Sunday, 27 August 2017

The Story of Village Palampur

Palampur is a small village having about 450 families. It is 3 km away from Raiganj - a big village. Shahpur is the nearest town to the village.
Main Production Activities
Farming is  the main production activity in the village Palampur.  Most of the people are dependent on farming for their livelihood. Non-farming activities such as dairy, small-scale manufacturing (e.g. activities of weavers and potters, etc.), transport, etc., are carried out on a limited scale.
Factors of Production (Or Requirements for Production of Goods and Services)
Land, labour and capital are the basic requirements for production of goods and services which are popularly known as factors of production. Land includes all free gifts of nature, e.g., soil, water, forests, minerals, etc. Labour means human effort which of course includes physical as well as mental labour. Physical capital is the third requirement for production. Physical capital includes fixed capital (e.g. tools, machines, building, etc.) and raw materials such as seeds for the farmer, yarn for the weaver.
Important Changes  in Farm Activities
Land area under cultivation is virtually fixed. However, some wastelands in India had been converted into cultivable land after 1960.
Over the years, there have been important changes in the way of farming, which have allowed the farmers to produce more crops from the same amount of land.
These changes include :
(a)  Multiple cropping farming
(b)  Use of modern farming methods.
Due to these changes  (in the late 1960s) productivity of land has  increased substantially which  is  known  as  Green  Revolution.  Farmers  of  Punjab,  Haryana  and  western  Uttar Pradesh were the first to try out the modern farming methods in India.
Labour : After land, labour is the next basic factor of production. Small farmers provide their own  labour,  whereas  medium  and  large farmers  make  use  of  hired  labour  to  work  on their  fields.
Capital : After land and labour, capital is another basic factor of production. All categories of farmers (e.g. small, medium and large) require capital. Small farmers borrow from large farmers  or  the village  moneylenders  or  the traders  who  supply  them various  inputs  for cultivation.
Modern farming requires a great deal of capital.
Sale of Surplus Farm Products
Farmers produce crops on their lands by using the three factors of production, viz. land,
labour and capital. They retain a part of produce for self-consumption and sell the surplus in  the nearby  market.  That  part  of  farm produce  which  is  sold  in  the market  is  called marketable surplus. Small farmers have little surplus output. It is the medium and large farmers only who have substantial surplus produce for selling in the market.
Non-farm activities
Out  of  every 100  workers  in the rural areas  in India,  only  24  are engaged  in non-farm activities. There is a variety of non-farm activities in the villages. Dairy, small scale manufacturing, transport, etc., fall under this category.

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