Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 Extra Question Answers - The Story of Palampur

Q.90. What are the merits and demerits of the Green Revolution?
Ans. Merits of the Green Revolution: Green Revolution introduced a number of modern farming methods in India.
(i) Higher yield due to the use of HYV seeds.
(ii) Machines like harvesters, tractors and threshers have made ploughing and harvesting faster and easier.
(iii) Higher yield enabled farmers to sell the surplus food in the market and earn more.
(iv) Pesticides and insecticides are able to protect the crops from pests and insects.
(v) A good irrigation system is able to enhance crop production.
Demerits of the Green Revolution 
(i) Loss of soil fertility due to increased use of chemical fertilizers.
(ii) Continuous use of groundwater for tubewell irrigation has reduced the water table below the ground.
(iii) The chemical fertilizers, easily soluble in water, can dissolve in the groundwater and pollute it.
(iv) They can kill bacteria and other micro-organisms helpful for the soil.
(v) Excessive use of fertilizers can also make the soil alkaline and unfit for cultivation. 

Q.91. What are the different ways of increasing production? Give examples.
Ans. The different ways of increasing production are:
(a) Multiple cropping: Under this method, more than one crop is raised on the same piece of land during a year. It is the most common way of increasing production on a given piece of land. It is possible if a well-developed system of irrigation exists. Generally, a crop like potato is cultivated between two seasonal crops like rice and wheat.
(b) Modern farming methods: Under modern farming methods, high yielding variety of seeds and chemicals are used.
(i) High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds are used in place of the traditional seeds to increase the production.
(ii) Chemical fertilizers are used instead of cow-dung and natural manure.
(iii) Insecticides, pesticides, herbicides and irrigation through tubewells are sed in modern farming methods.
(iv) Machines like tractors, harvesters and threshers are used to make the farmer's job easier and faster. 

Q.92. How do medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different from small farmers?
Ans. 
(i) 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 and these farmers are in great stress to repay loans.
(ii) In contrast to the small farmers, medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming. They use this saving to arrange for next year's capital and make high profits by selling surplus production and earning higher amounts. Sometimes, they deposit their savings in a bank or lend their money to small farmers or save their savings or buy cattle, truck or to set up shops.

Q.93. Which non-farm activities are practised in Palampur? Write a short note.
Ans. The non-farm activities of Palampur are:
(a) Dairy farming:
(i) People feed their buffaloes with various kinds of grass, jowar, bajra that grows during the rainy season.
(ii) The milk is sold in nearby villages.
(iii) Some people have set up collection centers and chilling centers from where milk is transported to far away towns and cities.
(b) Small-scale manufacturing:
(i) Manufacturing in Palampur involves very simple production methods and are done on a small scale.
(ii) They are carried out mostly at home.
(iii) This is mostly done with the help of family labor. Labor is rarely hired.
(c) Shopkeeping:
(i) Shopkeepers buy various goods from the wholesale market in the cities and sell them in the village.
(ii) Small general stores in the village sell a wide range of items like rice, wheat, sugar, oil, biscuits, soap, batteries, candles, toothpaste, pens, pencils, notebooks, and even some clothes.
(iii) Some families whose houses are closer to the bus stand has used a part of the space to open small shops. They sell eatables here.
(d) Transport:
(i) Rickshawallahs, tongawallahs, jeep, tractor, truck drivers and people driving the traditional bullock carts and bogeys are the people in transport services.
(ii) They carry people and goods from one place to another and in return get paid for it.
(iii) The number of people in transport services has risen over the last several years.
(iv) Self-employed: Some people have opened coaching institutes for various kinds of arts like computer training centers or stitching classes, etc. to obtain profit from a non-farm activity and train more and more people for better opportunities in their life. 

Q.94. How is multiple cropping practiced in Palampur?
Ans. All land is cultivated in Palampur. No land is left vacant. During the rainy season (kharif) farmers grow jowar and bajra. These plants are used as cattle feed. It is followed by cultivation of potato between October and December. In the winter season (rabi) fields are sown with wheat. From the wheat produced, farmers keep enough wheat for family's consumption and sell the surplus wheat at the market at Raiganj. A part of the land area is also devoted to sugarcane which is harvested once every year. Sugarcane in its raw form, or as jaggery, is sold to traders in Shahpur.

Q.95. What kind of labor is found in Palampur? 
Ans. Farm laborers come either from landless families or families cultivating small plots of land. Unlike farmers, farm laborers do not have a right over the crops grown on the land. Instead they are paid wages by the farmer for whom they work. Sometimes laborers get meals also. Wages vary widely from region to region, from crop to crop, from one farm activity to another. There is also a wide variation in the duration of employment. A farm laborer might be employed on a daily basis, or for one particular farm activity like harvesting, or for the whole year. 

Q.96. The main activity of the village of Palampur is: 
(a) Manufacturing
(b) Dairy farming
(c) Farming
(d) Cattle rearing
Ans. (c)

Q.97. Which Kharif crop is grown during the rainy season? 
(a) Jowar
(b) Rice
(c) Millets
(d) Sugar
Ans. (a)

Q.98. HYV means: 
(a) High Yoghurt Variety
(b) High Yielding Variety
(c) Highly Yellow Variety
(d) Highly Young Variety
Ans. (b) 

Q.99. Two major factors of production are: 
(a) Land and capital
(b) Labor and land
(c) Capital and labor
(d) Land and technology
Ans. (a)

Q.100. What capital is needed to set up a jaggery manufacturing unit? 
(a) Fixed capital
(b) Physical capital
(c) Working capital
(d) Recurring capital
Ans. (c)

Q.101. If more than two crops are grown on the same piece of land during a year, it is called: 
(a) Green Revolution
(b) Multiple Cropping
(c) Modern Farming
(d) Subsistence Farming
Ans. (b)