The Story Of Village Palampur

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Farming is the main production activity in Palampur.

75 percent of the people who are working are dependent on farming for their livelihood.

Not all the people engaged in agriculture have sufficient land for cultivation.

1. In Palampur, about one-third of the 450 families are landless, i.e. 150 families.
2. 240 families cultivate small plots of land less than 2 hectares in size.
3. There are 60 families of medium and large farmers who cultivate more than 2 hectares of land. A few of the large farmers have land extending over 10 hectares or more.

1. No land is left idle. Different crops are cultivated in different seasons. It is called multiple cropping.
2. Multiple cropping is possible only because of the developed system of irrigation.
3. Electricity plays a vital role in the irrigation system. Tubewell runs by electricity which helps in irrigation of land easily and quickly.
4. Green Revolution facilitated the cultivation of wheat and rice using High Yielding variety of seeds (HYVs) instead of the traditional seeds. The HYVs are capable of producing more amount of grain on one plant.

1. Land area under cultivation is practically fixed.
2. Since 1960 in Palampur, there has been no expansion in land area under cultivation.
3. As all the land has already been used for cultivation, there is no possibility of increasing production by adding more land.

Farmers have produced wheat on their lands using the three factors of production.

1. They retain a part of the wheat for the family’s consumption and sell the surplus wheat.
2. The profit made after selling off the surplus is either used for personal purposes or save as capital for the next season.

The modern farming methods require a great deal of capital.

Most small farmers have to borrow money to arrange for the capital. They borrow from large farmers or the village moneylenders or the traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. The rate of interest on such loans is very high.

The medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming.

Farming requires a great deal of hard work.

1. Small Farmers along with their families cultivate their own fields.
2. Medium farmers and large farmers hire farm labourers to work on their fields.
3. Labourers come either from landless families or families cultivating small plots of lands.
4. A labourer can be employed on a daily basis early basis or on the basis of a particular activity.

1. Environmental resources like soil fertility and groundwater are built up over many years, it is necessary to be very careful in its use.
2. Scientific reports indicate that the modern farming methods have overused the natural resource base.
3. The loss of soil fertility due to increased use of chemical fertilizers.