Agriculture is the most important sector of the Indian economy. The Indian agriculture sector accounts for 18 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 50% of the country’s workforce. India is the world’s largest producer of pulses, rice, wheat, spices and spice products. CBSE Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 – The Story of Village Palampur discusses topics related to the organisation of production, labour work, capital, crop production, transport, etc. All these topics are covered in our CBSE Class 9 Economics notes of Chapter 1, which are prepared by our subject experts. With these CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes, learning Economics can be easy and effective. CBSE Class 9 Economics notes of Chapter 1 include all crucial concepts that help students to learn the chapter properly.
CBSE Class 9 Economics Notes Chapter 1 – The Story of Village Palampur
Overview
An introduction to some basic concepts related to production through a hypothetical village called Palampur, where farming is the main activity. The village also has several other activities, such as small-scale manufacturing, dairy, transport, etc., carried out on a limited scale.
Introduction
Palampur is fairly connected with a well-developed system of roads, transport, electricity, irrigation, schools and health centres. The story of Palampur takes us through the different types of production activities in the village. In India, farming is the main production activity across villages.
Organisation of Production
The main aim of production is to produce goods and services, which require four essential components.
- Land and other natural resources such as water, forests, minerals
- Labour
- Physical capital, such as tools, machines, buildings, raw materials and money
A variety of raw materials are required during the process of production, such as the yarn used by the weaver and the clay used by the potter. Money is also essential during production, and both of them in hand is called working capital. The fourth requirement is knowledge and enterprise to be able to put together land, labour and physical capital and produce an output. The factors of production are combining land, labour, physical capital and human capital.
Farming in Palampur
1. Land is fixed
For Palampur, village farming is their main product, and the well-being of these people is related to production on the farms. But, there is a basic constraint in raising farm production. The land area under cultivation is practically fixed.
2. Is there a way one can grow more from the same land?
In the rainy season, Kharif farmers grow jowar and bajra, followed by the cultivation of potatoes between October and December. In winter, farmers grow wheat and a part of the land is devoted to sugarcane, harvested once every year. Due to well-developed irrigation, farmers can grow three different crops. Electricity transformed the system of irrigation. Multiple cropping means to grow more than one crop on a piece of land. Another way for higher yield is modern farming. In the later 1960s, the Green Revolution introduced the Indian farmer to the cultivation of wheat and rice using high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds.
3. Will the land sustain?
Modern farming methods have overused the natural resource base. Due to the increased use of chemical fertilisers, the soil lost its fertility. Natural resources like soil fertility and groundwater are destroyed, and it is very difficult to restore them.
4. How is land distributed between the farmers of Palampur?
The land is important for any kind of farming. In Palampur, about one-third of the 450 families are landless. Dalits have no land for cultivation. 240 families cultivate small plots of land less than 2 hectares in size. In Palampur, there are 60 families of medium and large farmers who cultivate more than 2 hectares of land.
5. Who will provide the labour?
Small farmers cultivate their own lands. Medium and large farmers hire labourers to cultivate their fields who come either from landless families or families cultivating small plots of land. Farm labourers will not have any right over the crops grown on the land. They will be paid wages for their work which can be cash or in-kind, e.g. crop. Sometimes labourers get meals also. Wages vary from region to region, crop to crop, and from one farm activity to another. Farm labourers are employed on a daily basis, or for one particular farm activity like harvesting, or for the whole year.
6. Capital needed in farming
Modern farming methods require a great deal of capital.
1. Most small farmers borrow money from large farmers or village moneylenders or traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. The rate of interest on such loans is very high.
2. The medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming. They are thus able to arrange for the capital needed.
7. Sale of surplus farm products
The wheat the farmers produce from the land is retained in part for their family consumption, and they sell the surplus wheat. Only the medium and large farmers supply wheat to the market.
Non-Farm Activities in Palampur
25 per cent of the people working in Palampur are engaged in activities other than agriculture.
1. Dairy — the other common activity
Other than agriculture, some people are engaged in dairy, and the milk is sold in the nearby village.
2. An example of small-scale manufacturing in Palampur
People are engaged in small-scale manufacturing, which is carried out at home or in the fields. This manufacturing involves very simple production methods.
3. The shopkeepers of Palampur
Traders of Palampur buy various goods from wholesale markets in the cities and sell them in the village. General stores in the village sell a wide range of items like rice, wheat, sugar, tea, oil, biscuits, soap, toothpaste, batteries, candles, notebooks, pens, pencils, and even some types of cloth.
4. Transport: a fast-developing sector
Transport services include rickshaws, tongas, jeeps, tractors, truck drivers, traditional bullock carts and bogeys. They transport people and goods from one place to another and, in return, get paid for it.
Frequently Asked Questions on CBSE Class 9 Economics Notes Chapter 1 The Story of Village Palampur
Where is Palampur located?
Palampur is a hill station and a municipal corporation situated in the Kangra District in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
What are the products of the dairy industry?
The dairy industry processes raw milk into an array of products, including butter, cheese, cream, yoghurt, ghee, condensed milk, dried milk, ice cream, etc.
What is ‘physical capital’?
Physical capital consists of human-made objects that a company buys or invests in and uses to produce goods.
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