Question

For centuries, millets such as ragi, jowar and bajra were staple foods across the drier parts of India. They grow on poor soil, need far less water than rice and can survive long gaps between rains. From the 1960s onwards, however, government procurement and subsidised distribution focused heavily on rice and wheat, and millets slowly came to be seen as coarse food eaten only by the poor. Many farmers who once grew them switched to crops that the state would buy at a guaranteed price. In recent years, interest in millets has returned. Nutritionists point out that they are rich in fibre and minerals and that they raise blood sugar more slowly than polished rice. Climate scientists value them for a different reason: as rainfall becomes less predictable, a crop that tolerates drought is a form of insurance. Yet enthusiasm in city supermarkets has not automatically reached the fields. Millets are harder to process than wheat, and many small farmers still have no mill nearby. Unless procurement, processing and demand grow together, experts warn, the revival may remain a fashion among urban shoppers rather than a change in what farmers choose to plant. As used in the passage, the word 'insurance' most nearly refers to

Accepted Answer

protection against a possible loss

Answer

a contract with a company

Answer

a guaranteed profit

Answer

a government subsidy

As used in the passage, the word 'insurance' most nearly refers to

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