CLASS 9 ECONOMICS CHAPTER 1 - THE STORY OF VILLAGE PALAPUR
CLASS 9
ECONOMICS CHAPTER 1 - THE STORY OF VILLAGE PALAPUR
Know the Terms
Labour: It refers to the people who are available for
work.
Capital: It is the form of money or assets, taken as a
sign of the financial strength of an individual and assumed to be available for
development or investment.
Physical capital: The variety of inputs required the process of
production.
Fixed capital: The part of physical capital which can be
used in process of production over many years and cannot be altered in short
periods.
Working capital: The part of physical capital which can be
used in production.
Human capital: It is the stock of skills and productive
knowledge embodied in them. Physical capital cannot deliver goods in the
absence of adequate trained human power.
Multiple cropping: The practice of growing more than one crop on
a piece of land during a year.
Yield: Agriculture yield is measured as a crop
produced on a given piece of land during single season.
Non-farming activity: It refers to the activities in a village
other than farming. This includes manufacturing and transportation.
Green Revolution: Large increase in agriculture production
after 1967-68 due to the adoption of new agriculture strategy which implied a
simultaneous use of better and modern agriculture inputs.
Rural Economy
The village described in this chapter is
somewhat big in size. It is well connected by all-weather road from the nearest
town. The village has a primary health centre, school, irrigation facilities
and electricity supply.
The percentage of such villages is minuscule in
India. Most of the villages do not have proper connectivity with the nearest
town. They may not be having hospital and schools. Electricity supply can be
quite erratic in many villages.
In a typical village; like Palampur; people of
different castes and communities live. A village can have 50 to 500 families.
Most of the land is usually owned by upper caste people. Rest of the land is
owned by the Other Backward Classes and minorities. The Dalits usually comprise
the landless labour. They normally live on the outskirts of the village.
Organisation of
Production:
There are four main requirements for organization of production and they are as
follows:
Land: Land is fixed and scarce. There is not method
by which the land can be increased. The growth of population has increased
pressure on land. Division of property through subsequent generations has
resulted in agricultural plots becoming much smaller. This has also affected
the scale economies in farming.
Labour: Labour is available in plenty because of a
huge army of unemployed. Many people from the poor section are illiterate and
hence have to work as unskilled labour. The government provides guidelines on
minimum wages from time to time. But because of less demand and huge supply of
labour, there are many cases where the farm workers may not be getting even the
minimum wages.
Physical capital: Tools, machines and buildings comprise the
fixed capital in farming. Money is needed as working capital to buy seeds and
fertilisers and also to pay the cost of irrigation.
Human Capital (Knowledge and enterprise): A farmer also needs the knowledge and
enterprise to effectively manage production. In most of the cases, certain
knowledge is passed down through generations. Government has also taken
initiative in improving the knowledge of farmers. Population which is educated,
healthy and trained human capita is the most important requirement.
Improving Farm Productivity: Since land cannot be increase so one needs to
find some other methods to improve farm productivity. Use of modern farming
techniques, machineries and high yield varieties of seeds can help in improving
farm productivity.
Government has made good networks of canals in
many parts of the country. This has helped in improving the irrigation
facilities. Seeds and fertilisers are made available at subsidized rates for
the benefit of farmers.
If proper irrigation facilities are in place,
then farmers of a village can grow up to three crops in a year. By doing mixed
cropping, they can also improve the productivity substantially.
Disadvantages of
Overuse of Land:
After the Green Revolution, food grain
production has increased manifold in India. But the Green Revolution has also
brought many problems. There excess exploitation of groundwater at many places
which has resulted in water table going down at many places. Water shortage is
becoming a recurring problem in most of the villages.
Overuse of chemical fertilisers has reduced
soil fertility and there is a danger of many farmlands turning barren. Before
the advent of the Green Revolution, farmers normally used manure and compost to
improve yield. Such a practice was eco-friendly and could be sustained for a
longer period.
Excess use of chemical fertilizers also
contaminates drinking water.
Uneven
Distribution of Land:
In most of the villages, there is uneven
distribution of land. A major portion of the land is owned by a handful of
farmers, while most of the other farmers have to depend on small patches of
land. Small plot of land means that the farmer may not be in a position to even
meet his family needs. The landless farmers are the worst lot because they have
to work on other’s land to earn a livelihood.
Problem of
Migration:
Farming is a seasonal occupation. For landless
labourers; this means that they do not get work in certain months of the year.
They often migrate to cities in search of livelihood. Many landless labourers
from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh migrate to Punjab to work as farm workers. The
Government had introduced the employment guarantee programme called MNREGA
(Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee). Under this programme, one
member of each rural family is given 100 days employment in a year. This
programme has helped in reducing the migration from many villages.
Problem of
capital:
While the big farmers usually have surplus
cash, the small farmers may need to borrow to buy seeds, fertilizers and farm
equipments. They may go to a bank or cooperative to borrow money. But most of
the time, the local merchant or moneylender comes to their rescue. Taking a
loan from the local merchant and moneylender is more risky as it carries a
higher rate of interest compared to what is prevalent in the banks. There are
many cases, when a small farmer is unable to repay the debt on time. Such
farmers often get caught in the debt trap.
Sale of Surplus
Farm Produce:
After the harvest, the big farmers are able to
produce surplus than what they need for their family. The surplus farm produce
is sold in the nearby mandi. The government also procures farm produce at an
MSP (Minimum Support Price). The merchants from cities and towns purchase the
farm produce from mandis in big villages. The farm produce bought by the
government is stored in FCI (Food Corporation of India) go-downs and used
through Public Distribution System (PDS).
Non-farm Activities
in Villages:
Dairy: Many farmers rear cows and buffaloes so that
they can have an extra source of income. They earn money by selling milk.
Now-a-days, milk is often collected by the milk cooperatives.
Small scale manufacturing: Some people are engaged in small scale
manufacturing; like making jaggery. Primitive machines are used in such
activities and family members contribute in the work.
Shops: Some small shops can also be seen in bigger
villages, e.g. grocery stores, cloth stores, medicine shop, etc.
Other Activities: Many people are engaged in various economic
activities, like repairing shops, tuition classes, barber shop, mobile
repairing shop, etc.
Transportation: Some people are also engaged in
transportation. Some of them ply cycle rickshaws, while some of them may be
driving auto rickshaws or minibuses.
Values related to
the changes in irrigation techniques in the past several years.
Traditionally, the farmers used to plough the
fields with ploughs. These ploughs were drawn by bullocks. They used cow-dung,
seeds and manure for fertilizers.
But, now-a-days farmers use modern machineries
like tractors and threshers. They use high yielding seeds, chemical fertilizers
and insecticides. All these techniques have improved the yield per hectares, as
well as the lives of the farmers.
Develop more production activities to enhance
employment opportunities in villages
Infrastructure: Increased infrastructure is the
most important priority for the future.
Regulatory restrictions on small scale sector:
Small scale sector especially in rural areas needs to the protected by capital
investment restriction so that they are not taken away by corporate.
Forward and Backward linkages: Froward linkages
of the non-farming sector serves as inputs to other sectors. In backward
linkages the non-farming sector demands the outputs.
Quality of Manpower: Education and health of
the people especially in rural areas need to be looked after.
Comments
Post a Comment