NCERT (The Story of village Palampur) Solution

 1. 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:
chemical fertilizers
pesticides
pump sets
farm machinery
electricity
diesel
HYV seeds
water supply
Most of these input 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 industry provide fertilizers and pesticides to boost agriculture. Water supply is done by canals and tanks. Electricity is supplied by powerhouses.

2.How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?
Answer
Electricity came early to Palampur. Its major impact was to transform the system of irrigation. In Palampur, electricity powers all the tube wells in the fields and is used in various types of small business. People saw that the electric-run tubewells could irrigate much more than the ordinary ones.

3. Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why?
Answer
Yes, it is important to increase the area under irrigation because if a country has to increase its production it has to increase the irrigational area.

4.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.

 

5.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.

6. 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.

7. 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.