IX_Eco_Ch-1_Story of Village Palampur_Practice Set-3

M.L. Khanna DAV Public School

Sector-VI, Dwarka

Economics     Class IX

Chapter-1   Story of Village Palampur

Practice Set-3

Ques. Enlist and explain the different non-farm activities being conducted in village Palampur.

Ans. Though farming is the main production activity in Palampur, there are many non-farm production activities too which provide the villagers good source of livelihood. However, only 25 per cent of the people working in Palampur are engaged in non-farm activities which are as follows:-

1. Dairy:-

Dairy is a common activity in many families of Palampur. The milk drawn from buffalos is sold in Raiganj, the nearby large village. Two traders from Shahpur town have set up collection cum chilling centres at Raiganj from where the milk is transported to far away places.

2. Small-scale Manufacturing:-

Less than fifty people are engaged in manufacturing in Palampur. Manufacturing in Palampur involves very simple production methods and are done on a small scale. They are carried out mostly at home or in the fields with the help of family labour

3. Shop-keeping:-

People involved in trade are not many in Palampur. The shopkeepers buy various goods from wholesale markets in the cities and sell them in the village. Small general stores in the village sell a wide range of items like rice, wheat, sugar, tea etc. Also, few families sell eatables.

4. Transportation:-

There are variety of vehicles on the road connecting Palampur to Raiganj. Rickshawallas, tongawallas, jeep, tractor, truck drivers and people driving the traditional bullock cart and bogey are people in the transport services. They ferry people and goods and in return money.

Ques. What is the importance of surplus farm product? Explain in context of village Palampur.

Ans. The farmers retain a part of the crop grown (say, wheat) for the family’s consumption and sell the surplus wheat to earn money. Surplus farm product is important for a farmer to generate income for the livelihood as well as to invest in the farmland for better production. Small farmers have little surplus because their total production is small and from this, a substantial share is kept for their own family needs. So it is the medium and large farmers who supply surplus wheat to the market.

Ques. What are the different Capital needs of different farmers?

Ans. The modern farming methods require a great deal of capital. The different capital needs of different farmers are as under:

1.                  Most small farmers have to borrow money to arrange for the capital. They borrow from large farmers or the village moneylenders or the traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. The rate of interest on such loans is very high. They are put to great distress to repay the loan.

2.                  The medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming. They are thus able to arrange for the capital needed on their own, no need to borrow generally.

Ques. Discuss in brief how land is distributed in the village Palampur.

Ans. Unfortunately, not all the people engaged in agriculture have sufficient land for cultivation. It can be understood by following points:

1.                  In Palampur, about one third of the 450 families are landless, i.e. 150 families, most of them dalits, have no land for cultivation.

2.                  Of the remaining families who own land, 240 families cultivate small plots of land less than 2 hectares in size. Cultivation of such plots doesn’t bring adequate income to the farmer family.

3.                  More than half the area of the village is covered by plots that are quite large in size. In Palampur, there are 60 families of medium and large farmers who cultivate more than 2 hectares of land.

4.                  A few of the large farmers have land extending over 10 hectares or more.

Ques. Who provides labour for cultivation on different farmlands?

Ans. Farming requires a great deal of hard work. Small farmers along with their families cultivate their own fields. Thus, they provide the labour required for farming themselves. On the other hand, Medium and large farmers usually do not work to cultivate the farmland on their own. Rather they hire farm labourers to work on their fields.

Ques. What are the features of Green Revolution? Highlight some of its advantages and disadvantages along with limitations.

Ans. The Green Revolution refers to a set of research and the development of occurring in late 1960s that increased agricultural production and productivity in India.

The main features of Green Revolution in India are:

1. Introduction of new and high yielding variety of seeds.

2. Increased use of fertilizers, pesticides and weedicides in order to reduce agricultural loses.

3. Increased application of chemical fertilizers in order to enhance agricultural productivity.

4. Use of latest agricultural machinery like tractor, seed drills, threshers and harvester.

5. Availability of better irrigation facilities.

Merits of Green Revolution:

1. Higher Yield.                       2. Machines made ploughing harvesting easy.

3. Surplus food sold in market to earn more.

4. Pests and insects controlled by pesticides and insecticides.

5. Good irrigation enhanced production.

6. India no longer remained importer of food grains rather started exporting them.

Demerits of Green Revolution:

1. Loss of soil fertility with use of chemical fertilizers.

2. Use of tube wells reduced the ground-water table.

3. Chemical fertilizers polluted ground water.

4. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers kills the bacteria and micro organism present in soil and also makes soil alkaline and unfit for cultivation.

Limitations of Green Revolution:

1. The benefits of Green Revolution were mainly limited to only two crops, wheat and rice.

2. Only the large farmers had enough purchasing power to afford the new and expensive technology of farming, not the small farmers. It led to increasing gap between medium-large and small farmers.

3. The Green Revolution benefitted mainly a few states like Punjab, Haryana and western U.P, not all states in India.

IX_Eco_Ch-1_Story of Village Palampur_Practice Set-2

M.L. Khanna DAV Public School

Sector-6, Dwarka

Economics Class IX

Chapter – 1 Story of Village Palampur

Practice Set-2

Question 1: Modern farming methods require more inputs which are manufactured in industry. Do you agree?

Answer: Yes. I agree with the statement. Modern farming methods require chemical fertilizers, pesticides and modern farm equipments. All of these are manufactured in industry.

Question 2: How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?

Answer: Electricity can help any village. Availability of electricity ensures better irrigation. Farmers will be able to make use of such different mechanized means of production on their farm land which require electricity. It also means that villagers can get engaged in some manufacturing activities; like flour mills, jaggery production, etc that is non-farming activities implying better opportunities to increase level of income.

Question 3: Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why?

Answer: As per estimates, 60% of the villages still need proper irrigation facility. Since land under cultivation cannot be increased, increasing the area under irrigation is a major way to improve farm productivity.

Question 4: Construct a table on the distribution of land among the 450 families of Palampur.

Answer:

No. of families	Land (hect)
40	160
240	80
150	Nil

Question 5: Why are the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?

Answer: There is more supply of workers than the demand in village Palampur. Due to this, the workers are not in a position to bargain from their employers. Hence, the wages for farm labourers are less than minimum wages.

Question 6: In your region, talk to two labourers. Choose either farm labourers or labourers working at construction sites. What wages do they get? Are they paid in cash or kind? Do they get work regularly? Are they in debt?

Answer: People who work at construction site usually get the minimum wages. An unskilled worker gets around Rs. 250 per day. A skilled worker; such as a mason; get around Rs. 500 per day.

Question 7: What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land? Use examples to explain.

Answer: Production can be increased by using HYV seeds, fertilisers and proper irrigation. Mixed farming can also be used to improve farm production.

Question 8: Describe the work of a farmer with 1 hectare of land.

Answer: A farmer with 1 hectare of land shall put under the category of small farmer. Most of the work would be done by the farmer and his family members. The farmer will normally use a pair of bullocks to plough the field. His family members would assist him in sowing the seeds.

Question 9: How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different from the small farmers?

Answer: Medium and large farmers usually have surplus cash by selling their farm produce. Since they have land and house, they easily get loan from banks. Small farmers, on the other hand, may not be able to get bank loans. They have to depend on the local merchant and moneylender for loan.

Question 10: Talk to some old residents in your region and write a short report on the changes in irrigation and changes in production methods during the last 30 years.

Answer: During the early period, irrigation was done by Persian wheel. Diesel operated or electricity operated pumps have replaced the Persian wheels. Tractors have replaced bullocks for ploughing the large farms. Now more and more farmers are in a position to grow up to three crops in a year.

Question 11: What are the non-farm production activities taking place in your region? Make a short list.

Answer: Cycle repair shop, carpenter, ironsmith, general store, tea stall, stationary shop, computer training institute, etc.

Question 12: What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in villages?

Answer: The government should improve electricity supply in the villages. It should open more schools so that children can grow to become educated adults. Moreover, government can also provide vocational training to the rural youths. These activities would help in increasing non-farm production activities in a village.

IX_Eco_Ch-1_Story of Village Palampur_Practice Set-1

Class IX

Chapter 1

The Story Of Village Palampur

Practice Set-1

Q1. What are the four requirements for the production of goods and services? (What are the factors of production?)

Ans. The aim of production is to produce the goods and services that we want. There are four requirements for production of goods and services.

i) The first requirement is land, and other natural resources such as water, forests
and minerals.

ii) The second requirement is labour, i.e. people who will do the work.

iii) The third requirement is physical capital, i.e. the variety of inputs required at every stage during production. e.g. Tools, machines, buildings etc.

iv) The fourth requirement is the knowledge and enterprise that is required to put together land, labour and physical capital and produce an output either to use yourself or to sell in the market. This these days is called human capital. ( or Organization)

Q2. Define the term capital.

Ans. The part of wealth or money which is used for further production is termed as capital. It is an important factor of production.

Q3. What are the items that come under physical capital?(Difference between Fixed & Working capital.) 

Ans. i) Tools, machines, buildings: Tools and machines range from very simple tools
such as a farmer’s plough to sophisticated machines such as generators, turbines, computers, etc. Tools, machines, buildings can be used in production over many years, and are called fixed capital.

ii) Raw materials and money in hand: Production requires a variety of raw materials such as the yarn used by the weaver and the clay used by the potter. Also, some money is always required during production to make payments and buy other necessary items. Raw materials and money in hand are called working capital. Unlike tools, machines and buildings, these are used up in production.

Q4 What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land?

Ans. i) One way of increasing production from the same land is by multiple cropping. To grow more than one crop on a piece of land during the year is known as multiple cropping. ii) The other way is to use modern farming methods for higher yield. Modern machineries, High Yielding Variety seeds, better irrigation, fertilizers and chemicals etc. are used in this method.

Q5. What are the disadvantages of Green Revolution?

Ans. i) Green Revolution is associated with the loss of soil fertility due to increased use of chemical fertilizers.

ii) Continuous use of groundwater for tube well irrigation has reduced the water-table below the ground.

iii) Environmental resources like soil fertility and groundwater are built up over many years. Once destroyed it is very difficult to restore them. We must take care of the environment to ensure future development of agriculture.

Q6. What are the disadvantages in using chemical fertilizers?

Ans. i) Chemical fertilizers provide minerals which dissolve in water and are immediately available to plants. But these may not be retained in the soil for long. They may escape from the soil and pollute groundwater, rivers and lakes. Chemical fertilizers can also kill bacteria and other micro-organisms in the soil. This means some time after their use, the soil will be less fertile than before.

ii) The consumption of chemical fertilizers in Punjab is highest in the country. The continuous use of chemical fertilizers has led to degradation of soil health. Punjab farmers are now forced to use more and more chemical fertilizers and other inputs to achieve the same production level. This means cost of cultivation is rising very fast.

Q7. How is the land distributed among the farmers in Palampur?

Ans. i) In Palampur, about one third of the 450 families are landless, i.e. 150 families, most of them are Dalits and have no land for cultivation.

ii) Of the remaining families who own land, 240 families cultivate small plots of land less than 2 hectares in size. Cultivation of such plots doesn’t bring adequate income to the farmer family.

iii) Large number of small plots scattered around the village are cultivated by the small farmers. On the other hand, more than half the area of the village is covered by plots that are quite large in size.

iv) In Palampur, there are 60 families of medium and large farmers who cultivate more than 2 hectares of land. A few of the large farmers have land extending over 10 hectares or more.

Q8. Who provide labour for farming activities in Palampur?

Ans. i) Small farmers along with their families cultivate their own fields. Thus, they provide the labour required for farming themselves.

ii) Medium and large farmers hire farm labourers to work on their fields. Farm labourers come either from landless families or families cultivating small plots of land.

Q9. How are farm labourers different from farmers?

Ans. i) Unlike farmers, farm labourers do not have a right over the crops grown on the land,. instead they are paid wages by the farmer for whom they work.

ii) Wages can be in cash or in kind e.g. crop. Sometimes labourers get meals too. Since farmers work for themselves wages are not given.

iii) Wages vary widely from region to region, from crop to crop, from one farm activity to another (like sowing and harvesting).

iv) There is also a wide variation in the duration of employment. A farm labourer might be employed on a daily basis, or for one particular farm activity like harvesting, or for the whole year. A farmer works on his land according to the requirement without considering day and time.

v) There is heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in Palampur, so people agree to work for lower wages.

Q10. How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different from the small farmers?

Ans. i) Most small farmers have to borrow money to arrange for the capital. They borrow from large farmers or the village moneylenders or the traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. The rate of interest on such loans is very high. They are put to great distress to repay the loan.

ii) In contrast to the small farmers, the medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming. They save money by the sale of surplus farm products. They are thus able to arrange for the capital needed.

Q11. How does the sale of surplus farm products help farmers?

Ans. i) It helps farmers to arrange working capital for the next season.

ii) It helps them to buy fixed capital like tools and implements.

iii) They can deposit the money in the bank or lend to the needy people who provide them interest.

Q12. What are the non farm activities in Palampur? Explain.

Ans. i) Dairy: Dairy is a common activity in many families of Palampur. People feed their buffalos on various kinds of grass and the jowar and bajra that grow during the rainy season. The milk is sold in Raiganj, the nearby large village.

ii) Small scale manufacturing: Unlike the manufacturing that takes place in the big factories in the towns and cities, manufacturing in Palampur involves very simple production methods and are done on a small scale. They are carried out mostly at home or in the fields with the help of family labour. Rarely are labourers hired.

iii) Shop-keeping: People involved in trade (exchange of goods) are not many in Palampur. The traders of Palampur are shopkeepers who buy various goods from wholesale markets in the cities and sell them in the village.

iv) Transport: There is variety of vehicles on the road connecting Palampur to Raiganj. Rickshawalas, tonga wallahs, jeep, tractor, truck drivers and people driving the traditional bullock cart and bogey are people in the transport services. They ferry people and goods from one place to another, and in return get paid for it. The number of people involved in transport has grown over the last several years.

Q13. What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in villages?

Ans. i) It is important that loan be available at low rate of interest so that even people without savings can start some non-farm activity.

ii) Another thing which is essential for expansion of non-farm activities is to have markets where the goods and services produced can be sold. In Palampur, we saw the neighbouring villages, towns and cities provide the markets for milk, jaggery, wheat, etc.

iii) As more villages get connected to towns and cities through good roads, transport and telephone, it is possible that the opportunities for non-farm activities production in the village would increase in the coming years.

Q14. Differentiate between traditional and modern methods of farming.

Ans. i) Traditional methods of farming is entirely depend on rainfall whereas modern methods of farming use irrigation facilities by constructing dams and canals.

ii) In traditional methods of farming ordinary seeds , manures and simple tools were used whereas in modern methods of farming HYV seeds, fertilizers and machineries are used.

iii) Agricultural productivity is very low in traditional methods whereas it is very high in modern methods of farming.