-managed repositories allow smallholder farmers to access drought-resistant crop varieties without relying on commercial seed suppliers. Recent field evaluations indicate that villages with active community seed banks sustained significantly lower crop losses during unexpected dry spells compared to neighboring villages reliant solely on hybrid commercial seeds. To ensure long-term agricultural sustainability in arid regions, state governments should subsidize the establishment of community seed banks in every drought-vulnerable block.

Which of the following is a crucial assumption underlying the author's recommendation to subsidize community seed banks in all drought-vulnerable blocks?

  1. Local farmers in drought-vulnerable blocks possess the willingness and operational capability to manage and utilize community seed banks effectively.Answer
  2. B
    Villages equipped with community seed banks sustained lower crop losses during dry spells than those reliant on hybrid commercial seeds.
  3. C
    Hybrid commercial seeds are completely ineffective for agricultural production under normal weather conditions.
  4. D
    Government subsidies represent the sole viable mechanism for funding rural developmental projects.

Answer

Local farmers in drought-vulnerable blocks possess the willingness and operational capability to manage and utilize community seed banks effectively.
The recommendation to establish and subsidize community seed banks relies on the implicit premise that the intended beneficiaries (local farmers) are able and willing to manage and use these repositories. If this premise is false, government subsidies will not result in agricultural sustainability.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the author's main conclusion and supporting premise.
The conclusion is that state governments should subsidize community seed banks in every drought-vulnerable block to ensure long-term sustainability.
An assumption is an unstated bridge linking the evidence to the final policy recommendation.
2
Apply the Negation Test to candidate assumptions.
Negating the statement yields: 'Local farmers do NOT possess the willingness or capability to manage seed banks effectively.'
If farmers cannot or will not manage seed banks, setting them up will fail to achieve sustainability, undermining the author's recommendation.

Key Concept

Passage Assumptions and Underlying Premises
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Topics

Passage Assumptions and Underlying Premises

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