question_answer

  "Dala is a landless farm labourer who works on daily wages in Palampur. The minimum wages for a farm labourer set by the government is ` 115 per day, but Dala gets only ` 80. There is heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in Palampur so people agree to work for lower wages." Here Dala is being exploited by the large farmer due to competition among the labourers. What principle is the large farmer violating? How can this malpractice be corrected?                  

Answer:

                  Modern farming methods such as use of HYV seeds, insecticides, pesticides, etc require a great deal of capital and so the farmer needs more money than before. (i) The medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming. They are able to arrange for the capital needed. (ii) In contrast, the small farmers have to borrow money to arrange for the capital. They borrow from large farmers or the village moneylenders or the traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. (iii) The rate of interest on such loans is very high. They are put to great distress to repay the loans, which is not so in the case of medium and large farmers.