Rural Development test - 8

Workers engaged in non-farm activities in rural areas on an average are 24%. Estimates suggest that 92% of Indian labourers are engaged in the unorganised sector while the organised segment constitutes the remaining 8%. Further, it can be noted that 95% of female workers and 89% of male workers are engaged in the unorganised segment in India. 

Rural non-farm activities include value chain activities, such as agro-processing, transport, distribution, marketing, and retail, as well as tourism, manufacturing, construction and mining, plus self-employment activities.

Thus, the correct option is D.

In Palampur, farming is the main activity as 75% of population work for farm labourers. earn their living through farming. Unfortunately, not all people engaged in farming have sufficient land for cultivation.
So it is necessary to increase area under cultivation.

For the expansion of non-farm activities, we need a market. Markets are places where goods and services produced as a result of non-farm activities can be sold. As more villages get connected to towns and cities through good roads, transport and communications, opportunities for non-farm activities increase in the rural areas.
Thus, the correct option is D.

Farming requires a great deal of hard work. Small  farmers along with their families cultivate their own fields.
Thus, they provide the labour required for farming themselves. Medium and large farmers hire farm labourers to work on their fields.

Farmers in Palampur are able to grow different crops in a year because they use the method of multiple cropping. Farmers of Palampur during the Kharif season grow jowar and bajra.
They cultivate potato between October and December. In the Rabi, season fields are sown with wheat.
Sugarcane is also grown in some part of the land. The other way to grow many crops is the usage of modern farming methods.

• Sericulture is the industrial growth of silkworm for silk. 
  
• Pisciculture is the commercial breeding and raising of fish stock for consumption. 
  
• Horticulture is growing flowers, fruits and vegetables at a commercial level. 
  
• Apiculture is breeding of honey bees for honey production.
  

Farming is the main activity in villages, whereas several other activities such as small scale manufacturing, dairy, transport, etc. are carried out on a limited scale. These production activities need various types of resources — natural resources, manmade items, human effort, money, etc

The village had a well-developed system of irrigation, the introduction of multiple cropping,  modern farming methods, electricity supply, green revolution introduced HYV seeds are the main reasons behind growing three different crops in a year in Palampur.