What is the main

Agriculture is the main economic activity of village Palampur.

1. Small farmers had a small size of the field (say less than 2 hectares) or no land to cultivate whereas large farmers had a large size of the field (say more than 2 hectares) for cultivation.

2. Small farmers were many in number around 240 families whereas large farmers were less in number around 60 families. Small farmers do not have surplus money, and they have to borrow money to buy seeds and other various inputs. They borrow money from moneylenders or the traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. Moneylenders used to give them a loan at a high rate of interest.

3. They have to work in the fields of large farmers to earn extra money so that they can clear their debt. They used to clear their debts after harvesting and selling the surplus crop (surplus crop is the crop which is left with farmers after retaining some of it for their consumption), but they do not get enough money to clear their complete debt.

4. The traders who supply crops in the market used to buy them at low cost from farmers and sell them at a high cost to the shopkeepers in the market. Again for another year, they had to borrow money which ultimately leads to a debt trap. Larger farmers hired farm labourers for production of the crops. Almost everyone in the village whether small or large farmer were engaged in production or other activities of agriculture.