Primary Activities| Human geography| Chapter-5| Class12| NCERT

Chapter-5

Primary Activities

Human activities which generate income are

known as economic activities. Economic

activities are broadly grouped into primary,

secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities.

HUNTING AND GATHERING

The earliest human beings depended on their

immediate environment for their sustenance.

They subsisted on: (a) animals which they

hunted; and (b) the edible plants which they

gathered from forests in the vicinity.

Gathering is practised in:

 (i) high latitude zones:-

 which include northern Canada, northern Eurasia and southern Chile;

 (ii) Low latitude zones :- 

such as the Amazon Basin, tropical Africa, Northern fringe of Australia and the interior parts of Southeast Asia

PASTORALISM

• At some stage in history, with the realisation

that hunting is an unsustainable activity,

human beings might have thought of domestication of animals. 

• People living in

different climatic conditions selected anddomesticated animals found in those regions. Ex.:-

• In tropical Africa, cattle are

the most important livestock,

•  while in deserts, sheep, goats and camel

are reared. 

• In the mountainous areas, yak and llamas.

•  in the Arctic and sub Arctic areas, reindeer are the most

important animals

Nomadic Herding

• Nomadic herding  is a

primitive subsistence activity, in which the

herders rely on animals for food, clothing, shelter, tools and transport.

• They move from one place

to another along with their livestock, depending on the amount and quality of pastures and water.

Commercial Livestock Rearing

• Unlike nomadic herding, commercial livestock rearing is more organised and capital intensive.

• Commercial livestock rearing is practised on permanent ranches. 

• These ranches cover

large areas and are divided into a number of parcels, which are fenced to regulate the grazing.

• This is a specialised activity in which only one type of animal is reared.

 Important animals

include sheep, cattle, goats and horses.

• Products such as meat, wool, skin are processed and exported to different world markets.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is practised under multiple

combinations of physical and socio-economic

conditions, which gives rise to different types of

agricultural systems.

Subsistence Agriculture

Subsistence agriculture is one in which the

farming areas consume all, or nearly so, of the

products locally grown. It can be grouped in

two categories — 

• Primitive Subsistence Agriculture

      

• Intensive subsistence Agriculture

Plantation Agriculture

• The characteristic features of this type of

farming are large estates or plantations, large

capital investment, managerial and technical

support, scientific methods of cultivation,

single crop specialisation, cheap labour, and

a good system of transportation which links

the estates to the factories and markets for the export of the product's

• The French established cocoa and coffee

plantations in west Africa. 

• The British set up

large tea gardens in India and Sri Lanka

Extensive Commercial Grain Cultivation

• The size of the farm is very large,

therefore entire operations of cultivation from ploughing to harvesting are

mechanised

• Wheat is the principal crop, though

other crops like corn, barley, oats and rye are also grown

Mixed Farming

• Mixed farms are moderate in size and

usually the crops associated with it are wheat,

barley, oats, rye, maize, fodder and root crops.

• Fodder crops are an important component of mixed farming. 
• Crop rotation and intercropping

play an important role in maintaining soil

fertility.

• Mixed farming is characterised by high

capital expenditure on farm machinery and

building, extensive use of chemical fertilisers

Dairy Farming

• Dairy is the most advanced and efficient type of rearing of milch animals. It is highly capital intensive.
• It is practised mainly near urban and

industrial centres which provide

neighbourhood market for fresh milk and dairy

products. 

• The development of transportation,

refrigeration, pasteurisation and other

preservation processes have increased the

duration of storage of various dairy products.

Mediterranean Agriculture

• Mediterranean agriculture is highly specialised

commercial agriculture. It is practised in the

countries on either side of the Mediterranean sea

• This region is an important supplier of citrus fruits.

• Viticulture or grape cultivation is a

speciality of the Mediterranean region.

Market Gardening and Horticulture

• Market gardening and horticulture specialise

in the cultivation of high value crops such as

vegetables, fruits and flowers, solely for the

urban markets

• It is both labour and capital intensive

Co-operative Farming

A group of farmers form a co-operative society

by pooling in their resources voluntarily for

more efficient and profitable farming. Individual

farms remain intact and farming is a matter of

cooperative initiative.

Collective Farming

The farmers used to pool in all their

resources like land, livestock and labour.

However, they were allowed to retain very small

plots to grow crops in order to meet their daily requirements.

It is also known as Kolkhoz

MINING

Factors Affecting Mining Activity

• Physical factor
• Economic factor

Methods of Mining

Depending on the mode of occurrence and the

nature of the ore, mining is of two types: surface

and underground mining. 

The surface mining

also known as open-cast mining

underground mining method is also known as shaft method

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