Exercise
Que. 1 Every village in India is surveyed once in ten years during the Census some of details are presented in the following format. Fill up the following based on information on Palampur.
(a)
Location
(b) Total Area of the Village.
(c) Land Use (In Hectares)
|
Cultivated land |
||
|
Irrigated |
Unirrigated |
Land not available for
cultivation (Area covering dwellings, roads, ponds, grazing grounds), |
|
26 hectares |
(d) FACILITIES
|
Educational Medical Market Electricity Communication Nearest Town |
Answer –
(a) Location: Palampur
(b) Total area of
village: 800 hectares
(c) Land used (in
hectares): 700
|
Cultivated land |
||
|
Irrigated |
Unirrigated |
Land not available
for cultivation (Area covering dwellings, roads, ponds, grazing grounds), |
|
200 |
100 |
26 hectares |
(d) FACILITIES
|
Educational : Medical : Market : Electricity : Communication : Nearest Town : |
Two Primary schools
and one high school Primary Health
Centre Narrow market Yes Nominal Shahpur |
Que. 2 Modern farming methods require Communication more inputs which are manufactured in Nearest Town industry. Do you agree?
Answer – Yes, we
do agree that modern farming methods require communication more inputs which
are manufactured in Nearest Town Industry. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides
are the main requirements of modern farming methods and these chemical
fertilizers are prepared in industry.
Que. 3 How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?
Answer –
The spread of electricity has been helpful for the farmers of
Palampur in various ways:
(i)
Now irrigation of
lands can be done in far more better ways. First Persian wheels were used for
the irrigation which was a very slow process and was not so effective. So,
irrigation with the help of electricity will be useful for much larger areas of
land and too quite quickly and effectively.
(ii)
Because of the better
irrigation facilities more and more crops can be grown during one year.
Que. 4 Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why?
Answer – Yes, it is important to increase the area under irrigation. Increasing the area under cultivation is important for following reasons:
1. Because the rainfall is neither certain nor adequate.2. Crops such as rice, wheat, sugarcane require adequate and regular supply of water.
3. Plenty of water is needed for HYV seeds.
Que. 5 Construct a table on the distribution of land among 450 families of Palampur.
Answer – Distribution of land among 450 families of Palampur:
|
No. of families |
Area of land |
|
150 240 60 |
Landless Less than 2 hectare More than 2 hectares |
Que. 6 Why are the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?
Answer – The wages of the farm labourers
are less than minimum wages because the land is fixed and population is
increasing day by day which leads to increase in labour force. As more labour
is available, there is an apparent sense of competition amongst the laborers
which leads to many of them accepting even the low wages if it guarantees them
continued employment.
Que. 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 in cash or kind? Do they get work regularly? Are they in debt?
Answer – After having communication with two labourers working at construction sites, we got following information:
1. Their per day earning as wages is Rs. 90.2. They get their payment in cash.
3. No. their work is not permanent; they don’t have work for every day.
4. They have debts as they take loans from moneylenders in case of any emergencies like illness of family members.
Que. 8 What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land? Use examples to explain.
Answer – There is two different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land:
1. Multiple Cropping Method: This method refers to the cropping method in which more than two crops are grown on a piece of land during a year. This is the most common way of raising the production. This method of cropping is possible if there are the good facilities of irrigation.
2. Modern Farming Methods: This method refers that farming method HYV (high yielding variety) seeds are used instead of traditional seeds. Chemical fertilizers are used instead of animal excreta as manure and other natural fertilizers. In this method irrigation is done with the help of tube wells, tractors are used for ploughing, threshers are also used. At last before harvesting, pesticides and insecticides are sprayed once.
Que. 9 Describe the work of a farmer with 1 hectare of land.
Answer – Owning a land of 1 hectare and doing agriculture on it is not enough for the sustenance of the farmer and the family, which makes it mandatory for him/her to try and find extra sources of income. Generally, this stratum of farmers work on their own plot of land and when they are finished with it, they work as laborers on construction sites or fields of the bigger farmers in order to supplement their meagre income form farming own fields.
Que. 10 How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different from the Small farmers?
Answer – Medium and large farmers obtain
capital for farming from their past savings. The production of medium and large
farmers is usually more than their consumption; this is how they save for their
next round of farming. They sell the extra output in market and earn money. But
small farmers do not have savings because in the very first round of farming,
they don’t have sufficient land to cultivate, thus extra yielding and savings are
not quite possible for them. Their arrangement of capital is done by taking
loans from moneylenders or large farmers.
Que. 11 On what terms did Savita get a loan from Tejpal Singh? Would Savita's condition would be different if she could get a loan from the bank at a low rate of interest?
Answer – Savita got a loan from Tejpal Singh on the following terms:
1. Rate of interest is 24% on the loan for four months.2. She will have to work as a farm labourer during the harvest season at Rs. 35 per day in Tejpal Singh’s field.
Yes, if she applies for the loan from bank then her condition may differ, she could get loan from the bank at a low rate of interest and no other conditions like extra labor on low wages. This could help in improving her financial condition.
Que. 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 – I talked to two old residents in my region related to irrigation and method of farming 30 years back. Many changes in irrigation and production methods can be found.
1. Irrigation: The method of irrigation was a very laborious work 30 years back, because Persian wheels were used by the farmers to draw water from the wells and irrigate small fields. But now after 30 years, the tube wells run by electricity could irrigate much larger areas of land and too effectively and quickly. Tube wells were first set up by government, but now farmers have started setting up their private tube wells.
2. Production Method: 30 years back, production activities like sugarcane crushing was done with the help of bullock, but now people prefer to do it by mechanical sugarcane crushing machine which is run on electricity. This has not only increased the efficiency of the process but also helped the farmers in making more profits out of the process.
Que. 13 What are the non-farm production activities taking place in your region? Make a short list.
Answer – The list of non-farm production activities in our region:
1. Dairy Farming2. Small scale manufacturing
3. Small general stores and selling a wide range of items.
Que. 14 What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in villages?
Answer - Following are the steps which can be taken to start non-farm activities in villages:
1. Villagers must be made aware of various non-farm production activities.2. Loans should be provided by the government at low rate of interest to start or expand non-farm production activities.
3. Transport facilities which are provided in villages should be cheap so that people can easily carry goods to and from the nearby markets.
Que 1 Is
it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why?
Que 2 What
is the difference between multiple cropping and modern farming methods?
Answer – Difference between multiple cropping and modern farming methods:
|
Multiple Cropping |
Modern Farming Methods |
|
1. During the year
more than one crop are grown on the only one piece of land. 2. Animal excreta is
used as manure and fertilizers for better output. 3. Traditional seeds
are used. |
1. During the year
only one kind of crop is grown in bulk. 2. Chemical
fertilizers which are prepared in industries are used for better results. 3. HYV seeds are
used. |
Que 3 What
is the working capital required by the farmer using modern farming methods?
Que 4 Modern farming methods require the farmer to
start with more cash than before. Why?
Que 5 Why
do so many families of farmers cultivate such small plots of land?
Que 6 Would you agree that the distribution of
cultivated land is unequal in Palampur? Do you find a similar situation for
India? Explain.
Que 7 Why
are farm labourers like Dala and Ramkali poor?