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09 Passage 1 - Natural Pesticide in India Q1-14
09 Passage 1 - Natural Pesticide in India Q1-14
SECTION 1
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-14 which are based on Reading
Passage 1 below.
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Passage 1 Natural Pesticide in India
the farmers had to apply more and more of the pesticides to get the same results. At
the same time, the pesticides killed off birds, wasps, beetles, spiders, and other
predators that had once provided natural control of pest insects. Without these
predators, the pests could destroy the entire crop if pesticides were not used.
Eventually, farmers were mixing sometimes having to spray their cotton as frequently as
two times a week. They were really hooked!
D
The villagers were hesitant, but one of Punukula’s village elders decided to risk trying
the natural methods instead of pesticides. His son had collapsed with acute pesticide
poisoning and survived but the hospital bill was staggering. SECURE’s staff coached this
villager on how to protect his cotton crop by using a toolkit of natural methods chat
India’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture put together in collaboration with scientists at
Andhra Pradesh’s state university. They called the toolkit “Non-Pesticide Management”
– or “NPM.”
E
The most important resource in the NPM toolkit was the neem tree (Azadirachta indica)
which is common throughout much of India. Neem tree is a broad-leaved evergreen
tree related to mahogany. It protects itself against insects by producing a multitude of
natural pesticides that work in a variety of ways: with an arsenal of chemical defenses
that repel egg-laying, interfere with insect growth, and most important, disrupt the
ability of crop-eating insects to sense their food.
F
In fact, neem has been used traditionally in India to protect stored grains from insects
and to produce soaps, skin lotions, and other health products. To protect crops from
insects, neem seeds are simply ground into a powder that is soaked overnight in water.
The solution is then sprayed onto the crop. Another preparation, neem cake, can be
mixed into the soil to kill pests and diseases in the soil, and it doubles as an organic
fertilizer high in nitrogen. Neem trees grow locally, so the only “cost” is the labor to
prepare neem for application to fields.
G
The first farmer’s trial with NPM was a complete success! His harvest was as good as the
harvests of farmers that were using pesticides, and he earned much more because he
did not spend a single rupee on pesticides. Inspired by this success, 20 farmers tried
NPM the next year. SECURE posted two well-trained staff in Punukula to teach and help
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Passage 1 Natural Pesticide in India
everyone in the village, and the village women put pressure on their husbands to stop
using toxic chemicals. Families that were no longer exposing themselves to pesticides
began to feel much better, and the rapid improvement in income, health, and general
wellbeing quickly sold everyone on the value of NPM. By 2000, all the farmers in
Punukula were using NPM, not only for cotton, but for their other crops as well.
H
The suicide epidemic came to an end. And with the cash, health, and energy that
returned when they stopped poisoning themselves with pesticides, the villagers were
inspired to start more community and business projects. The women of Punukula
created a new source of income by collecting, grinding, and selling neem seeds for NPM
in other villages. The villagers rescued their indentured children and gave them special
six-month “catch-up,” courses to return to school.
I
Fighting against pesticides, and winning, increased village solidarity, self-confidence, and
optimism about the future. When dealers tried to punish NPM users by paying less for
NPM cotton, the farmers united to form a marketing cooperative that found fairer
prices elsewhere. The leadership and collaboration skills that the citizens of Punukula
developed in the NPM struggle have helped them to take on other challenges, like water
purification, building a cotton gin to add value to the cotton before they sell it, and
convincing the state government to support NPM over the objection of multi-national
pesticide corporations.
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Passage 1 Natural Pesticide in India
Questions 1-4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1 Cotton in Andhra Pradesh state could really bring more income to the local farmers
than traditional farming.
2 The majority of farmers had used the agricultural pesticides before 30 years ago.
3 The yield of cotton is relatively lower than that of other agricultural crops.
4 The farmers didn’t realize the spread of the pests was so fast.
Questions 5-11
Complete the summary below
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer
Write your answers in boxes 5-11 on your answer sheet.
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Passage 1 Natural Pesticide in India
Questions 12-14
Answer the questions below
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each
answer.
Write your answers in boxes 12-14 on your answer sheet.
12 In which year did all the farmers use NPM for their crops in Punukala?
13 What gave the women of Punukula a business opportunity to NPMs?
14 Name one project that the citizens of Punukula decide to develop in the NPM.
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Passage 1 Natural Pesticide in India
ANSWER
1. NOT GIVEN
2. FALSE
3. NOT GIVEN
4. TRUE
5. evergreen
6. natural pesticides
7. powder
8. overnight
9. neem cake
10. doubles
11. nitrogen
12. In 2000
13. Neem seeds
14. Water purification