Exercise .
CH-1 THE STORY OF VILLAGE PALAMPUR
TEXTUAL QUESTIONS.
Q2. Modern farming methods require more inputs which are manufactured in industry. Do you agree?
Answer:
Modern farming methods involve the use of high-yielding variety seeds.
These seeds require a combination of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, agricultural implements like tractors, and proper irrigation facilities like electric tube wells to produce the best results.
All these elements are manufactured in industries.
Hence, it would be right to say that modern farming methods make use of a greater number of industrial outputs as compared to traditional farming methods.
Q3. How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?
Answer:The spread of electricity has helped the farmers of Palampur village in the following ways:
• Most of the houses have electric connections.
• Electricity is used to run tubewells in the fields.
• Electricity is used in various types of small business.
Q4. Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why
Answer:
India is an agricultural country. Nearly two-thirds of the people are dependent on farming for their livelihood.
But of the total cultivated area in the country, a little less than 40 per cent is irrigated even today.
In the remaining areas, farming is largely dependent on rainfall which is irregular and uncertain.
Modern farming methods cannot be used in the absence of assured adequate water supplies.
India cannot achieve the goal of self-sufficiency in food grains unless the area under irrigation is increased.
Q5. Construct a table on the distribution of land among the 450 families of Palampur.
Q6. Why are the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?
Answer:Farm workers at Palampur village get lower wages than the minimum wages fixed by the government. The minimum wages for a farm labourer is fixed at Rs 300 per day. But farm labourers get only Rs 160. This happens because of heavy competition for work among the farm labourers at Palampur village.
Q8. What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land? Use examples to explain.
Answer: The different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land are:
• Multiple Cropping : It is the most common way of increasing production on a given piece of land. Under it, more than one crop is grown on the same piece of land during the year. Indian farmers should grow at least two main crops in a year. In India, some farmers are growing a third crop in the past fifteen to twenty years.
• Modern Farming Methods : Production on the same piece of land can also be increased by adopting modern farming methods. The Green Revolution in India is a remarkable example of it. Under modern farming, more cultivable areas should be brought under HYV seeds and irrigation. The use of simple wooden plough must be replaced by tractors. The increasing use of farm machinery like tractors, threshers, harvesters, etc. make cultivation faster.
Q9. 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. During harvest time, he may require to hire some labourers.
Q10. 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.
Q11. On what terms did Savita get a loan from Tajpal Singh? Would Savita’ s condition be different if she could get a loan from the bank at a low rate of interest?
Answer:Savita required money for buying seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, and water for irrigation. She also needed money for repairing her farm instruments. So, she decided to borrow money from Tejpal Singh, a large farmer in her village.
Tejpal Singh agreed to give the loan of Rs. 3000 at an interest rate of 24 per cent for four months. He also got her to agree to work on his field during the harvest season for Rs. 35 a day.
Savita’s condition would have been better if she could get a loan from the bank. The bank would have provided her the loan at a low rate of interest. Moreover, Savita could have devoted more time on her own field instead of working for Tejpal Singh as farm labourer.
Q14. What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in villages?
Answer:Three things that need to be done to encourage non-farm production activities in villages:
• The government should set up schemes whereby landless labourers and small farmers are able to get cheap loans to start small individual/community businesses.
• In addition to financial assistance, the government should set up rural workshops to enable the villagers to build on their skill levels.
• The government should also work towards improving the infrastructure of villages so that the rural parts of the country are well connected to the urban areas.
Extra Questions
Q1.How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming?
Answer:The medium and large farmers have surplus production even after keeping a substantial part for their own family needs. They sell it in the market and have good earnings and save it in their bank accounts. They utilize their savings:
• By lending to small farmers who are in need of a loan.
• As working capital for farming in the next season.
• As fixed capital for buying tractors, etc.
Q2.How do small farmers obtain capital for farming? What are its consequence?
Answer;Most small farmers have to borrow money to arrange for the capital. They borrow from large farmers or the money-lenders or the traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. Consequence: The rate of interest on such loans is very high. The small farmers are put to great distress to repay the loan.
Q3.What are non-farming activities? Explain any two non-farming activities taken up by the people of Palampur village.
Answer;People working in activities other than agriculture are called non–farming activities.
Two non-farming activities taken up by the people of Palampur village:
• Running grocery shops.
• Practicing various occupations such as barber, cobbler, blacksmith, coaching institutes, etc.
Q4.Explain the meaning of ‘Physical Capital’. Explain its two types with the help of suitable example.
Answer:Physical capital is the variety of inputs required at every stage during production. Physical capital is divided into two types:
• Fixed Capital: Tools, machines and building, etc., are called fixed capitals. Tools and machines range from very simple tools such as a farmer’s plough to sophisticated machines such as generators, computers, etc. They are called fixed as they can be used for many years.
• Working Capital: 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. In this way, raw materials and money in hand are called working capital.
Q5.Explain any two merits and three demerits of the Green Revolution.
Answer:Merits:
• Helps in the progress of agriculture.
• Helps in the growth and yield of crops.
• HYV seeds are considered as miracle seeds due to the high produce when irrigated properly.
Demerits:
• Use of pesticides and other harmful chemicals during its production affect the crops and the consumer.
• These seeds need more irrigation and fertilizers than the traditional seeds.
• Excessive use of pesticides and chemicals while growing HYV seeds causes land degradation.
Q6.Briefly explain the four factors of production.
Answer;Every production is organized by combining land, labour, physical capital and human capital which are known as factors of production.
These factors are explained below:
Land: If is the first requirement for production of goods and services. The land required for farm activities is practically fixed.
Labour: The second requirement is labour i.e. people who will do the work. Some activities require highly educated workers like banking and some require workers, for manual work, for example, carpenter.
Physical capital: Physical capital es the variety of inputs required at every stage dur¬ing production. For example: tools, building, raw materials etc. Physical capital is of two types: fixed capital and working capital.
Human capital: The knowledge and enterprise required to put together land, labour and physical capital for producing an output either for self-consumption or to sell in the market is called, as human cap.
Q7.Why didn’t someone start a computer centre earlier? Discuss the possible reasons.
Answer: Reasons why someone didn’t start a computer centre may be any of the following:
(i) As very few educated people were there in the village, there was not any demand for computer courses.
(ii) The villagers were not aware of the employment potential of computer courses and so nobody thought that such a business could be successful.
(iii) Teaching faculty for computer courses was not available in the village earlier.
Q8.The farm laborers in Palampur usually earn less than the minimum wage. Why?
Answer:
The use of modem agricultural implements like tractors, threshers and harvesters by the large and medium farmers has reduced the amount of agricultural labour required.
So, there is competition for work among the agricultural labourers in the village.
Knowing that the supply is much more than the demand, the labourers themselves agree to work for wages that are lower than minimum wages.
The farmers exploit this condition of excess labour supply and force laborers to work for low wages.
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