Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies: Agricultural Development — Practice Questions (0448)

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — Cambridge International holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: Agricultural Development study guide and revision notes

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What do these questions practise? Every part of Section 4 Agricultural development in Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies 0448 Paper 2: farming systems, crop and livestock locations, natural and human factors, irrigation, waterlogging and salinity, and government action. Work through Section A for recall, then attempt the longer explain and evaluate items under timed conditions.

Section A: recall

1. Name one kharif crop and one rabi crop. [2]

2. State two uses of cotton other than making cloth. [2]

3. Name one area of Pakistan well known for growing rice. [1]

4. What is meant by barani farming? [1]

5. State two products obtained from buffalo. [2]

6. Name one fruit grown in Pakistan, state where it is grown and give one use. [3]

Section B: explanation

7. Using the idea of a system, describe the inputs, processes and outputs of a small-scale subsistence farm growing rice. [5]

8. Explain the climatic requirements of cotton. [4]

9. Describe how a karez works and give one advantage and one disadvantage of it. [4]

10. Explain how perennial canal irrigation can lead to waterlogging and salinity. [4]

11. Describe how land damaged by salinity can be restored. [3]

12. Explain what is meant by transhumance and why it is practised in the mountains of Pakistan. [3]

Section C: evaluation

13. Compare the tubewell and the inundation canal as methods of irrigation for a farmer growing wheat. Which is more suitable? [6]

14. “Government action has been successful in increasing agricultural production in Pakistan.” How far do you agree? [6]

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Answers

1. Kharif: cotton, rice, sugar cane, maize or millet [1]. Rabi: wheat, gram or another pulse, or an oilseed such as mustard [1].

2. Any two: cottonseed oil for cooking [1]; seed cake for animal feed [1]; stalks as fuel [1].

3. Gujranwala, Sialkot or Sheikhupura (the rice belt of northern Punjab), or Larkana in northern Sindh [1].

4. Farming that depends on rainfall, with no irrigation [1].

5. Any two: milk, meat, hides (leather), dung (fuel or manure), draught power [2].

6. Example: mangoes [1], grown around Multan in southern Punjab (or in Sindh) [1], eaten fresh, exported, or made into juice and pickles [1]. Accept other correct fruit–location–use sets, such as dates from Khairpur, or apples from the Balochistan uplands.

7. Inputs (up to 2): small plot of land, family labour, seed, oxen, canal water, small amounts of manure [1–2]. Processes (up to 2): ploughing, raising seedlings in a nursery, transplanting by hand, flooding fields, weeding, harvesting and threshing [1–2]. Outputs (up to 2): rice mainly for family food, with a small surplus for sale; straw for fodder [1–2]. Maximum 5.

8. A long frost-free growing season of around six months [1]; high summer temperatures [1]; plenty of sunshine [1]; a reliable water supply, usually from irrigation [1]; dry, sunny weather at picking time so the bolls are not damaged [1]. Maximum 4.

9. A karez is a tunnel dug from the water table at the foot of a hill, sloping gently down to the fields, with vertical shafts for access and cleaning [1–2]. Advantage: water flows by gravity and is protected from evaporation [1]. Disadvantage: tunnels are costly in labour to dig and keep clear, and may collapse [1].

10. Water seeps from unlined canals and from over-irrigated fields into the ground [1], so the water table rises [1]. When it reaches near the surface the soil is waterlogged and roots are starved of air [1]. High temperatures then evaporate water at the surface, leaving behind salts, causing salinity [1].

11. Any three: tubewells pump water out to lower the water table [1]; drainage channels remove salty water [1]; fields are flushed with fresh water to wash salts down [1]; salt-tolerant crops are planted while the soil recovers [1].

12. Transhumance is the seasonal movement of herders and animals between pastures [1]. In summer, flocks go up to high meadows where snow has melted and grass grows [1]; in winter, cold and snow force them down to valleys or plains where fodder is available [1].

13. Tubewell, for: water available whenever the crop needs it, including in winter for rabi wheat [1]; also lowers a high water table [1]. Against: diesel or electricity costs; power cuts interrupt pumping; over-pumping lowers groundwater [1]. Inundation canal, for: cheap, no pumping cost [1]. Against: water only in the summer flood season, which is the wrong season for wheat sown in winter [1]. Judgement: the tubewell is more suitable for wheat because wheat is a rabi crop grown when inundation canals are dry [1]. Maximum 6.

14. For: land reforms set ceilings on holding size [1]; high-yielding seed, fertilisers and pesticides raised yields of wheat and rice [1]; loans for tractors and tubewells [1]; training through extension services [1]. Against: larger farmers benefited most because they had capital and credit [1]; land reform had limited effect and holdings remain fragmented [1]; chemicals raised costs and polluted water [1]; waterlogging and salinity still reduce output [1]. A supported judgement is needed for full marks. Maximum 6.

Frequently asked questions

How do I score full marks on a compare question? Discuss both methods with advantages and disadvantages, apply them to the crop named, and finish with a clear choice.

Do I need production statistics? Not usually for this section, but you must link each crop to named areas and give its natural requirements.

Based on the Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies 0448 syllabus for examination in 2026, Paper 2 Section 4.