Fill in the blank (viii) with the help of the given alternatives .

Directions: In the given question, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and try to understand what it is about.

Many farmers who traditionally (…i…) pulses, millets and paddy have been lured by seed companies to buy hybrid cotton seeds and other GM crops, which were (…ii…) to make their lives easier and wealthier. Instead they (…iii…) bankruptcy and ruin. Their native seeds have been (…iv…) with new hybrids which cannot be saved and need to be purchased every year at a high cost. Hybrids are also very (…v…) to pest attacks. All pesticides have to be (…vi…) from the company that sold them the seeds; there have been reports of blatant profiteering from these companies.

We are (…vii…) told that without genetic engineering and globalization of agriculture the world will starve, it is constantly promoted as the only (…viii…) available for feeding the hungry.

Everywhere, food production is becoming a negative economy, with farmers (…ix…) more on buying costly inputs for industrial production than the price they receive for their produce. The consequence is rising debts in both rich and poor countries. In some African countries it is cheaper to buy foreign sugar and coffee than it is to buy locally produced goods. This is because of over production and subsidies in the West which means that they then dump these goods on Africa (…x…) local markets.