Describe the work of a farmer with 1 hectare of land.

☛ Notes and Study Material – Chapter 1 The story of Village Palampur Intext Questions Page 3 Question 1. The following table 1.1 shows that the land under cultivation in India in units of million hectares. Plot this on the graph provided. (i) What does the graph show? (ii) Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why? (iii) You have read about the crops grown in Palampur. Fill the following table based on the information on the crops grown in your region. Name of crops Month sown Month harvested Source of irrigation Answer (i) The above graph shows the land under cultivation in India in units of million hectares. The graph shows that the land under cultivation in India was 120 million hectares in 1950 which rose to 140 million hectares in 1970 and remained constant at 140 million hectares till 2000. (ii) Yes, it is important to increase the land area under irrigation firstly so that the farmers can do multiple cropping and grow more than one crops in a year and increase their production and earning. Secondly, use of HYV seeds need of plenty of water to give best results. (iii) Name of crops Month sown Month harvested Source of irrigation Wheat October, December April, July Tubewells and canals Rice June, July September, October Rain, canals and tubewells Jower and Bajra June, July September, October Rain, canals and tubewells Page 5 Question 1. What is the difference between multiple cropping and modern farming method? Answer Multiple Cropping To grow more th...

A farmer with 1 hectare of land shall put under the category of small farmer. Most of the work would be done by the farmer and his family members. The farmer will normally use a pair of bullocks to plough the field. His family members would assist him in sowing the seeds. During harvest time, he may require to hire some labourers.

Thesituation of a farmer with 1 hectare of land is truly problematic. Since the land area cultivated by him is small, the output is generally low. The produce is barely enough for the survival of his family. To begin work on his farm, he needs to buy seeds and fertilisers. For these, he needs sufficient capital, which is provided to him by the large farmers, traders and moneylenders as loan. The loan comes with a high rate of interest and often requires him to work in the lender’s fields. He works on his field along with his family members. Even after all their efforts of ploughing and sowing seeds, the output depends upon the availability or non-availability of water for irrigation. If irrigation facilities are not available, then the output is more or less dependent upon rainfall, which is uncertain and erratic. Thus, even the low output is not something he can be certain about. Hence, in order to make ends meet, and to repay his loans, he and his family members have to work as farm labourers. Afterharvest, there is little or no surplus left as almost all the produce is either used for his needs or for repaying his lenders. The lack of savings prevents him from adopting better farming practises and improving the conditions on his farm and in his house. As he is left with almost no working capital, his situation at the end of the day is still the same. He is still in need of money to start working on his farm, and for this, he takes more loans. Thus, he remains in the vic...