IX Economics Ch-1 Story of Village Palampur

IX   Economics Ch-1

Story of Village Palampur

 

Topic: Factors of Production

Production-

*Production is a process of combining inputs to get finished products in the form of goods and services

*Basic  aim  of  production  is  to  produce  goods  and  services  that  we  want.

 

Four requirements of production

 

There are four requirements of production of goods and services. These requirements are known as factors of production. These are:

(i)  Land  :  By  land  we  mean  not  only  the  level  surface  but  all  gifts  of  nature  which  are  amenable  to  human control, such as water, forests, minerals etc.

 

(ii)  Labour  :  Manpower  required  to  do  the  work.  The mental and  physical  work  done  by  people  in  an organisation comes under labour.

*Small farmers provide their own labour, whereas medium and large farmers make use of hired labour to work on their fields.

 

(iii) Physical Capital : It means a variety of inputs required at every stage during production. They can be classified as:

(a) Fixed capital

(b) Working capital

 

Both fixed capital and working capital are the parts of physical capital required for production.

(i) Fixed Capital :

(a) It includes fixed factors of production which are used for years.

 (b) Tools and machines range from very simple tools such as a farmer's plough to sophisticated machines such as generators, turbines etc.

(c)  It  includes  tools,  machines,  buildings  etc.  (d)  They  remain  constant  for  many  years  of  production  and increased or decreased only when needed.

 

 

(ii) Working Capital :

(a) It includes variable factors of production which are needed to be arranged every time at the time of production.

(b) Whatever money and raw material required for production are included in it.

(c) It is required to be arranged according to the desired production.

(d) They are dynamic depending upon the profits and income of last season

 

Modern farming requires a great deal of capital.

 

(iv)  Enterprise : It means need of knowledge and enterprise to put together all other factors of production and ability to sell the produce in the market. This is also called human capital.

_

Topic: Land as a Factors of Production

 

*Land  is  the  leveled  surface  it includes  other  natural  resources  such  as  water,  forests,  minerals  etc  used  for production of goods and services.

*Land is very important for us because We live on it.

*We fulfill our basic need from land. We use land for agriculture, industries, human settlement and transportation.

 

Optimal utilisation of land.

 

Land area under cultivation is fixed. So, the ways of increasing farm produce on the same piece of land are :

(i)  Multiple cropping : It is the most common way of increasing production on a given piece of land. Under it, more than one crop is grown on the same piece of land during the year.

Indian farmers should grow at least two main crops in a year. Some farmers have been growing a third crop also over the past twenty years.

 

 (ii) Use of modern technology : By the use of well developed technology farmers are   able to cultivate their land with greater efficiency.

 

(iii)  Use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides Farmers use pump sets for irrigation, threshers for threshing, harvesters  for  harvesting,  tractors  for  ploughing  etc.

*Use  of  chemical  fertilisers  and  pesticides  improves  fertility  of  soil  and reduces pest respectively for the particular period of production.

*This improves the quantity of production.

Land degradation

 

*Land degradation Is a process in which the biophysical value of land  and its fertility degrades .

Reasons for land degradation are soil erosion deforestation, ,desertification , over grazing excessive mining activities excessive use of chemical fertilisers or modern techniques of farming destroys land and all other natural resources.

Conservation  of Land

 

Land can be sustained through following ways :

(i)  Limited use of chemical fertilisers :  Chemical fertilisers should be used in a limited number and only as the per the requirement. Excessive use of chemical fertilisers destroys the fertility of land.

 

(ii)  Crop rotation :  Crops should be planted in such a way that land gets time of restore its fertility. Different nutrients are required with different lands, therefore planning of multiple cropping should be done in such a way that the land is also able to restore the lost nutrients.

 

(iii)  Waste of chemical fertilisers : Waste of chemical fertilisers or pesticides should not be thrown in the water bodies of village as this will pollute the water.

(iv)  Controlled  use  of  ground  water  :  Ground  water  should  be  adequately  used  so  that  there  is  minimum wastage of ground water.

Topic: Green Revolution and its Impact

Green Revolution

*Green Revolution was started in the late 1960s with an aim of achieving self sufficiency in the production of grains like wheat and rice.

*The introduction of HYV seeds and the increased use of fertilizers and irrigation are known collectively as the Green Revolution

 

Impact of Green Revolution

 

Limited Impact

*The initial impact of Green Revolution was limited to wheat and only to a few regions .

*Initially only the farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in India.

*Farmers used tube wells for irrigation and made use of HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers and pesticides in farming.

* Capital  required  for  using  HYV  seeds  was  very  high.  Therefore  small  farmers  and  many  backward  regions could not use the modern techniques.

* Use of HYV seeds require all other modern techniques of cultivation also therefore for initial time it remained unapproachable in many backward villages and small farmers which work without electricity or own poor farm distribution.

 

Positive effects

Positive effects and achievements of green revolution are :

(i)  Increase  in  productivity  of  grains  :

  Use  of  HYV  seeds  produced  much  more  amount  of  wheat  and  rice  in comparison to traditional seeds.

 

 

(ii)  Modernisation of agriculture :

 HYV seeds required well-developed irrigation, use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

*Use of farm machinery was also encouraged in the green revolution which resulted in development and modernisaton of agriculture.

*It also increased the surplus production of food grains in India and made India self-sufficient in foodgrains.

 *Food grain yields continued to increase throughout  the 1980s. In 1980, almost 75 percent of the total cropped area under wheat was sown with HYV seeds.

 

Negative effects

 

Drawbacks of Green Revolution :

(i)  Decline in fertility of soil : Too much use of chemical fertilisers resulted in decline of fertility of soil.

*Farmers have to use more and more chemical fertilisers which increases the loss of production.

 

(ii) Level of groundwater:

Use of groundwater for cultivation with the help of tube wells have caused decline in level of ground water.                     

Topic: Modern farming methods

 

Ways to Increase farm production

Land area under cultivation is  fixed.

There are two ways of increasing farm produce on the same piece of land. These are :

(i) Multiple Cropping

 (ii) Modern Farming Methods

 

Modern farming methods

*Production on the same piece of land can be increased by adopting modern farming methods.

*Modern farming methods means the use of improved methods and techniques  in agriculture to increase yield per hectare. these methods include use of HYV seeds, insecticides, pesticides, electric tube-well etc.

*The Green Revolution in India is a remarkable example of it. Under modern farming, more cultivable areas should be brought under HYV seeds and irrigation.

*The use of simple wooden plough must be replaced by tractors. The increasing use of farm machinery like tractors, threshers, harvesters, etc. make cultivation faster.

*Modern farming method require higher investment in farming because they carry higher cost than traditional farming.

 

Its basic features are

 

 (i) Use of HYV seeds : Use of High Yielding Variety seeds promises larger quantity of production of food grains.

 

(ii)  Use of farm machinery:  Use of machinery for irrigation, harvesting, threshing etc improves the quality of  work as well as reduces time consumption.

(iii)  Use  of  chemical  fertilisers  and  pesticides  :  Use  of  chemical  fertilisers  and  pesticides  ensure  the  farmers about the better upbringing of crops in quality and quantity.

 

Modern farming requires more inputs than traditional farming. It requires inputs like chemical, fertilisers, pesticides, pump sets, farm machinery, electricity, diesel, HYV seeds, water supply.

Most of these inputs are manufactured in industries.

 

Multiple cropping

 

*It is the most common way of increasing production on a given piece of land. Under it, more than one crop is grown on the same piece of land during the year. *In India, some farmers are growing a third crop also over the past 20 years.

 

Advantages of multiple cropping

Advantages of multiple cropping are :

(a)  Efficient use of land:  Land is not left idle at any time of the year and therefore more efficiently used in the process of production.

(b) Increase of production: It increases the production on a piece of land during the year.

(c) Increase in income: Multiple cropping increases the agricultural income of the country as well as for the farmers.

 

Disadvantages of  HYV seeds

 

 1.  Biggest  disadvantage  associated  with  HYV  seeds  is  bigger  requirement  of  water  and  also  chemical  fertilisers and pesticides to produce best results.

 

2. Higher yields are possible only from combination of HYV seeds, irrigation, chemical fertilisers, pesticides etc. 

3. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides degrade our environment killing necessary bacteria in soil. Poor farmers could not afford HYV seeds due to increased requirement of fertilisers and machinery.

4. New machinery replaced manual labour leading to unemployment and rural-urban migration

 

Importance of modern irrigation methods

 

*India is an agricultural country. Nearly two-thirds of the people are dependent on farming for their livelihood.

*But of the total cultivated area in the country,  less than 40 per cent is

irrigated even today.

*In the remaining areas, farming is largely dependent on rainfall which is irregular and uncertain. Modern farming methods cannot be used in the absence of assured adequate water supplies.

*India cannot achieve the goal of self-sufficiency in food grains unless the area under irrigation is increased.

 

Difference between Multiple Cropping and Modern Farming :

 

Multiple cropping and modern farming are two ways of increasing production from the same piece of land. Under multiple cropping, production is increased by growing more than one crop on a piece of land during the year. It is the most common way of raising agricultural production.

 

*Under modern farming method, production is increased by using modern technology in place of traditional agricultural practices.

* Under this method, high yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds are used in place of simple seeds.

 

*HYV seeds produce much greater amounts of grain on a single plant. Again, chemical fertilisers are used in place of cow dung and other natural manures.                   

 

Topic: Production and Credit Activities in Palampur

 

Production activities in Palampur

 

Farming activities:  Farming is the main production activity in Palampur.

About 75% of the people depend upon  farming  for their  livelihood.

 *They  use methods  of multiple  farming  and  modern  farming  techniques  for  increase  in  their  productivity. 

*Well-developed  irrigational  facilities  and  use  of  HYV  seeds  has  improved  in production levels of agriculture in Palampur.

 

Non-farming activities

*Non farming activities in Palampur includes dairy farming.

Small scale manufacturing units,  shop-keeping  and  transportation  activities. 

*Milk  is  transported  to  nearby  and  far  of  towns.  Family members, without hired labours run small manufacturing units with simple techniques shop keepers buy various goods  from  wholesale  markets  in  cities  and  sell  them  in  villages.

 

*Dairy Farming :Dairy is a common activity in many families of Palampur.

Many families have cows and buffalos.

 *They feed them on jowar and bajra. They sell milk either in the village or in nearby villages or town

 

* Road  transport  facilities  include  rickshaws, tongs, jeeps, tractors, trucks and bullock carts.

* Small scale and cottage industries-

People at Palampur are Engaged in same kind of small scale and cottage industries. Simple techniques of production are used on a small scale.

 

*Such small scale units are mostly carried at home or in fields with the help of family members.

Sugarcane crushing, carpet weaving and basket  making activities are carried under such production units.

 

Sources of credit

 

Modern farming methods require a great deal of capital, so the small farmers face more difficulties in arranging capital in comparison with medium and large farmers.

Farmers can get loans through the following ways :

(i)  Large farmers or village moneylenders : 

Most of the small farmers prefer taking loans from large farmers or village moneylenders.

*Advantages of taking loans from such sources are :

(a) They are flexible in terms and conditions of repayment and rate of interest.

(b) They know the lenders personally so get loans without collateral security.

 

Disadvantages:

(a) Rate of interest is very high.  

(b) Small farmers are exploited and are trapped in vicious circle of poverty.

 

(ii)  Banks and cooperative societies :  Although, very few number of small farmers  approach banks for loan but they provide them better services.

Advantages of loans from banks and cooperatives:

(a) No exploitation of farmers.      (b) Uniform and nominal rate of interest for all.

 

Disadvantages:

(a) Needs proper security and have set terms and condition

 

Problems faced by farm labourers

 

As we know more than 60 % of Indian population is engaged in agriculture . Most of them are agricultural labourers or small farmers

*Agricultural farm labourers are counted in unorganized sector so their income are not fixed and they are forced to live insecure and underprivileged lives.

 

Their problems are as follows

 

Inadequate wages

*Due to heavy competition for work among the farm labourers, people agree to work for lower wages.

* In 2019 The minimum wages for a farm labourer and casual workers set by government is Rs 176 (3 $)  for 8 hours work in a day but they are generally paid only half of it.

 

* This forces them to take loan from local money lenders which put them in the vicious circle of poverty.

*Their wages vary widely from region to region, from crop to crop, from one farm activity to another (like sowing and harvesting).

 

Indebtedness *Absence of formal sources of credit in the rural areas forces the poor marginal farm labourers  to take loan from the village money lenders .

* These money lenders charge high interest rates sometime 40% to 50  %  and this traps them in the cycle of debt.

 

*Availability of labour : Due to the high availability or the supply of the labour these farm labuorers are most exploited and oppressed section of rural areas.

 

*Duration of employment:  Labourers are sometimes employed on the daily wages and sometimes for the whole year. They do not have security of job.

 

*Use of modern farming techniques make it difficult for farm labourers to get work.

*Tractors are used for ploughing , harvesters for harvesting, threshers for threshing and weedicide for  removing weeds.

This leaves very less or no work for farm labourers. There is no work in the farms opportunities are less and alternative sources of employment do not exist.

 

*These farm labourers are vulnerable to exploitation particularly those who are hired during the off seasons.

 

************* Notes over Here**************

 

Worksheet

Story of Village Palampur

 

1.       What are the four requirements for production of goods and services? Explain

2.       ’’There is so little on the hardworking farm labourers’ plate’’ Justify the statement with suitable arguments.

3.       Differentiate between fixed capital and working capital. State any four points

4.       What is land? Suggest any three ways to sustain land.

5.       Explain four efforts that can be made to increase non-farming production activities in villages?

6.       Explain any four non-farming activities in Palampur village.

7.       What do you mean by Green Revolution? Why was the initial impact of Green

8.       Revolution limited to wheat and only to a few regions?

9.       What are the various ways through which farmers can get loan? Write their advantages and disadvantages.

10.     Is Palampur a developed village? Explain by presenting four arguments.

11.     What are the difficulties faced by small farmers in arranging capital in comparison with medium and large farmers.

12.     Explain any two positive and two negative effects of Green Revolution.

13.     What is Green Revolution? Explain some of its features.

 

14.     What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land. Explain any four points.

15.     What was the basic aim of the ‘Green Revolution’ in India? How did it affect the market economy?

16.     What is the main source of capital for medium and large farmers? How is it different from the small farmers? Explain.

17.     Explain any three modern farming methods of Agriculture.

18.     What are the problems do form labourers face in terms of employment? Explain any three problems.

19.     Why modern farming methods require more inputs which are manufactured in industry? Explain.

 

                                                             ********* ***********