QA The Story of village Palampur

 

                                       The Story of village Palampur

1. Sugarcane crushing undertaken in the village is what type of activity?

Sugarcane crushing undertaken in the village is the first step in manufacture of jaggery from raw sugarcane. Thus, it is a manufacturing activity.

2. What is the main economic activity in village Palampur?

The main economic activity in village Palampur is agriculture.

3. What are the factors of production?

Land, labour, physical capital and human capital are the factors of production.

4. What was the major advantage of using HYV seeds in agriculture?

The major advantage of using HYV seeds in agriculture is growing more crops on the same piece of land.

5. What are the non-farming activities being carried out in Palampur?

Some of the non-farming activities being carried out in Palampur include manufacturing, transport, shop keeping and computer education.

6. Who runs the Primary Health Centre in Palampur?

The Primary Health Centre in Palampur is run by the government.

7. What is multiple cropping?

Multiple cropping means that we grow more than one crop on the same piece of land in a year.

8. Why is loss of soil fertility occurring as an effect of the Green Revolution?

During the Green Revolution, due to the extra crops produced which utilized the soil nutrients fully, no nutrients were left for the next crop.

9. What is the disadvantage in using chemical fertilizers in modern farming methods?

The chemicals kill bacteria and microbes, which are essential for soil fertility.

10. What is the standard unit for measurement of agricultural land?

Hectare is the standard unit for measurement of agricultural land. Bigha and Guintha are local units used in different parts of India.

 

Short Answers:

1. Which crop out of sugarcane, bajra or wheat are kharif crops?

Ø Bajra is a rapid growing warm weather crop suitable for areas with 40 to 75 cm of annual rainfall

Ø Thus, Bajra is a rapid growing warm weather crop suitable for areas with 40 to 75 cm of annual rainfall it is suitable for the kharif season, which is between July and October.

Ø Wheat is not suitable for warm weather and sugarcane requires a full year to grow.

2. Identify which out of land, seeds, machinery and building is in the category of working capital.

 Seeds, once used, cannot be used again and so they fall in the category of working capital. Land, machinery and building are fixed capital, as they can be used again and again.

3. What are the constituents of modern farming methods?

The constituents of modern farming methods are use of high yielding variety of seeds, using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as using plenty of water for irrigation.

4. When large and medium farmers sell their surplus produce in the market, what are the purposes to which they use this income?

Ø A part of the earnings is saved and kept as capital for the next season.

Ø Thus, they are able to arrange for the capital for farming from their own savings

Ø Some farmers also use the savings to buy cattle, trucks or use it in other non-agricultural activities.

HE STORY OF VILLAGE PALAMPUR 1

5. Which farmers out of landless farmers, small farmers or medium and large farmers, hire labour to work in the fields?

Ø Landless farmers are hired as laborers are hired.

Ø Small farmers do not need additional labour, as they work with their family members in the fields.

Ø Only the medium and large farmers have extensive work, which makes them hire additional labour.

6. How is land resource affected by modem farming methods?

Ø Land being a natural resource, it is necessary to be very careful in its use.

Ø Scientific reports indicate that the modern farming methods have overused the natural resource Land base.

7. How do chemical fertilizers affect the soil?

Ø Chemical fertilizers provide minerals which dissolve in water and are immediately available to plants.

Ø But these may not be retained in the soil for long. They may escape from the soil and pollute groundwater, rivers and lakes.

8. Who are the farm laborers working for medium and large farmers?

Ø Farm laborers come either from landless families or families cultivating small plots of land.

Ø Unlike farmers, farm laborers do not have a right over the crops grown on the land, they are paid wages by the farmer.

9. From where small farmers borrow money?

Ø Small farmers either borrow from large farmers or the village moneylenders or the traders who supply various inputs for cultivation.

Ø The rate of interest on such loans is very high which makes it difficult for them to repay.

10. What do large and medium farmers do with their surplus farm products?

Ø Large and medium farmers sell the surplus farm products.

Ø A part of the earnings is saved and kept for buying capital for the next season.

Ø Some farmers might also use the savings to buy cattle, trucks or to set up shops.

Detail questions:

1.List the changes in Palampur due to the advent of electric power in the village.

Ø The advent of electric power in Palampur has brought about the following changes:

Ø Irrigation is now done through electric run tube wells, which has reduced the dependence of the farmers upon rainfall and enables larger areas of land to be irrigated.

Ø Irrigation improvement allowed farmers to grow three different crops in a year.

Ø It enabled Mishrilal to set up a sugarcane crushing machine so that he can sell jaggery manufactured by him to the traders at Shahpur.

2. The farm laborers in Palampur usually earn less than the minimum wage. Why?

Ø 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 laborers in the village.

Ø Knowing that the supply is much more than the demand, the laborers themselves agree to work for wages that are lower than minimum wages.

Ø The farmers exploit this condition of excess labour supply and force laborers to work for low wages.

3. What is the difference between multiple cropping and modern farming method?

Ø Multiple Cropping: To grow more than one crop on a piece of land during the year is known as multiple cropping. It is the most common way of increasing production on a given piece of land.

Ø Modern Farming Method The farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh use HYV seeds, tube wells for irrigation, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as machinery like tractors and threshers to increase the production. All these measures comprise what are known as modern farming methods.

4. Why are farm laborers like Dala and Ramkali poor?

Ø Dala and Ramkali are landless farm laborers who work on daily wages in Palampur.

Ø The minimum wages for farm laborer set by the government is 115 per day, they get only 80.

Ø There is heavy competition for work among the farm laborers in Palampur, so people agree to work for lower wages.

Ø They remain out of work for most parts of the year and have to take loans from the moneylender to fulfill their needs. Due to this seasonal unemployment, they remain poor and are unable to repay the loan and fall into a debt trap.

5. What do you understand by the term ‘Green Revolution’?

Ø The ‘Green Revolution’ was introduced in India, in the late 1960s.

Ø Indian farmers used it for the production of major food crops like wheat and rice.

Ø They made use of the High Yielding Variety seeds, which produced much greater yield than the traditional seeds.

Ø However, they needed plenty of water, chemical fertilizers and pesticides to produce best results.

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

Ø Most of the houses in Palampur have electric connections.

Ø Electricity powers all the tube wells in the fields that help to irrigate much larger

Ø areas of 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.

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

7. Is it important to increase the area under irrigation and why?

Ø More area under irrigation would lead to more yield or production to fulfil the needs of the population.

Ø More yield would fetch more income to the farmers.

Ø It would provide more employment opportunities for them.

Ø Their supplement income can provide them more capital for further investment in non-farm activities also.

8. What are the main factors for production of goods and services?

Ø The first requirement is land and other natural resources like water, forests, minerals, etc.

Ø The second requirement is labour, i.e., the people who will do the work. Some activities require educated workers to perform the necessary task and other activities require workers who can do manual work.

Ø The third requirement is physical capital, i.e., the variety of inputs required at every

stage during production. It includes fixed capital and working capital.

Ø Fourth requirement-knowledge and entrepreneur.