Farming

The main source of livelihood of 75% of people in the village Palampur.

Major factor – Land , which is fixed in supply .
The only way to expand the cultivable land is to bring the wasteland into
cultivation .

Methods to increase production in the piece of land:

Assumption :
a) The supply of land is fixed.
b) All land is cultivated
c) No land is left idle
1. Multiple cropping: It means to grow more than one crop on same
piece of land in different seasons in a year .
2. It is the most common way of increasing production in one year .
Kharif season (Rainy): July to September mainly Jowar and Bajra are
cultivated.(used as cattle feed )
Pre winter season (Oct to Dec) : Mainly potato is cultivated.
Ravi Season (winter) wheat is grown (Dec to Feb).
Throughout the year, sugarcane can be cultivated.
(used in raw form or in the form of jaggery )
Causes for growing three different crops in one year
 Use of well developed system of irrigation by people of village
Palampur
 Use of Persian Wheel and drawing water from wells to irrigate land was
replaced by electric run tube wells .
 2.Green Revolution/Modern Method of Farming:

 Increase in agricultural production by using HYV seeds,

chemical fertilisers, pesticides and technically developed
machines is called green revolution. Introduced in India in
1960’s to increase production of wheat and rice .It was first
used by farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar
Pradesh .
 Components of green revolution:
 HYV seeds (High Yielding Variety of seeds )
 Modern Farming Methods ( harvesters , thrashers . etc)
 Improved Irrigation ( canals ,dams ,electric pump sets )
 Chemical Fertilizers
 Insecticides and Pesticides
Positive Effects Of Green Revolution

India achieved self sufficiency in food grains .

It enabled government to maintain buffer stock .

India started exporting food grains .

It led to fall in food grain prices .

 Disadvantages of green revolution:
 Loss of soil fertility due to increased use of chemical fertilizers.
 Continuous use of ground water resulted in reduction of
underground water table.
 It is costlier and difficult to afford for the poor farmers.
 Excess use of chemical fertilisers resulted in contamination of
water
 Inequality of income .
 ( use of chemical fertilisers is maximum in Punjab.)
 Distribution of land in Palampur :
There is unequal distribution of land in Palampur .
Division of farmers on the basis of distribution of land:( total population of 450 families)
 Landless Farmers :- 150 families (1/3 rd of the population )
 Small Farmers :- 240 families ( less than 2 hectares of land )
 Large Farmers :- 60 families ( more than 10 hectares of land )
 80 % farmers are marginal and small farmers .Where as 20% farmers are
medium and large farmers .
 This shows economic disparity prevails in Palampur .
 System of wage payment to the labours in farming:
 Wages were mainly in cash or in kind such as paddy, meal, wheat
 Wages varied from region to region, crop to crop and from activity to activity.
 Wage also varied depending on the duration of employment.s
 Differntiate between Multiple Cropping and Modern Farming
Multiple Cropping Modern Farming
1.In this type of cropping different types of 1.In this type of farming a single crop is
crops are grown in the same field during grown in the field .
the year .

2.Any seasonal crop or a crop that can 2.A particular crop is grown .
help retaining soil fertility can be grown .

3.Intensive agriculture is practised . 3.Extensive agriculture is practised .

4.Traditional method of farming is mainly 4.Modern methods of farming is mainly

used . used.

5.Per hectare yield is comparatively low . 5.Per hectare yield is high .

6.It’s less expensive and affordable for 6.It is highly expensive and is affordable
every farmer . by middle or large farmers .
 Capital Needed in farming
1.Small farmers
(a) Small farmers borrow money from
(i) Large Farmers
(ii) Money lenders
(iii) Traders ( who supply various inputs for cultivation )
(b) Problems faced by small farmers by borrowing money:
(i) High interest rate on loans .
(ii)They have to work in the fields of large farmers or the money lenders at very low
wages.
(iii)They were given less time to pay back the loan.
(iv)They had to work hard in their own field and in the field of the money lender.
(v)If lady farmer then, she has to take care of her household work along with working in the
field.
2. Large Farmers
The large farmers have their own savings and they arrange for their capital
requirements .
The ways in which the large farmers spend their surplus money:
i. They save it in bank and get interest.
ii. They lend money to small farmers at high rate of interest .
iii. They spend this surplus money to buy working capital such as seeds, chemical
fertilizers etc.
iv. They also invest money on some non-farm activities like opening shops.
v. They also spend to buy fixed capital such as tractor, cattle, truck, etc.
Sale of Surplus Farm Products
The surplus farm product is sold in the market . In case of Palampur surplus wheat
produce is sold to the nearby villages and towns by the medium and large farmers.
The small farmers have no or very little surplus to be sold .
 Non Farming Activities
Dairy – The most common non farm activity in the village Palampur .
Why is it so ?
• They get easy fodder to feed their cattle ( buffaloes ) on various kinds of grass and
the Jowar and Bajra that grows during the rainy season .
• They sell the milk in Raiganj a nearby large village .
• There is a chilling centre at Shahpur which is set up by two traders , from where
the milk is transported to far away towns and cities .
• Thus they are able to make a good earning .
Small Scale manufacturing industries
In Palampur manufacturing involves .
a) very simple production methods .
b) small scale manufacturing units .
c) carried out mostly at home or in the fields .
d) rarely they use hired labourers .They use their family labour .
Steps taken to encourage non-farm activities

i. Provisions of loan – people can think of their non

farming activities.
ii. By providing vocational training in schools and
colleges.
iii. Developing trading facilities.
iv. Developing infrastructure.
v. Awareness among women to do handicraft ,weaving
etc at home.
vi. Govt Schemes.
vii. Provision of market by the govt to sell the goods made
at home .
Provision of Labour
1. Small farmers and their family members they cultivate their own fields and thus
meet the labour requirement .

2. Medium and large farmers meet their labour requirement by hiring labour .

Who is a farm labour ?

a) Farm labour either come from landless families or families cultivating small plots of
land .
b) They do not have right over the crops grown .
c) They are paid wages either in cash or in kind .(wage is the price of labour).
d) In kind they may be paid in the form of crops or food .
e) Their duration of employment differs . Some may be hired on daily basis or for
one particular farm activity .
( minimum daily wage as on July 2018 is fixed in India to be Rs 375 per day .
This is called National Minimum Wage ,NMW.Which comes to around a minimum
monthly wage of Rs 9,750 assuming a worker works for 26 days a months.
Wage paid in Palampur

Although the wage was fixed at Rs 300 (2017) landless farm labourers in
Palampur were paid Rs 160 per day .

Why do these farmers accept lower wages ?

Because there is widespread unemployment and so there is heavy

competition for work among the farm labourers .
Shop keeping
a) Shop keeping is another non farming economic activity undertaken by the
people of Palampur .

b) They buy goods from the wholesale markets in the cities and sell it in the village .

c) Shops like general stores selling a wide range of stationaries ,biscuits, rice, wheat
sugar, soap ,batteries etc.

d) Few shops selling eatables are also seen .s

Transport – the fastest developing sectors

a) Variety of vehicles are seen connecting Palampur and Rajganj .

b) Rickshaw wallahs , tonga wallahs ,trucks, bullock carts and bogeys are used to
ferry people and goods from one place to another .

c) This adds to the income of the people .