Social Science (087) — CBSE Class 10 board question

Underemployment in Agriculture in India:

Underemployment (also called disguised unemployment) refers to a situation where more workers are engaged in a farm than actually needed. Their marginal contribution to output is zero.

Key problems:

1. Seasonal nature: Agricultural work is available only during sowing and harvesting seasons, leaving farmers idle for many months.
2. Excess workforce on land: More family members work on the same plot than required. Even if a few are removed, output remains unchanged.
3. Low productivity: Unirrigated land limits cultivation to one crop per year, reducing days of productive employment.
4. Lack of alternative employment: Absence of irrigation, credit, and rural industries forces farmers to remain on overcrowded farms.

Solution: Providing irrigation, cheap credit, rural roads, and setting up agro-based industries in semi-rural areas can reduce underemployment.

Source: Chapter 2 — How to Create More Employment

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• Examiners expect you to define underemployment/disguised unemployment first (1 mark), then give 2–3 specific problems with brief explanation (2 marks).
• Linking causes to solutions (irrigation, credit, MGNREGA) shows complete understanding and scores well.
• Use the textbook example of Laxmi's two-hectare unirrigated land to illustrate the concept if space permits.
• Avoid writing a long essay; 4–5 tight points are ideal for 3 marks.