Passage - 8
Monoculture carries great risks. A single disease or pest can wipe out swathes of the world’s food production, an alarming prospect given that its growing and wealthier population will eat 70% more by 2050. The risks are magnified by the changing climate. As the planet warms and monsoon rains intensify, farmlands in Asia will be flooded. North America will suffer more intense droughts, and crop diseases will spread to new latitudes.

Which of the following is the most logical, rational and crucial message given by the passage?

The correct option is: Preserving crop genetic diversity is an insurance against the effects of climate change.

Step-by-step Explanation:

1. Analyze the passage's premises:
The passage starts by warning that monoculture (growing a single crop variety over a wide area) carries great risks because a single disease or pest can wipe out swathes of global food production. This is particularly dangerous because global food demand is projected to increase by 70% by 2050 due to a growing and wealthier population.

2. Identify the compounding factors:
The risks associated with monoculture are further intensified by climate change, which will cause severe weather disruptions (such as floods in Asia and droughts in North America) and allow crop diseases to spread to new latitudes where crops may have no resistance.

3. Derive the logical conclusion (the crucial message):
Since relying on a single crop variety (monoculture) makes food production highly vulnerable to diseases, pests, and climate-induced disasters, the rational counter-strategy is to move away from monoculture. This is achieved by maintaining and preserving crop genetic diversity (growing different varieties of crops with varied resistances). Preserving this diversity acts as a crucial safety net or insurance, ensuring that if one crop variety fails due to changing climate conditions or diseases, others will survive to secure the food supply.

4. Evaluate why other options are incorrect:
• "Despite great risks, monoculture is the only way...": The passage highlights monoculture as the source of vulnerability, not a solution.
• "More and more genetically modified crops only...": The passage does not mention genetically modified (GM) crops, making this an external assumption.
• "Asia and North America will be worst sufferers...": While the passage mentions specific impacts on Asia and North America, it does so to illustrate the global risks of monoculture under climate change, rather than to establish which regions will suffer the absolute worst.