SUMMARY 1
Farming is the main production activity in the village. Over the years there
have been many important changes in the way farming is practiced. These
have allowed the farmers to produce more crops from the same amount of
land. This is an important achievement, since land is fixed and scarce. But in
raising production a great deal of pressure has been put on land and other
natural resources.
The new ways of farming need less land, but much more of capital. The
medium and large farmers are able to use their own savings from production
to arrange for capital during the next season. On the other hand, the small
farmers who constitute about 80 per cent of total farmers in India, find it
difficult to obtain capital. Because of the small size of their plots, their
production is not enough. The lack of surplus means that they are unable to
obtain capital from their own savings, and have to borrow. Besides the debt,
many of the small farmers have to do additional work as farm labourers to
feed themselves and their families.
Labour being the most abundant factor of production, it would be ideal if new
ways of farming used much more labour. Unfortunately, such a thing has not
happened. The use of labour on farms is limited. The labour, looking for
opportunities is thus migrating to neighbouring villages, towns and cities.
Some labour has entered the non-farm sector in the village.
At present, the non-farm sector in the village is not very large. Out of every
100 workers in the rural areas in India, only 24 are engaged in non-farm
activities. Though there is a variety of non-farm activities in the villages (we
have only seen a few examples), the number of people employed in each is
quite small.
Farming is the main production activity in the village. Over the years there
have been many important changes in the way farming is practiced. These
have allowed the farmers to produce more crops from the same amount of
land. This is an important achievement, since land is fixed and scarce. But in
raising production a great deal of pressure has been put on land and other
natural resources.
The new ways of farming need less land, but much more of capital. The
medium and large farmers are able to use their own savings from production
to arrange for capital during the next season. On the other hand, the small
farmers who constitute about 80 per cent of total farmers in India, find it
difficult to obtain capital. Because of the small size of their plots, their
production is not enough. The lack of surplus means that they are unable to
obtain capital from their own savings, and have to borrow. Besides the debt,
many of the small farmers have to do additional work as farm labourers to
feed themselves and their families.
Labour being the most abundant factor of production, it would be ideal if new
ways of farming used much more labour. Unfortunately, such a thing has not
happened. The use of labour on farms is limited. The labour, looking for
opportunities is thus migrating to neighbouring villages, towns and cities.
Some labour has entered the non-farm sector in the village.
At present, the non-farm sector in the village is not very large. Out of every
100 workers in the rural areas in India, only 24 are engaged in non-farm
activities. Though there is a variety of non-farm activities in the villages (we
have only seen a few examples), the number of people employed in each is
quite small.
