The story of village Palampur

Question 1

What capital is needed as first priority to set up a jaggery manufacturing unit?

Answer 1

Fixed Capital

Question 2

What are rabi crops?

Answer 2

The crops which are grown in the winter season i.e., November or December and harvested in summer i.e., April or May. For example, wheat.

Question 3

Which term is used for production for self-consumption?

Answer 3

Subsistence farming.

Question 4

Enumerate a few effects of modem farming method.

Answer 4

Soil degradation, reduced water table below the ground and water pollution.

Question 5

Define Yield

Answer 5

Crop produced on a given piece of land during a single season.

Question 6

The yield of food grains hectare is high in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh”. Give two reasons.

Answer 6

Use of HYV seeds.

Use of tubewells for irrigation.

Question 7

Which are the prime requirement for production of goods and services?

Answer 7

Market

Question 8

At present, what is the percentage of the people who are engaged in the rural areas in non-farming activities in India?

Answer 8

24%

Question 9

Which is the best way to expand non-farm activities in a village?

Answer 9

Better transportation, availability of loan at low interest, availability of markets where goods can be sold are the best way to expand non-farming activities.

Question 10

Mention three characteristics of traditional method of farming,

Answer 10

Traditional seeds with low yield were used.
Cow-dung and natural manures were used.
Less irrigation was required.

Question 11

‘Capital is a basic need in agriculture.’ How is it arranged by Indian farmers? Explain.

Answer 11

Most of the small farmers borrow money from the moneylenders or traders to arrange the capital.
The moneylenders and traders charge a high rate of interest from the farmers.
Medium and large farmers have their own savings from the farming.
They also get loans from the banks.

Question 12

What problems do farm laborers face in terms of unemployment? Explain any three problems.

Answer 12

• They come either from landless families or families cultivating small plots of land.
• They do not have a right over the crops grown on the land.
• They got wages in cash or in kind.
• Wages vary widely from region to region and from crop-to-crop etc.
• Wide variation in the duration of employment was also seen.

Question 13

Mention any four characteristics of an entrepreneur or human capital as a factor of production.

Answer 13

It is a factor of production which combines or arranges all the factors of production to produce.
It is an active factor of production.
It produces goods and services for self-consumption or to sell in the market.
It is the most important factor of production.

Question 14

How many crops are grown by the farmers in Palampur? How are they able to grow these different crops in a year?

Answer 14

(i) The farmers in Palampur grow jowar and bajra during the rainy season, potato between October and December and wheat in the winter season.
(ii) (a) There is the well-developed system of irrigation in Palampur that enables the farmers there to grow three different crops in a year.
(b) Electricity came early to Palampur. Its major impact was to transform the system of irrigation in the village.
(c) By mid-1970s, the entire area of 200 hectares was irrigated.
(d) Modern farming methods and the Green Revolution introduced HYV seeds.

Question 15

How do large farmers utilize surplus farm products to arrange for the capital needed for farming?

Answer 15

The large farmers generally sell the surplus farm products and have good earnings.
They put most of their earnings or money in their bank accounts and get adequate interest on the same.
A part of their earnings is saved and kept to arrange for the working capital for farming in the next season.
They also use savings for lending to small farmers and other persons in the village.
A part of their earnings is used to increase their fixed capital like tractor, thresher, cattle etc.

Question 16

Explain the basic requirements for the production of goods and services. Which one is the most important?

Answer 16

(i) Land: Land is the most important factor of production. It is required for growing crops, building factories and infrastructure. The first requirement is land. We also need other natural resources such as water, forests, minerals etc.
(ii) Labour: The second requirement is labour, i.e., people who will do the work. Different production activities require different types of workers, such as highly educated, skilled or those doing some manual work. Each worker provides labour necessary for production.

(iii) Physical Capital: The third requirement is physical capital, comprising various inputs required during production. It has two components. Tools, machines and buildings fall under ‘fixed capital’.
They can be used in production for many years. Raw materials and money in hand are called working capital. These are used up in production.

(iv) Human Capital: The fourth requirement is the human capital. Knowledge and enterprise are needed to put together land, labour and physical capital in order to produce an output.

Question 17

How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?

Answer 17

Most of the houses have electricity connections.
It is used to run tubewells in the fields.
It is used in various types of small businesses.

Question 18

How is land distributed among the people of Palampur?

Answer 18

About one third of the 450 families are
landless, i.e. 150 families, most of them
dalits, have no land for cultivation.
Of the remaining families who own
land, 240 families cultivate small plots of
land less than 2 hectares in size

Question 19

Discuss small-scale manufacturing, a non-farming activity in village Palampur, in detail.

Answer 19

Less than fifty people are engaged in manufacturing in Palampur.
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.

Question 20

How did Mishrilal managed to get a small profit in his business?

Answer 20

Mishrilal has purchased a mechanical sugarcane crushing machine that run on electricity and has set it up on his field. Sugarcane crushing was earlier done with the help of bullocks, but people prefer to do it by machines these days. Mishrilal also buys sugarcane from other farmers and processes it into jaggery. The jaggery is then sold to traders at Shahpur. In the process, Mishrilal makes a small profit.

Question 21

What are the various types of crops grown in village Palampur?

Answer 21

The entire land is cultivated in village Palampur. There are different types of crops grown in the village.
During the rainy season (kharif,) farmers grow jowar and bajra. These plants are used as cattle feed. It is followed by cultivation of potato between October and December. In the winter season (rabi), fields are sown with wheat. A part of the land area is also devoted to sugarcane which is harvested once every year. Sugarcane, in its raw form, or as jaggery, is sold to traders in Shahpur.

Question 22

How is the required capital in farming arranged?

Answer 22

• 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.
• In contrast to the small farmers, the medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming. They are, thus, able to arrange for the capital needed.