CBSE Class 9 Social Science The Story of Village Palampur Assignment Set 01

Answer: The four requirements are: (1) land and other natural resources such as water, forests and minerals; (2) labour; (3) physical capital, such as tools, machines, buildings, raw materials and money; and (4) human capital, meaning the knowledge and enterprise to combine land, labour and physical capital to produce output.

Teacher's Note: Explain each requirement in one or two lines.

Answer: Physical capital includes tools, machines, buildings, raw materials and money. Money and raw materials used in production are also called working capital.

Teacher's Note: Name the items and note that money is included.

Answer: Yes. Irrigation allows farmers to grow more than one crop in a year, and to use high yielding varieties that need regular water. Irrigation through electricity-powered pumps also reduces dependence on rain, which increases yield from the same fixed land.

Teacher's Note: Link irrigation to multiple cropping and yield.

Answer: Multiple cropping means growing more than one crop on the same land in a year. Modern farming means using high yielding varieties of seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides and irrigation to raise yield per hectare.

Teacher's Note: Multiple cropping is about the number of crops; modern farming is about the inputs and methods used.

Answer: Fixed capital consists of long-lasting assets such as tools, machines and buildings that are used over many years. Working capital consists of items used up in production, such as raw materials, seeds, fertilisers and money for wages, which are spent in each production cycle.

Teacher's Note: Contrast durability: fixed capital lasts for years, working capital is used up in a season.

Answer: The main production activity in Palampur is farming. Its features are: land is fixed, so farmers use multiple cropping and irrigation to increase output; Kharif crops such as jowar and bajra are followed by potato, and wheat is grown in winter; sugarcane is harvested once a year; land is unequally distributed; and farm labour is hired on daily, seasonal or yearly wages.

Teacher's Note: Give features with examples from Palampur.

Answer: A farmer using modern methods needs working capital for seeds of high yielding varieties, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation, and wages for labour, and money to buy these inputs in each season.

Teacher's Note: Modern methods need more inputs, so working capital is higher.

Answer: About one-third of the 450 families are landless, and Dalits have no land for cultivation. 240 families cultivate small plots of less than 2 hectares. Around 60 families are medium and large farmers who cultivate more than 2 hectares.

Teacher's Note: Give the numbers, since the question asks for distribution.

Answer: Yes, land is unequally distributed in Palampur: a third of families are landless and a small number of families own the largest holdings. A similar situation exists in India, where a small proportion of farmers own a large share of land, while many small and landless families depend on wages.

Teacher's Note: Use the Palampur figures to support the answer, and then compare with India.

Answer: Any three of: low yield per hectare; dependence on rainfall and natural fertility; use of traditional tools and natural manure; higher labour input and lower use of capital.

Teacher's Note: Choose three characteristics and explain each briefly.

Answer: Yes. Modern methods need high yielding seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides and machines, which are manufactured in factories. This links agriculture to industry and increases the need for capital.

Teacher's Note: Explain the link between farming and industry.

Answer: Landless families depend on low wages and have little bargaining power. Small farmers borrow at high interest from moneylenders and traders. Large farmers have the savings and access to inputs. The gap between rich and poor widens, and many people look for work outside the village.

Teacher's Note: Mention the effect on labourers, small farmers and the gap between rich and poor.

Answer: Electricity transformed irrigation. Farmers could use pumps to water their fields, which allowed multiple cropping and reduced their dependence on rain. This increased production from the same land.

Teacher's Note: Link electricity to irrigation and multiple cropping.

Answer: Yes. Irrigation allows multiple cropping, supports high yielding varieties, and reduces dependence on rain, so output rises from the same fixed land.

Teacher's Note: This question repeats question 3. Use the same answer, or refer to question 3.

Answer: Many labourers come from landless families and have few alternatives, so they have little bargaining power. Farm work is seasonal, and labourers often work for daily or seasonal wages with no contract. This allows employers to pay less than the minimum wage.

Teacher's Note: Explain the weak bargaining power and the lack of alternative work.

Answer: Multiple cropping, for example growing Kharif crops followed by potato and wheat; use of high yielding varieties, as introduced by the Green Revolution; better irrigation with electricity; and use of chemical fertilisers. Each increases output from the same land.

Teacher's Note: Give one Palampur example for each method.

Answer: Medium and large farmers use their own savings from farming to meet capital needs. Small farmers have no savings, so they borrow from large farmers, moneylenders or traders at very high interest rates.

Teacher's Note: Contrast the source of capital and the cost of borrowing.

Answer: Any three of: work is seasonal, so labourers are unemployed for part of the year; wages are low and paid in cash or in kind; they have no right over the crops they work on; and they have no alternative employment in the village.

Teacher's Note: Choose three issues and explain each with a line of reasoning.

Answer: Modern methods reduce soil fertility because of chemical fertilisers, deplete groundwater, need a great deal of capital that small farmers cannot afford, and make farmers dependent on purchased inputs.

Teacher's Note: Mention soil and water damage and the cost burden on small farmers.

Answer: Non-farm activities can be encouraged by providing credit at low interest, training people in skills such as small-scale manufacturing, improving roads and transport to reach markets, and supporting dairy and small enterprises with better infrastructure.

Teacher's Note: Give practical steps such as credit, skills training and market access.