Farm workers at Palampur village get lower wages than the minimum wages fixed by the government. The minimum wages for a farm labourer is fixed at Rs 115 per day. But farm labourers get only Rs 70 - 80. This happens because of heavy competition for work among the farm labourers at Palampur village.

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. Under it, more than one crop is grown on the same piece of land during the year. Indian farmers should grow at least two main crops in a year. In India, some farmers are growing a third crop also over the past 20 years.

→ 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 plough must be replaced by tractors. The increasing use of farm machinery like tractors, threshers, harvesters, etc. make cultivation faster.

A farmer with 1 hectare of land shall put under the category of small farmer. Most of the work would be done by the farmer and his family members. The farmer will normally use a pair of bullocks to plough the field. His family members would assist him in sowing the seeds. During harvest time, he may require to hire some labourers.

Medium and large farmers usually have surplus cash by selling their farm produce. Since they have land and house, they easily get loan from banks. Small farmers, on the other hand, may not be able to get bank loans. They have to depend on the local merchant and moneylender for loan.

Savita required money for buying seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, and water for irrigation. She also needed money for repairing 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 of Rs. 3000 at an interest rate of 24 per cent for four months. He also got her to agree to work on his field during the harvest season for Rs. 35 a day.

Savita’s condition would have been better if she could get a loan from the bank. The bank would have provided her the loan at a low rate of interest. Moreover, Savita could have devoted more time on her own field instead of working for Tejpal Singh as farm labourer.