Why is it so important?
33. There is a small village Adilabad in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. Munna Lal is a small
farmer in this village who has farmland of about 1.5 hectares. His house is in the main village.
He purchases high yielding varieties of seeds from the market every alternate year. The land
is fertile and he grows at least two crops in a year which are normally wheat or rice and
pulses. The farmer takes advice of his friends and elders as well as government agricultural
officers regarding farming practices. He takes a tractor on rent for ploughing his field, though
some of his friends still use traditional methods of using bullocks for ploughing. There is a
tube well in the nearby field which he takes on rent to irrigate his field.
31a. Which crops are grown in this type of farming mentioned above?
31b. Which type of farming is performed by Munna Lal and why?
31c. Mention one advantage and disadvantage of the farming performed by Munna Lal.
Answers
Answer: Munna Lal also has two buffaloes and few hens. He sells milk in the cooperative store located in the nearby town. He is a member of the co-operative society which also advises him on the type of fodder for his animals, safety measures to protect the health of the livestock and artificial insemination. All the members of the family help him in various farm activities. Sometimes, he takes credit from a bank or the agricultural co-operative society to buy HYV seeds and implements. He sells his produce in the mandi located in the nearby town. Since majority of the farmers do not have lack storage facilities, they are forced to sell the produce even when the market is not favourable to them. In recent years, the government has taken some steps to develop storage facilites. Fig 4.15: An Agricultural Field in India A Farm in the USA The average size of a farm in the USA is much larger than that of an Indian farm. A typical farm size in the USA is about 250 hectares. The farmer generally resides in the farm. Some of the major crops grown are corn, soyabean, wheat, cotton and sugarbeet. Joe Horan, a farmer in the Midwest USA, in Iowa State owns about 300 hectares of land. He grows corn on his field after making sure that soil and water resources meet the needs of this crop. Adequate measures are taken to control pests that can damage the crop. From time to time he sends the soil samples to a soil testing laboratory to check whether the nutrients are sufficient or not. The results help Joe Horan to plan a scientific fertiliser programme. His computer is linked to the satellite which gives him a precise picture of his field. This helps him to Fig 4.17: Spray of Pesticides use chemical fertilisers