Primary Activities | CBSE Class 12 Geography Notes

This note covers primary activities, hunting and gathering, nomadic herding, commercial livestock rearing, subsistence agriculture, plantation agriculture, commercial grain cultivation, mixed farming, dairy farming, Mediterranean agriculture, market gardening, farming organisation and mining.

What are primary activities, and how do hunting and gathering use natural resources?

Economic activities are human activities that generate income. They are broadly grouped into primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities. Primary activities depend directly on the environment because they involve the use of the earth's resources.

Definition: Primary activities utilise resources such as land, water, vegetation, building materials and minerals. They include hunting and gathering, pastoral activities, fishing, forestry, agriculture, and mining and quarrying.

People engaged in these activities are called red-collar workers because their work takes place outdoors. Different agricultural systems develop under different combinations of physical and socio-economic conditions, while geographical factors and technological development influence animal rearing.

How do hunting and gathering provide a livelihood?

The earliest people depended on their immediate surroundings. They hunted animals and gathered edible plants from nearby forests. Early hunting tools included stones, twigs and arrows, so the number of animals killed was limited.

People in very cold and extremely hot climates survived by hunting. Coastal people still catch fish, although technological progress has modernised fishing. Many animal species have become extinct or endangered because of illegal hunting, or poaching.

Gathering occurs in harsh climatic conditions. It often involves primitive societies extracting plants and animals for food, shelter and clothing. Capital investment is small, technology is at a very low level, yield per person is very low, and little or no surplus is produced.

The world map shades gathering areas in northern North America and Eurasia, tropical South America and Africa, and parts of Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Southern South America also has a shaded area.

Why is commercial gathering limited?

Some gathering has become commercial. Gatherers collect leaves, bark and medicinal plants, carry out simple processing and sell the products. Plant materials supply beverages, drugs, cosmetics, fibres, thatch and fabrics; nuts provide food and oils.

Tree trunks yield rubber, balata, gums and resins. Chicle, the part of chewing gum left after its flavour disappears, comes from the milky juice of the zapota tree.

Gathering has little chance of becoming important globally because its products cannot compete in world markets. Synthetic products, often of better quality and at lower prices, have replaced many items supplied by tropical forest gatherers.

How does nomadic herding respond to pastures, water and seasons?

Nomadic herding, or pastoral nomadism, is a primitive subsistence activity. Herders depend on animals for food, clothing, shelter, tools and transport. They move with their livestock according to the amount and quality of pasture and the availability of water.

Each nomadic community traditionally occupies a well-identified territory. Movement can cover vast horizontal distances or take place vertically between different elevations in mountainous regions. Animals kept by herders differ with their geographical surroundings.

Where is pastoral nomadism practised?

The core region extends from the Atlantic shores of North Africa across the Arabian peninsula to Mongolia and Central China. Another region covers the Eurasian tundra. Smaller southern hemisphere areas occur in South-west Africa and Madagascar.

Shading forms a broad belt across northern Africa and into Asia. The map also marks smaller areas in southern Africa and Madagascar.

Case study: Seasonal movement in the Himalayas

Transhumance is migration from plains to mountain pastures during summers and back to the plains during winters. In the Himalayas, Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas make these seasonal movements between plains and high-altitude pastures.

In tundra regions, nomadic herders move from south to north in summers and from north to south in winters. Both movements are connected with the search for pasture, but mountain transhumance involves a change in elevation.

The number of pastoral nomads has been decreasing, and the areas they use have been shrinking. The imposition of political boundaries and new settlement plans introduced by different countries are responsible for this change.

How does commercial livestock rearing differ from nomadic herding?

Commercial livestock rearing is more organised and capital intensive than nomadic herding. It is essentially associated with western cultures and takes place on permanent ranches. These ranches cover large areas divided into fenced parcels to regulate grazing.

How is grazing organised on a ranch?

Animals move to another parcel when the grass in one parcel has been grazed. Their number is kept according to the carrying capacity of the pasture. This links the organisation of the herd to the pasture available within the ranch.

Commercial ranching is a specialised activity in which only one type of animal is reared. Important animals include sheep, cattle, goats and horses. Meat, wool, hides and skin are processed and packed scientifically for export to different world markets.

Scientific management emphasises breeding, genetic improvement, disease control and animal health care. New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Uruguay and the United States of America are important countries practising commercial livestock rearing.

The distinction therefore includes purpose, organisation and the use of capital. Both involve animals and pasture, but mobile subsistence herding and scientific ranch management represent different ways of carrying out pastoral activities.

How does primitive subsistence agriculture operate?

In subsistence agriculture, farming areas consume all, or nearly so, of the products grown locally. Its categories are primitive subsistence agriculture and intensive subsistence agriculture. The first is also called shifting cultivation.

Shifting cultivation is widely practised by many tribes in tropical regions, especially Africa, South and Central America, and Southeast Asia. Cultivated patches are very small, and farmers use primitive tools such as sticks and hoes.

What is the sequence in shifting cultivation?

1. Vegetation is usually cleared by fire. This gives the method its other name, slash and burn agriculture.
2. The ashes add to soil fertility, and the small cleared patch is cultivated with simple tools.
3. After some time, 3 to 5 years, the soil loses its fertility.
4. The farmer moves to another part of the forest and clears another patch for cultivation.
5. The farmer may return to the earlier patch after some time.

The return to a previous plot is a possibility, rather than a fixed step with a stated interval. A major problem is that the cycle of jhum becomes shorter because of the loss of fertility in different parcels.

What are its regional names?

Note: Shifting cultivation involves movement to another cultivated patch after fertility declines. Nomadic herding involves movement with livestock according to pasture and water. The movement in these activities serves different needs.

Fire clearing, the contribution of ash to fertility, simple tools, small plots and changing cultivation sites together explain the operation of this form of farming. The decline in fertility also explains why repeated cultivation of different parcels presents a problem.

What distinguishes the forms of intensive subsistence agriculture?

Intensive subsistence agriculture is largely found in densely populated regions of monsoon Asia. It includes cultivation dominated by wet paddy and cultivation dominated by crops other than paddy. Relief, climate, soil and other geographical factors help explain their different crop patterns.

How is wet paddy cultivation organised?

Rice is the dominant crop. Landholdings are very small because of the high density of population. Farmers use family labour and cultivate the land intensively. Machinery has limited use, and most agricultural operations are performed manually.

Farmyard manure helps maintain soil fertility. Yield per unit area is high, but productivity per labourer is low. These statements refer to different measures: the output from land and the output associated with labour.

Photograph: Rice Transplantation (NCERT Class 12 Figure 4.9). The photograph shows people bending over in a flooded field, placing rice plants in rows. It illustrates manual work in paddy cultivation.

Where are crops other than paddy grown?

Paddy cultivation is not practical in many parts of monsoon Asia because of differences in relief, climate, soil and other geographical factors. Wheat, soyabean, barley and sorghum are grown in northern China, Manchuria, North Korea and North Japan.

In India, wheat is grown in the western parts of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Millets are grown in the dry parts of western and southern India. Most characteristics resemble wet paddy farming, except that irrigation is often used.

What are the characteristics and regional examples of plantation agriculture?

Plantation agriculture was introduced by Europeans in tropical colonies. These were mainly profit-oriented systems of large-scale production. Important crops include tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, cotton, oil palm, sugarcane, bananas and pineapples.

How are plantations organised?

Plantations use large estates, substantial capital investment, managerial and technical support, and scientific cultivation methods. Single crop specialisation and cheap labour are characteristic features. A good transport system connects estates with factories and markets for exporting products.

The scale of an estate is therefore accompanied by investment and organisation. Cultivation is linked to processing and export through transport, while managerial and technical support forms part of the production system.

What has changed in plantation ownership?

Some Brazilian coffee fazendas, or large plantations, are still managed by Europeans. Ownership of the majority of plantations has passed to governments or nationals of the countries concerned. Management of some estates and ownership of the majority are distinct claims.

Photograph: Tea Plantation (NCERT Class 12 Figure 4.10). The photograph shows curved rows of tea bushes on a hillside, with people among the rows. Hill slopes are used for tea plantations because of favourable geographical conditions.

Plantation examples link a particular crop, location and historical investment pattern. They also show the difference between the European introduction of plantation systems and the subsequent transfer of ownership of most plantations.

How do extensive commercial grain cultivation and mixed farming differ?

What characterises commercial grain cultivation?

Extensive commercial grain cultivation is practised in the interior parts of semi-arid lands in the mid-latitudes. Wheat is the principal crop, although corn, barley, oats and rye are also grown. Farms are very large.

All cultivation operations, from ploughing to harvesting, are mechanised. Yield per acre is low, but yield per person is high.

This agriculture is best developed in the Eurasian steppes, Canadian and American Prairies, Argentine Pampas, South African Velds, Australian Downs and Canterbury Plains of New Zealand. These are the major regions associated with extensive commercial grain production.

Photograph: Mechanised Grain Farming (NCERT Class 12 Figure 4.11). The photograph shows several harvesting machines working along parallel strips of a grain field. Combine crews can harvest grain over many hectares in a single day.

What characterises mixed farming?

Mixed farming gives equal emphasis to crop cultivation and animal husbandry. It occurs in highly developed regions, including North-western Europe, Eastern North America, parts of Eurasia and the temperate latitudes of the southern continents.

Farms are moderate in size. Crops usually include wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, fodder and root crops. Fodder crops are an important component, while crop rotation and intercropping help maintain soil fertility.

Cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry provide the main income along with crops. Mixed farming involves high expenditure on machinery and buildings, extensive use of chemical fertilisers and green manures, and farmers' skill and expertise.

Growing several crops does not by itself describe mixed farming. The defining feature is the equal emphasis on crops and animals, with both contributing to farm income.

Why is dairy farming both capital intensive and labour intensive?

Dairy farming is the most advanced and efficient form of rearing milch animals. It requires substantial capital for animal sheds, fodder storage, feeding equipment and milking machines. Cattle breeding, health care and veterinary services receive special attention.

Why is continuous care necessary?

Dairy farming is highly labour intensive because feeding and milking involve rigorous care. Unlike crop raising, it has no off season during the year. Investment in equipment accompanies continuing work with the animals.

The capital and labour requirements describe different aspects of the same activity. Buildings and machines account for major investment, while regular feeding, milking and care explain the demand for labour.

How do markets and preservation affect dairying?

Dairying is practised mainly near urban and industrial centres. These provide neighbourhood markets for fresh milk and dairy products. Transportation, refrigeration, pasteurisation and other preservation processes have increased how long various dairy products can be stored.

The main commercial dairy regions are North Western Europe, Canada, and a belt including South Eastern Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. North Western Europe is the largest region; Canada is the second, and the Australasian belt is the third.

Photograph: A Dairy Farm in Austria (NCERT Class 12 Figure 4.13). The photograph shows cattle standing in a row inside a farm building, behind metal rails, with feed along the front.

The location of dairying therefore connects animal care with access to consumers. Preservation and transport support the handling of dairy products, while nearby urban and industrial centres provide an important market.

What makes Mediterranean agriculture a specialised commercial activity?

Mediterranean agriculture is highly specialised commercial agriculture. It occurs on either side of the Mediterranean Sea in Europe and in North Africa from Tunisia to the Atlantic coast.

Other areas include southern California, central Chile, south-western South Africa, and southern and south-western Australia. These locations form the geographical spread of this agricultural system beyond the Mediterranean basin itself.

Which crops and products are important?

The Mediterranean region is an important supplier of citrus fruits. Grape cultivation, or viticulture, is a speciality. High-quality grapes produce wines with distinctive flavours in various countries of the region.

Inferior grapes are dried to produce raisins and currants. Olives and figs are also grown. Thus, grape growing is an important speciality within a broader pattern of commercial fruit production.

Definition: Viticulture means grape cultivation. Grapes may be used for wine production, while inferior grapes are dried into raisins and currants.

Why is winter production valuable?

An advantage of Mediterranean agriculture is the cultivation of more valuable crops, such as fruits and vegetables, in winters. At this time, there is great demand for them in European and North American markets.

The commercial importance of this system therefore combines specialised crops with seasonal demand. Its explanation should include its distribution, citrus fruits and grapes, other produce such as olives and figs, and the advantage of supplying winter fruits and vegetables.

How do market gardening, horticulture and factory farming serve urban markets?

Market gardening and horticulture specialise in high-value crops such as vegetables, fruits and flowers, solely for urban markets. Farms are small and located where good transport links connect them with urban centres containing high-income consumers.

These activities are both labour and capital intensive. They emphasise irrigation, HYV seeds, fertilisers, insecticides, greenhouses and artificial heating in colder regions. Their location and methods support specialised production for urban demand.

Case study: Flower growing in the Netherlands

The Netherlands specialises in flowers and horticultural crops, especially tulips. These are flown to all major European cities. This example connects specialised horticultural production with transport to urban markets.

Market gardening and horticulture are well developed in densely populated industrial districts of North-west Europe, the north-eastern United States of America and Mediterranean regions. The Netherlands illustrates flower production within this wider pattern.

What distinguishes truck farming and factory farming?

Farmers practising truck farming specialise in vegetables only. Distance from the market is governed by the distance a truck can cover overnight. This relationship between transport and market distance gives truck farming its name.

Factory farming is a modern development in the industrial regions of Western Europe and North America. Livestock, particularly poultry and cattle, are kept in stalls and pens, given manufactured feedstuff and carefully supervised against diseases.

Factory farming requires heavy investment in buildings, machinery, veterinary services, heating and lighting. Breed selection and scientific breeding are important features of poultry farming and cattle rearing.

Photographs: Vegetables and Transport to City Markets (NCERT Class 12 Figure 4.17). The paired photographs show vegetable cultivation near a city and vegetables being loaded into a truck and cycle carts for transport to city markets.

How do co-operative and collective farming organise resources?

Farming can be classified according to its organisation as well as its crops and methods. Organisation is affected by the way farmers own their farms and by government policies that help run them.

What happens in co-operative farming?

In co-operative farming, farmers voluntarily pool resources through a co-operative society to make farming more efficient and profitable. Individual farms remain intact, while farming becomes a co-operative initiative.

Societies help farmers obtain important inputs, sell produce on the most favourable terms and process quality products at cheaper rates. Co-operation therefore supports several activities surrounding farm production.

The movement originated over a century ago and has succeeded in many western European countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Italy. In Denmark, practically every farmer belongs to a co-operative.

What happens in collective farming?

Collective farming is based on social ownership of the means of production and collective labour. The Kolkhoz model was introduced in the erstwhile Soviet Union to overcome inefficient earlier methods and increase agricultural production for self-sufficiency.

Farmers used to pool land, livestock and labour. However, they could retain very small plots to grow crops for their daily requirements. This detail is part of the distinction between collective resources and permitted personal cultivation.

What determines mining profitability, and how do mining methods differ?

Mining extracts mineral resources. The importance of minerals in human development is reflected in the copper, bronze and iron ages. Ancient uses were largely confined to tools, utensils and weapons. Mining's actual development began with the industrial revolution, and its importance is continuously increasing.

Which factors affect profitability?

A deposit's physical characteristics and the economic conditions of working it both matter. The mode of occurrence and the nature of the ore also determine whether surface or underground mining is used.

How do surface and underground mining work?

Surface mining, also called open-cast mining, is the easiest and cheapest method for minerals close to the surface. Overhead costs for equipment and safety precautions are relatively low. Output is large and rapid.

Underground mining, or the shaft method, is used when ore lies deep below the surface. Vertical shafts are sunk, and underground galleries extend from them to reach mineral deposits. Minerals are extracted and carried to the surface through these passages.

The method requires specially designed lifts, drills, haulage vehicles and ventilation systems for safety and efficient movement. It is risky: poisonous gases, fires, floods and caving in can cause fatal accidents.

The cross-section labels an open-cast or strip mine on the left and shaft mining on the right. The shaft extends vertically through rock layers and connects with underground horizontal passages.

See Fig. 4.19 in your NCERT textbook

How is the geographical importance of mining changing?

Developed economies are retreating from mining, processing and refining because of high labour costs. Developing countries with large labour forces and aspirations for higher living standards are becoming more important.

Several African countries and a few South American and Asian countries receive over fifty per cent of their earnings from minerals alone. This describes the importance of minerals to earnings in those countries, rather than a share applying to every country in those regions.

Glossary

• Primary activities — Economic activities directly dependent on the environment and the use of the earth's natural resources.
• Gathering — Collection of plants and animals to meet needs such as food, shelter and clothing.
• Pastoral nomadism — Subsistence animal rearing involving movement with livestock according to pasture quality, pasture quantity and water.
• Transhumance — Seasonal migration from plains to mountain pastures in summers and back to plains in winters.
• Commercial livestock rearing — Specialised animal rearing on permanent ranches, with scientific management and products exported to world markets.
• Subsistence agriculture — Agriculture in which farming areas consume all, or nearly so, of the products locally grown.
• Shifting cultivation — Cultivation of small cleared patches followed by movement to another patch when soil fertility declines.
• Plantation agriculture — Large-estate farming characterised by single crop specialisation, substantial investment, scientific cultivation and export connections.
• Mixed farming — Farming that gives equal emphasis to crop cultivation and animal husbandry, with both providing income.
• Viticulture — Grape cultivation, which is a speciality of the Mediterranean agricultural region.
• Truck farming — Vegetable-only farming whose market distance is governed by how far a truck can travel overnight.
• Co-operative farming — Voluntary pooling of farmers' resources through a society while individual farms remain intact.
• Collective farming — Farming organised around social ownership of the means of production and collective labour.
• Open-cast mining — Surface mining used to extract minerals that occur close to the earth's surface.
• Shaft mining — Underground mining using vertical shafts and galleries to reach and remove deeply located minerals.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: Primary activities consist of agriculture alone. Correct: They also include hunting and gathering, pastoral activities, fishing, forestry, and mining and quarrying.
• Misconception: All subsistence production is consumed locally without exception. Correct: Subsistence farming areas consume all, or nearly so, of their locally grown products.
• Misconception: Shifting cultivators definitely return to the earlier plot after a fixed interval. Correct: A farmer may return after some time; the stated 3 to 5 years concerns the loss of soil fertility during cultivation.
• Misconception: High yield per unit area necessarily means high productivity per labourer. Correct: Wet paddy intensive subsistence farming has high yield per unit area but low productivity per labourer.
• Misconception: Mixed farming means growing different crops alone. Correct: It gives equal emphasis to crop cultivation and animal husbandry.
• Misconception: Co-operative farming removes the identity of individual farms. Correct: Individual farms remain intact, and resources are pooled voluntarily through a society.
• Misconception: Underground mining is the cheapest method. Correct: Surface mining is the easiest and cheapest method for near-surface minerals; deep deposits require shafts and specialised equipment.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. Define primary activities and give examples. [2 marks]

1. Primary activities depend directly on the environment and utilise the earth's resources.
2. Examples include hunting and gathering, pastoral activities, fishing, forestry, agriculture, and mining and quarrying.

Q2. What is transhumance? Give a Himalayan example. [2 marks]

1. Transhumance is seasonal migration from plains to mountain pastures in summers and back to the plains in winters.
2. Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas make these movements in Himalayan regions.

Q3. Explain the operation and a major problem of shifting cultivation. [3 marks]

1. Vegetation is usually cleared by fire, and ash adds to soil fertility. Farmers cultivate very small patches with simple tools such as sticks and hoes.
2. After 3 to 5 years, soil fertility declines. Farmers move to another forest patch and may return to the earlier one after some time.
3. A major problem is the shortening jhum cycle because of declining fertility in different parcels.

Q4. Why are transport and preservation important for dairy farming? [3 marks]

1. Transport carries fresh milk and dairy products from farms to urban and industrial markets.
2. Refrigeration slows spoilage, allowing dairy products to be stored longer and transported to consumers.
3. Pasteurisation and other preservation processes help keep dairy products safe for longer, extending their storage duration.

Q5. Distinguish nomadic herding from commercial livestock rearing. [5 marks]

1. Nomadic herding is a primitive subsistence activity. Commercial livestock rearing is more organised, capital intensive and directed towards production for world markets.
2. Nomadic herders move with animals according to pasture and water. Commercial livestock is raised on permanent ranches divided into fenced grazing parcels.
3. Nomadic communities occupy traditional territories. On ranches, animal numbers are kept according to the carrying capacity of the pasture.
4. Nomads rely on livestock for food, clothing, shelter, tools and transport. Ranching specialises in one type of animal and scientifically processes and packs meat, wool, hides and skin for export.
5. Nomadic herding occurs across North Africa and Asia, the Eurasian tundra, and smaller areas of South-west Africa and Madagascar. Commercial livestock rearing is important in New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Uruguay and the United States of America.

Q6. Explain plantation agriculture and give regional examples. [5 marks]

1. Europeans introduced plantation agriculture in tropical colonies as a mainly profit-oriented system of large-scale production.
2. Its features include large estates, substantial capital, managerial and technical support, scientific cultivation, single crop specialisation and cheap labour.
3. Good transport links plantations with factories and markets for exporting their products.
4. The British established tea gardens in India and Sri Lanka and rubber plantations in Malaysia. The French established cocoa and coffee plantations in West Africa.
5. Important plantation crops also include cotton, oil palm, sugarcane, bananas and pineapples. Ownership of the majority of plantations has passed to governments or nationals of the countries concerned, although some Brazilian coffee fazendas are still managed by Europeans.

Q7. Explain the factors affecting mining profitability and compare the mining methods. [5 marks]

1. Physical factors are the size, grade and mode of occurrence of deposits. Economic factors include mineral demand, technology, infrastructure capital, labour costs and transport costs.
2. Surface or open-cast mining extracts near-surface minerals. It is the easiest and cheapest method, with relatively low equipment and safety overheads and large, rapid output.
3. Deep ore requires underground or shaft mining. Vertical shafts connect to galleries through which minerals are reached and brought to the surface.
4. Underground mining needs special lifts, drills, haulage vehicles and ventilation systems for safe and efficient movement of people and materials.
5. The underground method is risky because poisonous gases, fires, floods and caving in can cause fatal accidents.

Key takeaways

• Primary activities depend directly on environmental resources and include agriculture, pastoralism, gathering, fishing, forestry and mining.
• Nomadic herders move according to pasture and water, while commercial ranching uses permanent farms and scientific animal management.
• Shifting cultivation uses small cleared plots; declining fertility after 3 to 5 years prompts movement to another patch.
• Wet paddy subsistence farming combines high yield per unit area with low productivity per labourer.
• Plantations combine large estates, single crop specialisation, substantial capital, scientific methods and transport connections to export markets.
• Mixed farming gives equal emphasis to crops and animals, while dairy farming requires continuous care and substantial capital.
• Co-operative farming preserves individual farms; collective farming rests on social ownership of production resources and collective labour.
• Mining profitability depends on physical and economic factors, while ore occurrence and nature determine the mining method.

Test yourself

Why are people in primary activities called red-collar workers?

They are called red-collar workers because of the outdoor nature of their work.

Why has gathering lost ground to synthetic products?

Synthetic products, often of better quality and at lower prices, have replaced many products supplied by tropical forest gatherers.

What causes the decline in pastoral nomadism?

The imposition of political boundaries and new settlement plans by different countries reduce pastoral nomads' operating areas.

Where are Jhuming, Milpa and Ladang practised?

Jhuming occurs in north-eastern India, Milpa in Central America and Mexico, and Ladang in Indonesia and Malaysia.

How do the productivity measures differ in commercial grain cultivation?

Commercial grain cultivation has low yield per acre but high yield per person.

What is the winter advantage of Mediterranean agriculture?

It supplies valuable fruits and vegetables in winters when demand is great in European and North American markets.

What distinguishes truck farming from broader market gardening?

Truck farming specialises in vegetables only, with market distance governed by how far a truck can travel overnight.

How successful is co-operative farming in Denmark?

The movement has been so successful that practically every farmer in Denmark belongs to a co-operative.