Question

What is meant by non-farming activities? Explain with examples

Answer 1

Hint: Non-farming activities do not involve farming as the source of income. These activities are important in establishing a market in a rural or suburban area. These activities provide scope of employment to the landless workers.

Complete answer:
It is evident from the term that the activities that do not involve farming as the source of income are known as non-farming activities. These activities are essential in terms of developing the market in the village. These activities act as the source of income for the farmers and also provide employment to the landless workers. These activities help in producing goods at a small scale and are mostly run through the home by the family of the labour.

Some examples of non-farming activities are-
Dairy- This activity involves feeding the cattle and selling their produce in the market.
Transport- Some people can opt for the transport system like rickshaws, jeeps, trucks etc through which goods and people can be transported from one place to another. This provides income to the family.
Agro-processing industries- These small-scale industries involve the processing of agricultural produce. For example- the packing industry, oil mills etc.

Another example of non-farm activities includes health, education, retail trading, communication, entertainment etc. The government is taking many steps so as to improve the non-agricultural activities like improving the transport system, development of the infrastructure etc.

Note: The farm activities involve agriculture, poultry, animal husbandry etc. These activities require land. Other farm activities include apiculture, fishery, horticulture, heliculture etc. The farm activities can only be done by the people who have a substantial amount of land.