Farming in Palampur

The new ways of farming needed less land but much more capital. The medium and large farmers can use their savings from production to arrange for money during the following season. On the other hand, small farmers need help to obtain money. Because of the lesser size of their plots, more than their production is required. The lack of surplus means they cannot receive money from their savings and have to borrow. Besides the debt, many small farmers must do extra work as farm labourers for their families. 

Labour being the most abundant and economic factor of production, it would be ideal if new ways of farming used much more labour. Sadly and unfortunately, such a thing hasn’t happened. The use of labour on farms is minimal. The labour, looking for work, is thus migrating to neighbouring villages, towns and cities. Some labour has left the farm sector in the village. At present, the non-farm sector in the city is small size. Only 24% of labours in India are engaged in non-farm activities. Though various non-farm activities exist in the villages, the number of people employed is relatively tiny. 

Farming is the main production activity in Palampur and all over India. Over the years, many significant changes have occurred in farming. These have enabled the farmers to produce more crops from the same land. This is a considerable achievement since land is fixed and scarce. But much pressure has been put on the ground and other natural resources in raising production.