Page 203 - SST Class 06

engaged. Though villages have shown signs of imagination over the decades, though a change is
prosperity with time, yet most of the villagers are
still poor. Moreover, there are hardly any facilities
by which the rural people can acquire skills in
different occupations. These facilities are available
in towns and cities. It is not possible for all
villagers to go to towns and cities and acquire
such skills due to various social and financial
problems. As such they are forced to lead a
substandard life in villages.
A farmer A village tea shop A weaver
F ind Outind Out
How does the government help people who have
seasonal employment?
Rural livelihoods chiefly comprise of primary
occupations, with some secondary and tertiary
occupations. The chief source of primary
occupations in villages is agriculture. Different
types of cereals, pulses, spices, fruits and
vegetables are grown by farmers. Farmers have to
transport their produce to urban areas for
marketing and processing. Since all markets and
processing industries are also set up in urban
areas, the secondary occupations have not
developed in villages.
The secondary occupations that have developed
in rural areas are on a very small scale, such as
shopkeepers, weavers, carpenters, ironsmiths,
carpet-makers etc. They chiefly meet the needs of
the farmers. The tertiary occupations are still
smaller in villages, such as doctors. Unfortunately,
the doctors practising in villages are not well
qualified and many of them are quacks.
Farmers
The chief occupation in villages is agriculture. The
people engaged in agriculture are called farmers.
When we say the name of a farmer, the picture of
a simple-looking and hard-working man comes
before our eyes. Much has not changed in this
perceptible in many villages because some
villagers have become very prosperous, though
most others live a hard life. Modern scientific
appliances, improved seeds and scientific
methods of farming have helped farmers to grow
more in limited time and on limited land. We can
see tractors, water pumps, threshers etc. in all
villages, while the age-old oxen-drawn ploughs
are the things of the past. Of course, all farmers
are not so lucky.
We can divide farmers into three categories—large
farmers, middle farmers and landless farmers.
A large farmer is a prosperous man because he
holds a lot of land in the village. Generally, he
himself does not work on the field. He gets work
done by labourers. Since his produce is large,
traders from towns and cities come to buy his
produce. He has resources and knows a lot of
people, so it is not difficult for him to get a loan
from a bank or other assistance from the
government. Because his financial condition is
strong, he often becomes the Pradhan in the
village.
Quiz Time
Fill in the blanks :
1. There are over __________ villages in India.
2. The earliest occupation of man was __________
and __________ food.
3. The chief occupation in villages is __________ .
4. A large farmer is a __________ man.
5. The people engaged in __________ occupations
include those who provide services of different
kinds.
A middle farmer is a person whose landholding is
not very large. He works on his farm with his
family. The produce is hardly sufficient to meet
his annual needs, so he has to work on a larger
farmer’s field to get some extra money.
Sometimes, he also makes baskets, ropes etc. in
order to make both ends meet. At present he is
very worried because he will have to divide his
field between his three sons and the size of each
of these three fields will be so small that they
Livelihoods
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