Economics Ch-1-Notes

Economics Chapter 1The Story of Village Palampur

Question 2. Modem farming methods require more input which are manufactured in industry. Do you agree?

Answer Yes, It is true that modern farming methods require more Inputs which are manufactured in industry. For example

·       HYV seeds, insecticides, pesticides and chemical fertilisers needed for increasing the yield per hectare are all manufactured industries

·       Farmers use farm machinery like tractors, threshers and also combined harvesters were also manufactured in industries.

·       Tubewell equipment and water pumps used for irrigation are also manufactured in industries.

Question 3. How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?

Answer

·       Most of the houses in Palampur have electric connections.

·       Electricity powers all the tubewells in the fields that help to irrigate much larger area land more effectively as compared to the traditional Persian wheel drawn by bullocks. Since the entire cultivated area of 200 hectares had come under irrigation farmers did not have to depend on rainfall and could grow multiple crops.

·       It helps small businesses run their machinery like Mishrilal’s sugarcane crushing machine.

Question 4. Is it important to increase the area under irrigation why?

Answer

 Yes, it is important to increase the area under irrigation because water is very essential for agriculture. In India, the rainfall is unevenly distributed in the country and rainfall is less, then production will be low, and they will be only able to grow one crop season.

  With good irrigation it will be possible to do multiple cropping, helping to increase the yield per hectare.

Question 5. Construct a table on the distribution of land among the 450 families of Palampur.

Answer

 Distribution of land among the 450 families of Palampur.

Families with no land (mainly dalits)	150 families
Families with less than 2 hectares	240 families
Families with more than 2 hectares	60 families
TOTAL	450 families

Question 6. Why are the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?

Answer

 The minimum wages for a farm labourer set by the government are Rs.300 per day, but wages of farm labourers in Palampur are less than minimum wages because there is heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in Palampur, so people agree to work for lower wages.

Question 7. 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 cash or kind? Do they get work regularly? Are they in debt?

Answer: NOT TO BE DONE IN NOTEBOOK

Question 8. What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land? Use examples to explain.

Answer

 Multiple cropping and use of modern farming methods are two different ways increasing production on the same piece of land. e.g.,

(i)  Multiple Cropping: When more than one crop is grown on a piece of land during the year it is known as multiple cropping.

·       It is the most common way to increase production on a given piece of land.

·       All farmers in Palampur grow at least two main crops, many are growing potato as the third crop in the past fifteen to twenty years.

(ii)  Use of Modern Farming Method: Modern farming methods also help to increase the yield per hectare.

·        Farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh were the first to try modern farming methods in India.

·        The farmers in these regions set up tube wells for irrigation and made use of HYV chemical fertilizers and pesticides In farming.

·        Some also used farm machinery like tractors and threshers, which made ploughing harvesting faster. They were rewarded with high yields of wheat, increasing from 1 kg per hectare to 3200 kg per hectare with HYV seeds.

Question 9. Describe the work of a farmer with 1 hectare of land?

Answer

·        A farmer having 1 hectare of land for farming is called a subsistence farmer because hectare of land is too less; for even the sustenance of a small family.

·        Production is very low and it is very difficult for the farmer to provide for his family Apart from working on his own field he has to work on the field of the rich farmers work as a casual labourer to survive.

·        The small farmer has no irrigation facilities.

·        He has no working capital so he is also not able to buy modern machinery, HYV se insecticides and pesticides.

·        In the absence of capital, he has to take loan from moneylender who charges a high interest rate. He is rarely able to repay the loan and eventually falls into a debt trap.

Question 10. How did the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How it is different from the small farmers?

Answer

 Modern farming methods such as use of HYV seeds, insecticides, pesticides etc. require great deal of capital so the farmer needs more money than before.

·        The medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming. They are thus able to arrange for the capital needed.

·        In contrast, the small farmers have to borrow money to arrange for the capital. They borrow from large farmers or the village money lenders 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, which is not so in the case of medium and large farmers.

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Question 11. On what terms did Savita get a loan from Tejpal Singh? Would Savita’s condition be different if she could get a loan from the bank at a low rate of interest?

Answer

Savita, a small farmer, in order to cultivate wheat on her 1 hectare of land, decides to borrow money from Tejpal Singh a large farmer on the

following terms.

·       Tejpal Singh agrees to give Savita the loan at an interest rate of 24 per cent for four months which is a very high interest rate. Savita also has to promise to work on his farm as farm labourer during the harvest season at Rs. 35 per day.

·       The rate of interest charged by Tejpal Singh was higher than that of banks. If Savita had taken the loan from the bank, interest would have been lower and she could have repaid the loan and her condition would have been far better.

Question 12. 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: NOT TO BE DONE IN NOTEBOOK

Question 13. What are the non-farm activities taking place in Palampur. Make a short list.

Answer

·       Dairy is a common activity in many families of Palampur.

·       Some people are involved in small scale manufacturing in their homes or in the field production of jaggery by Mishrilal.

·       A few people are involved as shopkeepers and traders who buy various goods from wholesale market in the cities and sell them in the villages.

·       Some people have opened shops selling eatables near the bus stand.

·       Some people are in the transportation sector ferrying people and carrying goods from one place to another in different types of vehicles.

·       People like Kareem have opened a computer class centre and have also provided employment to two women who had a diploma in computer application.

Question 14. What can be done so that non-farm production activities can be started in villages?

Answer

·       Banks should provide loans at low Interest rates so that the poor villagers can start some business to help them earn a living.

·       Government should be more active and start and effective employment generating schemes.

·       Government should provide training to the villagers in different small crafts.

·       Government should provide facilities for transportation and selling of locally manufactured goods of the villagers in the cities.