NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 The Story of Village Palampur

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science Economics Chapter 1 The Story of Village Palampur contains the solutions to the exercises given in the textbook. These solutions also contain answers to all the let’s discuss questions. These NCERT solutions are useful for students as they help to score high marks in the exams.

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 Let’s Discuss

Let’s Discuss Page No. 3

Question 1: The following Table 1.1 shows the land under cultivation in India in units of million hectares.
Plot this on the graph provided. What does the graph show? Discuss in class.

Table 1.1: Cultivated area over the years

Year	Cultivated Area (in Million Hectares)
1950-51	132
1990-91	186
2000-01	186
2010-11	198
2011-12	196
2012-13	194
2013-14	201
2014-15	198
2015-16	197
2016-17	200

Answer: The above graph shows the land under cultivation in India in units of million hectares.

The graph shows that the land under cultivation in India was 132 million hectares in 1950-51 which rose to 200 million hectares in 2016-17.

Question 2: Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why?

Answer: Yes, it is important to increase the land area under irrigation. It enhances crop yields, ensures food security and reduces the risk of crop failure. It supports multiple cropping seasons, so farmers can grow more than one crop in a year and increase their production and earnings. Also, the use of HYV seeds needs plenty of water to give the best results.

Question 3: You have read about the crops grown in Palampur. Fill the following table based on information on the crops grown in your region

Name of the crop	Month sown	Month Harvested	Source of irrigation (Rain, tanks, tubewells, canals, etc.)

Answer:

Name of crop	Month sown	Month Harvested	Source of irrigation (Rain, tanks, tubewells, canals, etc.)
Wheat	October, December	April, June	Tubewells and canals
Rice	June, July	September, October	Rain, tubewells and canals
Jower and Bajra	June, July	September, October	Rain, tubewells and canals

Let’s Discuss Page No. 5

Question 1:  What is the difference between multiple cropping and modern farming method?

Answer: Multiple Cropping: This refers to the practice of growing more than one crop on the same piece of land during a single year. It’s a way to increase productivity and make efficient use of land resources.

Modern Farming Methods: These involve the use of technology, improved crop varieties, chemicals, and advanced techniques to increase farm productivity and efficiency. Modern farming includes practices such as the use of high-yield variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation technologies.

Question 2: The following table shows the production of wheat and pulses in India after the Green Revolution in units of million tones. Plot this on a graph. Was the Green Revolution equally successful for both the crops? Discuss.

	Production of Pulses	Production of Wheat
1965 – 66	10	10
1970 – 71	12	24
1980 – 81	11	36
1990 – 91	14	55
2000 – 01	11	70
2010 – 11	18	87
2012 – 13	18	94
2013 – 14	19	96
2014 – 15	17	87
2015 – 16	17	94
2016 – 17	23	99
2017 – 18	24	97
2018 – 19	23	104
2019 – 20	23	108

Answer: Between 1965 and 2001, the production of pulses increased negligibly whereas the production of wheat increased greatly. Thus, we can say that the Green Revolution was more successful in increasing the production of wheat as compared to pulses.

Question 3:  What is the working capital required by the farmer using modern farming methods?

Answer: The working capital required by the farmer using modern farming methods is raw material and money. Raw materials include HYV seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery that can be purchased with money.

Question 4:  Modern farming methods require the farmer to start with more cash than before. Why?

Answer: Modern farming methods require more initial cash because they involve significant investments in high-yield variety seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and advanced irrigation and farming equipment. These inputs are essential for increasing productivity and crop yields but come at a higher cost compared to traditional farming practices.

Let’s Discuss Page No. 7

Question 1: In the Picture 1.5, can you shade the land cultivated by the small farmers?

Answer: The shaded rectangles with boundaries show the land cultivated by small farmers.

Question 2: Why do so many families of farmers cultivate such small plots of land?

Answer: Land in Palampur is fixed and 75% of the people who are working are dependent on farming for their livelihood. Since land is fixed and most people are dependent on land they are forced to cultivate small plots of land.

OR

In the village of Palampur, many families cultivate small plots of land due to the division of land among family members over generations. For example, a farmer named Gobind, who initially had 2.25 hectares of land, passed it down to his three sons, resulting in each son owning only 0.75 hectares.

Question 3: The distribution of farmers in India and the amount of land they cultivate is given in the following Graph Discuss in the classroom.

Answer: According to the graph, in India, 85% of the small farmers cultivate only 44.6% of the cultivated area whereas 15% of the big farmers cultivate 55.4% of the cultivated area.

Question 4: Would you agree that the distribution of cultivated land is unequal in Palampur? Do you find a similar situation for India? Explain.

Answer: Yes, I agree that the distribution of cultivated land is unequal in Palampur because out of the 450 families, 150 families are landless, 240 families cultivate small plots of land less than 2 hectares in size whereas 60 medium and large farmers cultivate more than 2 hectares of land, a few of them have land extending over 10 hectares or more, which shows that medium and large farmers have more land though they are numerically smaller. This clearly shows the inequality in the distribution of cultivated land. According to the graph, a similar situation exists in India also where 85% of the small farmers cultivate only 44.6% of the cultivated area whereas 15% of the big farmers cultivate 55.4% of the cultivated area.

Question 5: Identify the work being done on the field in the Pictures 1.6 and arrange them in a proper sequence.

Answer: The proper sequence of the activities is given below (the numbers are marked alongside each picture).
(1) Plowing by bullocks
(2) Sowing
(3) Spraying of insecticides
(4) Cultivation by traditional methods
(5) Cultivation by modern methods
(6) Cutting of crops

Let’s Discuss Page No. 9

Question 1: Why are farm labourers like Dala and Ramkali poor?

Answer: Farm labourers like Dala and Ramkali are poor because

(a) They work as hired workers on daily wages and their income is not stable or sufficient.
(b) Though the minimum wages for farm labourers set by the government is ₹300 per day (as of March 2019), they get only ₹160.
(c) There is heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in Palampur, so people agree to work for low wages.
(d) They remain unemployed for most parts of the year and have to take loans from the
moneylender to fulfil their needs. Due to this seasonal unemployment, they remain poor and are unable to repay the loan and fall into a debt trap.

Question 2: Gosaipur and Majauli are two villages in North Bihar. Out of a total of 850 households in the two villages, there are more than 250 men who are employed in rural Punjab and Haryana or in Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, Hyderabad or Nagpur. Such migration is common in most villages across India. Why do people migrate? Can you describe (based on your imagination) the work that the migrants of Gosaipur and Majauli might do at the place of destination?

Answer: Mostly people migrate in search of employment or better job opportunities to cities like Mumbai, Delhi etc or to prosperous agricultural regions like Punjab and Haryana to work as farm labourers.
(a) This migration usually takes place when a person is unemployed or in extreme poverty, which may be due to lack of land, displacements, negative impact of natural disasters like drought or floods, etc.
(b) The migrants from Gosaipur and Majauli who went to cities will probably find work as casual labourers, industrial workers, street hawkers, rickshaw pullers, headload workers or servants in homes and hotels, etc
(c) Those who went to rural areas of Punjab and Haryana will probably work as farm labourers since agriculture is the main occupation of the rural people in these states.

Let’s Discuss Page No. 11

Question 1: Let us take three farmers. Each has grown wheat on his èeld though the production is different (see Column 2). The consumption of wheat by each farmer family is the same (Column 3). Me whole of surplus wheat this year is used as capital for next year’s production. Also suppose, production is twice the capital used in production. Complete the tables.
Farmer 1

	Production	Consumption	Surplus =	Capital for the
			Production – Consumption	next year
Year 1	100	40	60	60
Year 2	120	40
Year 3		40

Farmer 2

	Production	Consumption	Surplus	Capital for the next year
Year 1	80	40
Year 2		40
Year 3		40

Farmer 3

	Production	Consumption	Surplus	Capital for the next year
Year 1	60	40
Year 2		40
Year 3		40

Answer:
Farmer 1

	Production	Consumption	Surplus = Production – Consumption	Capital for the next year
Year 1	100	40	60	60
Year 2	120	40	80	80
Year 3	160	40	120	120

Farmer 2

	Production	Consumption	Surplus	Capital for the next year
Year 1	80	40	40	40
Year 2	80	40	40	40
Year 3	80	40	40	40

Farmer 3

	Production	Consumption	Surplus	Capital for the next year
Year 1	60	40	20	20
Year 2	40	40	0	0
Year 3	0	40	40	40

Question 2: Compare the Production of wheat by the three farmers over the years.

Answer:

	Farmer 1	Farmer 2	Farmer 3
Year 1	100	80	60
Year 2	120	80	40
Year 3	160	80	0

• The production of wheat of the first farmer increased from 100 to 16CL
• The production of wheat of the second farmer was constant at 8CL
• The production of wheat of the third farmer declined from 60 to 0

Question 3: What happens to Farmer 3 in Year 3? Can he continue production? What will he have to do to continue production?

Answer: In the third year, the third farmer did not produce any wheat and had to buy it
from the market. He cannot continue production any longer unless he arranges capital, as he has no surplus to invest as capital.

Let’s Discuss Page No. 12

Question 1: What capital did Mishrilal need to set up his jaggery manufacturing unit?

Answer: To set up his manufacturing unit Mishrilal needed the following capital
(a) Fixed Capital in the form of the sugarcane crushing machine.
(b) Working Capital in the form of money for buying sugarcane from other farmers and for paying the electricity bill.

Question 2: Who provides the labour in this case?

Answer: The labour is provided by him and his family. Otherwise, he will employ landless labourers.

Question 3: Can you guess why Mishrilal is unable to increase his profit?

Answer: (a) Mishrilal has set up a small scale unit.
(b) The farm holdings in the village are very small of about 2 hectares in size and production of sugarcane is low as more area is under wheat.
(c) He has to pay for the electricity to run the machine.
(d) Since the industry is small scale, production is less and therefore, he is unable to increase his profit.

Question 4: Could you think of any reasons when he might face a loss?

Answer: Conditions under which he may face a toss can be any of the following
(a) If his crushing machine becomes defective, his production will reduce or totally stop.
(b) If due to drought or other calamities, the production of sugarcane in nearby areas reduces; his jaggery production will come down leading to a loss for him.
(c) If the demand for jaggery decreases, he will not be able to sell enough to break even.
(d) If any other costs like electricity, labour or transportation costs increase, he may face a loss.

Question 5: Why does Mishrilal sell his jaggery to traders in Shahpur and not in his village?

Answer: (a) Palampur is a small village with 450 families and there is not a big demand for jaggery there.
(b) Shahpur is a town where people come from different surrounding villages to buy things and there is more demand for jaggery there, so Mishrilal sells his jaggery traders in Shahpur and not in his village.

Let’s Discuss Page No. 12

Question 1: In what ways is Kareem’s capital and labour different from Mishrilal?

Answer: Mishrilal has fixed capital in the form of machines, but Kareem has a larger fixed capital because he has assets in the form of computers which are more expensive than the sugarcane crushing machine. Kareem has also employed educated and qualified computer teachers, whereas Mishrilal labour is mainly unskilled labour.

Question 2: Why didn’t someone start a computer centre earlier? Discuss the possible reasons.

Answer: Reasons, why someone didn’t start a computer centre, may be any of the following:
(a) As very few educated people were there in the village, there was less demand for computer courses.
(b) The villagers were not aware of the employment potential of computer courses, so nobody thought that such a business could be successful.
(c) Teaching faculty for computer courses was not available.

Let’s Discuss Page No. 13

Question 1: What is Kishora’s fixed capital?

Answer: Kishora’s fixed capital is the buffalo and wooden cart which he has purchased with a bank loan.

Question 2: What do you think would be his working capital?

Answer: The money that he earns from selling the milk and transporting goods and his bullock cart minus his living expenses is his working capital.

Question 3: In how many production activities is Kishora involved?

Answer: Kishora is involved in the following production activities.
(a) Selling of buffalo’s milk.
(b) Transporting of various items.
(c) Bringing clay from the river Ganga for the potter.
(d) Transporting jaggery etc to Shahpur.

Question 4: Would you say that Kishora has benefitted from better roads in Palampur?

Answer: Kishora has certainly benefitted from better roads in Palampur because he is involved in the transport business; better roads enable him to easily transport goods from one place to another, run his business successfully and earn profits, which would have been very difficult in the absence of proper roads.

Class 9 Economics Chapter 1 Exercises Questions and Answers

Exercise Questions

Questions 1: Every village in India is surveyed once in ten years during the Census and some of details are presented in the following format. Fill up the following based on information on Palampur.

(a) LOCATION:
(b) TOTAL AREA OF THE VILLAGE:
(c) LAND USE (in hectares):

Cultivated Land		Land not available for cultivation (Area covering dwellings, roads, ponds, grazing ground)
Irrigated	Unirrigated
		26 hectares

(d) FACILITIES:

Educational
Medical
Market
Electricity Supply
Communication
Nearest Town

Answer: (a) LOCATION: Bulandshahar district, Western Uttar Pradesh

(b) TOTAL AREA OF THE VILLAGE: 226 hectares

(c) LAND USE (in hectares):

Cultivated Land		Land not available for cultivation (Area covering dwellings, roads, ponds, grazing ground)
Irrigated	Unirrigated
200 hectares	NIL	26 hectares

(d) FACILITIES:

Educational	2 primary schools and 1 high school
Medical	1 primary health centre and 1 private dispensary
Market	Raiganj and Shahpur
Electricity Supply	Most of the houses have electric connections. Electricity powers all the tube wells in the fields and is used in various types of small businesses.
Communication	Well-connected with neighbouring villages and towns. 3 kms from Raiganj. All-weather road connects it to Raiganj and further on toShahpur. Many kinds of transport like bullock carts,tongas, bogeys, motorcycles, jeeps, tractors and trucks are present.
Nearest Town	Shahpur

Question 2: Modern farming methods require more inputs which are manufactured in industry. Do you agree?

Answer: Yes, I agree that modern farming methods require more inputs that are manufactured in the industry. These inputs include high-yield variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery such as tractors, harvesters, and irrigation equipment. However, on the other hand, traditional farming methods use a relatively low-yielding variety of seeds and use cow dung and other natural manures as fertilisers, which is why they are less dependent on industrial outputs.

Question 3: How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?

Answer: The spread of electricity has helped the farmers of Palampur village in the following ways:

• Electricity enabled the use of electric tubewells, leading to more efficient watering of crops compared to traditional methods.
• The availability of electricity allowed for the use of modern machinery like threshers and harvesters, reducing manual labor and enhancing efficiency.

Question 4: Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why?

Answer: India is an agricultural country. Of the total cultivated area in the country a little less than 40 per cent is irrigated even today. In the remaining areas, farming is largely dependent on rainfall. In India, rainfall is not regular and irrigation is important to get better crop yield and hence it is important to increase the area under irrigation. 

Question 5: Construct a table on the distribution of land among the 450 families of Palampur.

Answer: Number of families Land (hectare)

Number of families	Land (hectare)
150	0
240	Less than 2
60	More than 2

Question 6: Why are the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?

Answer: The wages for farm labourers in Palampur are less than the minimum wages because:

1. There is heavy competition for work among the farmers.
2. Employment is less and farmers are more therefore, farmers accept low-wage work.
3. Land is owned by landlords who desire to earn more and more profit by giving minimum wages.
4. The farmers are illiterate and unaware of the amount of minimum wages set by the government.
5. The lack of non-agricultural activities forces labourers to accept low-wage work.

Question 7: In your region, talk to two labourers. Choose either farm labourers or labourers working at construction sites. What wages do they get? Are they paid in cash or kind? Do they get work regularly? Are they in debt?

Answer: To be attempted by the students themselves.

Question 8: What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land? Use examples to explain.

Answer: The different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land are:

• Multiple Cropping: It is the most common way of increasing production on a given piece of land. This involves growing more than one crop on the same land in a year, maximizing the use of space.
• Crop Rotation: This practice involves alternating the types of crops grown in a field with each season. For example, rotating a nitrogen-depleting crop like cotton with a nitrogen-fixing crop like soybeans can maintain soil health and reduce pest and disease cycles.
• Modern Farming Methods: Production on the same piece of land can also be increased by adopting modern farming methods. The Green Revolution in India is a remarkable example of it. Under modern farming, more cultivable areas should be brought under HYV seeds and irrigation. The use of simple wooden ploughs must be replaced by tractors. The increasing use of farm machinery like tractors, threshers, harvesters, etc. makes cultivation faster.

Question 9: Describe the work of a farmer with 1 hectare of land.

Answer: A farmer with 1 hectare of land will be called a small farmer. Since the area for cultivation is small, the outcome may also not be high. So to be able to yield the land in the best possible way, the farmer needs money. This money is borrowed from a moneylender at a high interest rate and at times may also have to work as a farm labourer for the moneylender. Once the farm is cultivated, the product has to be divided for personal use and for selling in the market. Whatever profit is earned, the farmer has to usually give it away to the moneylender and a little sum of money is left for the use of the farmer himself. The only help a small farmer gets is that of his family members.

Question 10: How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different from the small farmers?

Answer: Medium and large farmers usually have surplus cash by selling their farm produce. Since they own more land, they can produce more crops, which leads to higher earnings. They often have enough surplus from their produce to reinvest in farming, such as buying better seeds, fertilizers, and modern equipment to enhance productivity.

Small farmers, on the other hand, usually lack sufficient surplus and often have to borrow money to meet their capital needs. Since they do not have sufficient property banks usually don’t give them loans. They have to depend on the local merchant and moneylender for loans.

Question 11: On what terms did Savita get a loan from Tajpal Singh? Would Savita’s condition be different if she could get a loan from the bank at a low rate of interest?

Answer: Savita required money to buy seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, and water for irrigation. She also needed money to repair her farm instruments. So, she decided to borrow money from Tejpal Singh, a large farmer in her village. Tejpal Singh agreed to give the loan at an interest rate of 24 per cent for four months which is a very high interest rate. Savit also had to agree on his land for ₹100 per day.

Savita’s condition would have been better if she could get a loan from the bank. The bank would have provided her with the loan at a lower rate of interest. Lower interest rates would reduce the financial strain on her, making it easier to repay the loan. Moreover, Savita could have spent more time in her field instead of working for Tejpal Singh as a farm labourer.

Question 12: Talk to some old residents in your region and write a short report on the changes in irrigation and changes in production methods during the last 30 years.

Answer: Students must do this question based on their own observations.

Question 13: What are the non-farm production activities taking place in your region? Make a short list.

Answer: The non-farm production activities taking place in our region are:

1. Dairy
2. Transportation
3. General Stores
4. Fishing
5. Mining

Question 14: What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in villages?

Answer: Things that need to be done to encourage non-farm production activities in villages:

• Improving infrastructure such as roads, electricity, water supply, and internet connectivity can make villages more accessible and viable for various businesses.
• Offering training programs to enhance the skills of the rural workforce can enable villagers to start their own enterprises.
• Facilitating easier access to affordable credit can help prospective entrepreneurs invest start non-farm activities.
• Implementing supportive government policies and incentives such as subsidies, tax exemptions can encourage the establishment of new non-farm businesses.