Step 1: The data here involve three distinct but comparable variables, the production of rice, wheat and maize, recorded over ten different years. The chart chosen must let the reader compare all three crops within each year and also compare the same crop across years.
Step 2: A simple column chart shows only one variable per category, so it cannot display three crops at once. A sub-divided (component) column chart is used when the parts must add up to a meaningful total, which is not the case here since rice, wheat and maize are separate crops, not components of one combined quantity. A broken bar diagram is used only when very large disproportionate values need a scale break, which is not indicated here.
Step 3: A multiple column chart draws separate, adjacent bars for each of the three crops within every year, allowing direct visual comparison of rice versus wheat versus maize in a given year, as well as comparison of the same crop across the ten years.
The correct answer is (D) Multiple column chart.