NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science Chapter 17 - The Story of Village Palampur

Answer:

Based on information related to Palampur, some of the details are as follows
(a) Location: Western part of Uttar Pradesh
(b) Total Area of the Village: 300 hectares

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Modern farming methods require inputs such as farm machinery, fertilisers, HYV seeds, pesticides, canals, pump sets, diesel, etc., that can be manufactured only in industries.

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The spread of electricity helped farmers in Palampur in the following ways:
(i) Electricity has transformed the system of irrigation. Tubewells are run by electricity which irrigate much larger areas of land.
(ii) Farmers bought tools and machinery run by electricity, which speeded up the process of production.
(iii) Electricity is also used in small scale businesses.

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Rain is still the only means of irrigation in many Indian villages. It is important to increase the area under irrigation in order to increase the quantity of production. With the help of modern means of irrigation, even dry regions can be brought under cultivation.

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The table below shows the distribution of land among the 450 families of Palampur.

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Most of the farm labourers in Palampur are unskilled. The wages for farm labourers in Palampur are less than the minimum wages because there is heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in Palampur. The supply of labourers is less than their demand. Thus, the landless labourers agree to work at much lower wages than the wages fixed by the government.

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The different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land are as follows:
(i) Use of modern irrigation facilities such as canals, pumpsets, dams, etc.
(ii) Use of high quality seeds, fertilisers and pesticides
(iii) Use of modern machinery such as tractors, combines, threshers, drilling machines, motors, etc.
(iv) Adoption of farming techniques such as multiple cropping.

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A farmer with 1 hectare of land can work on his own field. He can take help from his family members.
From the produce, farmers keep sufficient wheat for the family’s consumption and sell the surplus in the nearby towns.

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Medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming from their own savings or take loans from the banks. Small farmers, on the other hand, do not have sufficient funds. They borrow from large farmers or the village moneylenders or the traders, who supply various inputs for cultivation. The interest on such loans is very high.

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Savita got a loan of ₹3,000 from Tajpal Singh at an interest rate of 24 per cent for four months. Along with such high interest rate, Savita also promised to work on Tajpal Singh’s field as a farm labourer during the harvest season, at a very low wage of ₹35 per day.
Savita’s condition could have been different if she could get a loan from the bank. Banks usually offer loan to small farmers at a reasonable rate of interest. Moreover, she would not have to work for the bank at such low wage rates.

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In the past 30 years, there were no irrigation facilities available in the area. Agriculture was merely a gamble on rain. Good rainy season helped in good production. Methods of production were also traditional. Traditional seeds resulted in low yield. Today, however, with the continuous efforts of the government, people have welcomed the use of various types of modern irrigation methods and HYV techniques such as seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, etc., which has resulted in the increase in production.

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The various non-farm production activities include:
(i) Dairy and fishing
(ii) Tailoring and shop-keeping
(iii) Transportation activities
(iv) Small manufacturing of tools
(v) Cottage industry

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The following measures can be adopted to encourage more farm production activities in the villages:
(i) Farmers should be provided capital at cheap rates.
(ii) Village markets should be linked with urban markets through improved transportation facilities.
(iii) The infrastructure of villages should be improved.
(iv) Farmers should be educated about the latest technology and methods of production on a regular basis.
(v) Farmers should be encouraged to diversify and involve in-farm activities such as forestry, fishing and horticulture.

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Yes, it is very important to increase the area under irrigation as it will increase the production to feed the rapidly growing population of India.

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Multiple cropping is the method of growing more than one crop on the same piece of land during different seasons of the year. On the other hand, modern farming methods include the use of tubewells for irrigation, HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers and pesticides in farming. Modern farming methods also include the use of machinery like tractors and threshers.

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The graph below shows the production of pulses and wheat:

Green Revolution was not equally successful for both the crops. While the production of wheat increased significantly, the production of pulses has remained more or less the same.

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The working capital required by the farmer using modern farming methods includes HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers, diesel, pesticides and insecticides, etc.

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Modern farming methods require both working as well as fixed capital. Thus, the farmers require more cash than before to start with farming.

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Many families of farmers cultivate small plots of land due to the tendency of dividing the large family’s land among sons, brothers and other family members.

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It is clear from the above graph that in India, 85 per cent of the farmers have less than 2 hectares of land. These farmers cultivate only 44.6 per cent of the total cultivated area. In contrast to this, 15 per cent of the farmers have more than 2 hectare of land and have 55.4 per cent of the total cultivated area. This describes the extent of inequality in the distribution of land in our country.

Answer:

Yes, the distribution of cultivated land is unequal in Palampur because 240 families in Palampur cultivate less than 2 hectares of land while 60 families cultivate more than 2 hectares. Only a few farmers have 10 or more than 10 hectares of land. We find a similar situation in India as well.

Answer:

The work shown in the given picture is as follows. The sequence of these activities has been stated along with.
(i) Cutting of the crops 6
(ii) Ploughing with the bullock 2
(iii) Spraying of insecticides 5
(iv) Sowing the field 4
(v) Cultivation by traditional method 1
(vi) Cultivation by modern method 3

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Farm labourers like Dala and Ram Kali are poor because they could not get work on regular basis.
Due to competition among labourers, they get wages even less than the minimum wages fixed by the government.

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People migrate due to the non-availability of proper wage providing work at their native place of living or in search of higher wages. The migrants of Gosaipur and Majauli might do the following work at the place of destination:

• As farm labourers
• Household servants
• Workers in factories
• Helpers at hotels, shops, etc.
• As rickshaw-pullers
• Assist plumbers, electricians, etc.
• Work as carpenters, painters, etc.

Answer:

Among the three factors of production, we found that labour is the most abundant factor of production. There are many people who are willing to work as farm labourers in the villages, whereas the opportunities of work are limited. They belong to either landless families or families cultivating small plots of land. They are paid low wages and lead a difficult life.
In contrast to labour, land is a scarce factor of production. Cultivated land area is less. Moreover, even the existing land is distributed unequally (unequally/equally) among the people engaged in farming. There are a large number of small farmers who cultivate small plots of land and live in conditions not much better than the landless farm labourer. To make the maximum use of the existing land, farmers use multiple cropping and modern farming methods. Both these have led to increase in production of crops.
Modern farming methods require a great deal of capital. Small farmers usually need to borrow money to arrange for the capital, and are put to great distress to repay the loan. Therefore, capital too is a scarce factor of production, particularly for the small farmers.
Though, both land and capital are scarce, there is a basic difference between the two factors of production. Land is a natural resource, whereas capital is man-made. It is possible to increase capital, whereas land is fixed. Therefore, it is very important that we take good care of land and other natural resources used in farming.

Answer:

(i) Completed tables are as below:

(ii) The production by Farmer 1 kept on increasing day-by-day over the years. Farmer 2, on the other hand, remained constant over the years. Also, Farmer 3’s production of wheat is decreasing.
(iii) In the 3rd year, the farmer does not have any capital to undertake production. In order to continue production, the farmer would have to borrow funds. With those funds, Farmer 3 should adopt modern farming methods, so that he is in a position to produce surplus crop.

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Mishrilal needed mechanical sugarcane crushing machines, run on electricity, to set up his jaggery manufacturing unit.

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Mishrilal and his family members can themselves provide the labour in this case. He can also hire landless labourers.

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Mishrilal is unable to increase his profit because the land allocated for the production of sugarcane is limited in his village.

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He might face a loss if the demand for jaggery falls. There can also be certain reasons which can cause the production of sugarcane resulting in loss to Mishrilal. These reasons can be:

• Defect in machinery
• Drought or any natural calamity
• Increase in the price of inputs

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Mishrilal sells his jaggery to traders in Shahpur, as the market for jaggery in Shahpur is big in comparison to his village. Hence, he can earn more profit there.

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Kareem’s capital is computer while Mishrilal’s capital is mechanical sugarcane crushing machine.
Kareem’s labour is hired and qualified whereas Mishrilal’s labour is self-employed.

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The following can be the reasons for not starting a computer centre earlier:

• Lack of demand, due to unawareness about such a course.
• Insufficient faculty to run a computer centre.

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Kishora’s fixed capital includes a buffalo and a wooden cart.

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His working capital would be money.

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Kishora is involved in three production activities:

• Selling milk
• Making clay pots
• Carrying loads of jaggery and other commodities to Shahpur in his wooden cart

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Due to better roads in Palampur, Kishora can use his wooden cart as a means of transport for carrying loads of jaggery and other commodities to Shahpur. This has helped him increase his income.