ECONOMICS (IX)-LESSON-1 THE STORY OF VILLAGE PALLAMPUR (QUESTION ANSWER)

         

ECONOMICS (IX)-LESSON-1

THE STORY OF VILLAGE PALLAMPUR

(QUESTION ANSWER)

______________________________________________________________(NCERT EXERCISE)

2. Modern farming methods require more inputs, which are manufactured in industry. Do you agree?
Answer: No doubt, modern farming requires more inputs than traditional farming. These are:

     1.    chemical fertilizers

     2.    pesticides

     3.    pump sets

     4.    farm machinery

     5.    electricity

     6.    diesel

     7.    HYV seeds

     8.    water supply

Most of these inputs like fertilizers, tools, and implements are manufactured in industry. HYV seeds are developed in agriculture research laboratories. Machine industry provides various kinds of implements, irrigation pumps, and farming machinery to improve productivity and minimize farming efforts. Chemical and soil engineering-based industries provide fertilizers and pesticides to boost agriculture. Water supply is done by canals and tanks. Electricity is supplied by powerhouses.

3. How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?
Answer: The spread of electricity helped the farmers in Palampur in the following ways:

     1.    Most of the houses have electricity connections.

     2.    It is used to run tubewells in the fields.

     3.    It is used in various types of small businesses.

4.  Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why?
Answer: Irrigation facilities are available only to about 40% of the cultivated land area in the country. The rest of the land, i.e., 60% of the cultivated area, is still dependent on rainfall for irrigation. It means that the benefit of multiple cropping cannot be achieved by 60% of the farmers in the country. They produce less and so their income is also low. Thus, they live in poverty.

Therefore, if these farmers are to be brought out of poverty, farm productivity has to increase. This is only possible when they use modern farming methods and dependable irrigation facilities. Hence, it is important to increase the area under irrigation.

6. Why are the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?
Answer: A waged labourer might be employed on a daily basis, or for one particular farm activity like harvesting, or for the whole year. 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. Hence they pay very low wages to the farm labourers.

8. What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land? Use examples to Explain.
Answer: 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. 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.

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

11. 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 was a small farmer. She planed to cultivate wheat on her 1-hectare land. Besides seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, she needed cash to buy water and repair her farm instruments. She estimated that his working capital itself would cost a minimum of Rs 3,000. She didn’t have the money, so she decided to borrow from Tejpal Singh, a large farmer. Tejpal Singh agreed to give Savita the loan at an interest rate of 24 percent for four months, which was a very high-interest rate.

Savita also had to promise to work on his field as a farm labourer during the harvest season at Rs 35 per day. Savita knew that this wage is quite low and she will have to work very hard to complete harvesting on her own field, and then work as a farm labourer for Tejpal Singh. Savita agreed to those tough conditions, as she knew, that getting a loan is difficult for a small farmer. Yes, Savita’s condition would have been different if she could get a loan from the bank at a low rate of interest.

14.  What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in villages?
Answer:
The villagers must be made aware of the non-farm production activities and their benefits. They must also be taught the methods of doing such activities. The villagers who have the impression that they can earn only by farming, must be given proper guidance and help to do such activities.

 

OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTION

 

 1. What is the main reason behind growing three different crops in a year?
Answer: The village has a well-developed system of irrigation.

 2. What are the main factors of production?
Answer: Land, labour, physical capital and human capital.

 3. Machinery, work plants, equipments, new technology, buildings are the example of which capital?
Answer: Fixed capital

 4. Consumption of chemical fertilisers is highest in which State of India?
Answer: Punjab

 5. The quality of resources which can be improved through investment in education and training is the _______ .
Answer: Human capital

 6. Why is there heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in village Palampur?
Answer: Because people are ready to work for lower wages.

 7. To grow more than one crop on a piece of land during the year is called _______ .
Answer: Multiple cropping.

 8. The use of higher yields with combination of HYV (High Yielding Varieties) seeds, irrigation, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, etc. refers to _______ .
Answer: Modern cropping.

 9. One of the important non-farming activities besides farming in Palampur is _______ .
Answer: Dairy farming.

 10. Some shopkeepers in Palampur buy various goods from wholesale markets in the cities and sell them in the village. This process is called .
Answer: Trading (exchange of goods).

 11. Name two crops that grow in the rainy season.
Answer: Jowar and bajra

 12. Money in hand and raw materials are an example of _______ .
Answer: Working capital

 13. When were the high yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds introduced to the Indian farmers?
Answer: In the late 1960s

 14. What is the main production activity in Palampur village?
Answer: Farming is the main production activity in Palampur village.

 15. What do you understand by the Green Revolution?
Answer: Green Revolution was started in the late 1960s in the field of agriculture, under this revolution, modern methods of farming were adopted to increase agriculture product.

 16. Who are the small farmers?
Answer: Small farmers are those farmers who have less than 2 hectares of land.

 17. How many people of Palampur village were engaged in non-farming activities?
Answer: 25% people of Palampur village were engaged in non-farming activities.

 18. What is the full form of HYV?
Answer: High-Yielding Varieties.

 19. How can you say that the use of modern farming methods is beneficial for Indian farmers?
Answer: By using modern farming methods, Indian farmers are able to produce much greater amount of grains on a single plant. There is a large increase in the production of wheat. Using these methods, the farmers have greater amounts of surplus wheat to sell in the markets.

 20. What is the most abundant factor of production?
Answer: Labour is the most abundant factor of production.

 21. From where do most of the small farmers borrow money to arrange for the capital in Palampur?
Answer: Village moneylenders

 22. Why do the farmers of Palampur follow multiple cropping?
Answer: It is because this method is the most common way of increasing production.

 23. What is meant by working capital?
Answer: Raw materials and money in hand are called working capital.

 24. Give two examples of fixed capital.
Answer: Machines and buildings.

 25. What role do markets play in the expansion of non-farm activities?
Answer: Goods and services produced are sold in the markets.

 26. What is multiple cropping?
Answer: Multiple cropping means growing more than one crop on the same piece of land in a year.

 27. Name the Indian states that tried out the modern farming methods at first.
Answer: Farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh were the first to try out the modern farming methods in India.

 28. What is measured as the crop produced on given piece of land during a single season?
Answer: Yield is measured as crop produced on a given piece of land during a single season.

 29. What are the constituents of modern farming methods?
Answer: The constituents of modern farming methods are use of high yielding variety of seeds, using chemical fertilisers and pesticides, as well as using plenty of water for irrigation.

 30. Mention one difference between land and capital.
Answer: Land is a natural resource whereas capital is man-made factor of production.

 31. What is the harmful effect of continuous use of groundwater for tubewell irrigation?
Answer: The continuous use of groundwater for tubewell irrigation has led to the depletion of the water-table.

 32. What is aim of production?
Answer: The aim of production is to produce the goods and services that we want.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

 1. What are the essential four requirements for production?
Answer: The essential four requirements for production of goods and services are :

(i) Land, and other natural resources like water, forests, minerals.

(ii) Labour, i.e., people who will do the work. Each worker is providing the labour necessary for production.?

(iii) The third requirement is physical capital, i.e., variety of inputs required at every stage during production.

(iv) The fourth requirement is knowledge and enterprise to be able to put together land, labour and physical capital and produce an output.

 2. Mention the main features of the Green Revolution.
Answer: The main features of Green Revolution are :

(i) Increase in the production of wheat and rice.

(ii) Use of chemical fertilizers.

(iii) Use of insecticides and pesticides.

(iv) Use of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of seeds.

(v) Mechanisation of agriculture.

 3. What are the harmful effects of the Green Revolution.
Answer: The harmful effects of the Green Revolution are :

(i) The Green Revolutions is responsible for the loss of soil fertility due to increased use of chemical fertilizers.

(ii) The 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.

 4. What do you mean by working capital?
Answer: 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.

 5. What was the major disadvantage associated with HYV seeds? Explain.
Answer: The biggest disadvantage associated with HYV seeds is the requirement of plenty of water and chemical fertilisers and pesticides to produce best results. Higher yields are possible only from combination of HYV seeds, irrigation, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, etc. Chemical fertilisers and pesticides degrade our environment by killing necessary bacteria in soil. Poor farmers can not afford HYV seeds due to increased requirement of fertilisers and machinery. New machinery replaced manual labour leading to unemployment and rural-urban migration.

 6. Discuss dairy farming, a non-farming, activity in village Palampur, in detail.
Answer: Dairy is a common activity in many families of Palampur. People feed their buffalos on various kinds of grass, the jowar and bajra that grow during the rainy season. The milk is sold in Raiganj, the nearby large village.
Two traders from Shahpur town have set up collection cum chilling centers at Raiganj from where the milk is transported to far away towns and cities.

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

 8. Describe transportation, a non-farming activity in village Palampur, in detail.
Answer: There are varieties of vehicles on the road connecting Palampur to Raiganj.

Rickshawallahs, tongawallahs, 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.

 9. How did Mishrilal managed to get a small profit in his business?
Answer: 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.

 10. What do you mean by physical capital? What are the items that come under physical capital?
Answer: Physical capital includes the variety of inputs required at every stage during production. The following items come under the category of physical capital:
(a) 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, building can be used in production over many years.
(b) 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.

 11. Write a short note on shopkeeping, a non-farming activity in village Palampur.
Answer: There are very less people involved in trade in Palampur. The traders of Palampur are shopkeepers who buy various goods from wholesale markets in the cities and sell them in the village. There are small general stores in the village selling a wide range of items like rice, wheat, sugar, tea, oil, biscuits, soap, toothpaste, batteries, candles, notebooks, pen, pencil, even some clothes. A few of the families whose houses are close to the bus stand have used a part of the space to open small shops. They sell eatables.

 12. What are the various types of crops grown in village Palampur?
Answer: 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.

 13. What do you mean by surplus? How is the sale of surplus farm products done?
Answer: Surplus is the difference between the quantity of total production of the crop produced by the farmer and the quantity that he keeps for self-consumption.

Medium and large farmers produce a large surplus of the crop. By selling this surplus crop in the market, they earn income. The traders at the market buy the crop and sell it further to the shopkeepers in the towns and cities.

 14. How is the required capital in farming arranged?
Answer: 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.