Primary Activities PDF

Human activities which generate income are Unit-III known as economic activities. Economic Chapter-5 activities are broadly grouped into primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities. Primary activities ar...

Human activities which generate income are Unit-III known as economic activities. Economic Chapter-5 activities are broadly grouped into primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities. Primary activities are directly dependent on environment as these refer to utilisation of earth’s resources such as land, water, vegetation, building materials and minerals. It, thus includes, hunting and gathering, pastoral ed activities, fishing, forestry, agriculture, and mining and quarrying. Why are the inhabitants of coastal and plain regions engaged in fishing and h agriculture respectively? What are the Primary Activities pu T physical and social factors which affect the is type of primary activities in different regions? re R bl E People engaged in primary activities are called red- collar workers due to the outdoor nature of their work. be C HUNTING AND GATHERING GA o N 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. Primitive societies depended on wild animals. People located in very cold and extremely hot climates survived on hunting. The people in the coastal areas still catch fish though fishing has experienced modernisation due to technological progress. Many species, now have become extinct or endangered due to illegal hunting (poaching). The early hunters used primitive tools made of stones, twigs or arrows tt so the number of animals killed was limited. Why has hunting been banned in India? Gathering and hunting are the oldest economic activity known. These are carried out no at different levels with different orientations. Gathering is practised in regions with harsh climatic conditions. It often involves primitive societies, who extract, both plants and animals to satisfy their needs for food, shelter Gathering is practised in: (i) high latitude and clothing. This type of activity requires a zones which include northern Canada, northern small amount of capital investment and Eurasia and southern Chile; (ii) Low latitude operates at very low level of technology. The zones such as the Amazon Basin, tropical yield per person is very low and little or no Africa, Northern fringe of Australia and the surplus is produced. interior parts of Southeast Asia (Fig. 5.2). In modern times some gathering is market- oriented and has become commercial. Gatherers collect valuable plants such as leaves, barks of ed trees and medicinal plants and after simple processing sell the products in the market. They use various parts of the plants, for example, the bark is used for quinine, tanin extract and cork— leaves supply materials for beverages, h drugs, cosmetics, fibres, thatch and fabrics; nuts for food and oils and tree trunk yield pu T rubber, balata, gums and resins. is re R bl The name of the part of the chewing gum after the flavour E is gone? It is called Chicle — it is made from the milky juice of zapota tree. be C Gathering has little chance of becoming Fig. 5.1: Women Gathering Oranges in Mizoram important at the global level. Products of such an o N © tt no Fig. 5.2: Areas of Subsistence Gathering 32 Fundamentals of Human Geography activity cannot compete in the world market. Pastoral nomadism is associated with Moreover, synthetic products often of better three important regions. The core region quality and at lower prices, have replaced many extends from the Atlantic shores of North Africa items supplied by the gatherers in tropical forests. eastwards across the Arabian peninsula into Mongolia and Central China. The second region PASTORALISM extends over the tundra region of Eurasia. In At some stage in history, with the realisation the southern hemisphere there are small areas that hunting is an unsustainable activity, in South-west Africa and on the island of human beings might have thought of Madagascar (Fig. 5.4) ed domestication of animals. People living in Movement in search of pastures is different climatic conditions selected and undertaken either over vast horizontal domesticated animals found in those regions. distances or vertically from one elevation to Depending on the geographical factors, and another in the mountainous regions. The technological development, animal rearing process of migration from plain areas to h today is practised either at the subsistence or pastures on mountains during summers and again from mountain pastures to plain areas pu T at the commercial level. during winters is known as transhumance. In is Nomadic Herding re R mountain regions, such as Himalayas, Gujjars, Nomadic herding or pastoral nomadism is a Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas migrate from primitive subsistence activity, in which the plains to the mountains in summers and to the bl herders rely on animals for food, clothing, shelter, plains from the high altitude pastures in winters. Similarly, in the tundra regions, the E tools and transport. They move from one place to another along with their livestock, depending nomadic herders move from south to north in on the amount and quality of pastures and summers and from north to south in winters. be C water. Each nomadic community occupies a The number of pastoral nomads has been well-identified territory as a matter of tradition. decreasing and the areas operated by them shrinking. This is due to (a) imposition of political boundaries; (b) new settlement plans o N by different countries. Commercial Livestock Rearing Unlike nomadic herding, commercial livestock © rearing is more organised and capital intensive. Commercial livestock ranching is essentially associated with western cultures and 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. When the grass of one parcel is grazed, animals are moved to another parcel. The number of Fig. 5.3: Nomads taking their sheep up to the animals in a pasture is kept according to the Mountains at the onset of summer carrying capacity of the pasture. tt A wide variety of animals is kept in This is a specialised activity in which only different regions. In tropical Africa, cattle are one type of animal is reared. Important animals the most important livestock, while in Sahara include sheep, cattle, goats and horses. no and Asiatic deserts, sheep, goats and camel Products such as meat, wool, hides and skin are reared. In the mountainous areas of Tibet are processed and packed scientifically and and Andes, yak and llamas and in the Arctic exported to different world markets. and sub Arctic areas, reindeer are the most Rearing of animals in ranching is important animals. organised on a scientific basis. The main Primary Activities 33  h ed pu T is re R bl E Fig. 5.4: Areas of Nomadic Herding be C AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE o N Agriculture is practised under multiple combinations of physical and socio-economic conditions, which gives rise to different types of agricultural systems. © Based on methods of farming, different types of crops are grown and livestock raised. The following are the main agricultural systems. Subsistence Agriculture Subsistence agriculture is one in which the farming areas consume all, or nearly so, of the Fig. 5.5: Commercial Livestock Rearing products locally grown. It can be grouped in two categories — Primitive Subsistence Agriculture and Intensive Subsistence tt Reindeer rearing in the northern regions of Alaska where most of the Eskimos own about two-third of the stock. Agriculture. emphasis is on breeding, genetic improvement, Primitive Subsistence Agriculture disease control and health care of the animals. no New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Primitive subsistence agriculture or shifting Uruguay and United States of America are cultivation is widely practised by many tribes important countries where commercial livestock in the tropics, especially in Africa, south and rearing is practised (Fig. 5.6). central America and south east Asia (Fig. 5.7). 34 Fundamentals of Human Geography  h ed pu T is re R bl E Fig. 5.6: Areas of Commercial Livestock Rearing be C o N © tt no Fig. 5.7: Areas of Primitive Subsistence Agriculture Primary Activities 35  The vegetation is usually cleared by fire, Basically, there are two types of intensive and the ashes add to the fertility of the soil. subsistence agriculture. Shifting cultivation is thus, also called slash (i) Intensive subsistence agriculture and burn agriculture. The cultivated patches dominated by wet paddy cultivation: This are very small and cultivation is done with very type of agriculture is characterised by primitive tools such as sticks and hoes. After dominance of the rice crop. Land holdings sometime (3 to 5 years) the soil looses its fertility are very small due to the high density of and the farmer shifts to another parts and clears population. Farmers work with the help other patch of the forest for cultivation. The of family labour leading to intensive use of ed farmer may return to the earlier patch after land. Use of machinery is limited and most sometime. One of the major problems of shifting of the agricultural operations are done by cultivation is that the cycle of jhum becomes manual labour. Farm yard manure is used less and less due to loss of fertility in different to maintain the fertility of the soil. In this parcels. It is prevalent in tropical region in type of agriculture, the yield per unit area h different names, e.g. Jhuming in North eastern is high but per labour productivity is low. states of India, Milpa in central America and (ii) Intensive subsidence agriculture pu T Mexico and Ladang in Indonesia and Malaysia. dominated by crops other than paddy: is Find out other areas and the names with which re R Due to the difference in relief, climate, soil shifting cultivation is done. and some of the other geographical factors, it is not practical to grow paddy in many bl Intensive Subsistence Agriculture parts of monsoon Asia. Wheat, soyabean, barley and sorghum are grown in northern E This type of agriculture is largely found in densely populated regions of monsoon Asia. China, Manchuria, North Korea and North Japan. In India wheat is grown in western be C o N © tt no Fig. 5.8: Areas of Intensive Subsistence Farming 36 Fundamentals of Human Geography  coconut and sugarcane plantations in the Philippines. The Dutch once had monopoly over sugarcane plantation in Indonesia. Some coffee fazendas (large plantations) in Brazil are still managed by Europeans. Today, ownership of the majority of plantations has passed into the hands of the government or the nationals of the countries concerned. h ed Fig. 5.9: Rice Transplantation pu T is parts of the Indo-Gangetic plains and millets are grown in dry parts of western re R and southern India. Most of the characteristics of this type of agriculture bl are similar to those dominated by wet E paddy except that irrigation is often used. Fig. 5.10: Tea Plantation The Europeans colonised many parts in The slopes of hills are used for tea plantations because the world and they introduced some other forms be C of favourable geographical conditions. of agriculture such as plantations which were mainly profit-oriented large scale production Extensive Commercial Grain Cultivation systems. o N Commercial grain cultivation is practised in the Plantation Agriculture interior parts of semi-arid lands of the mid- latitudes. Wheat is the principal crop, though Plantation agriculture as mentioned above was other crops like corn, barley, oats and rye are introduced by the Europeans in colonies © situated in the tropics. Some of the important also grown. The size of the farm is very large, plantation crops are tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, therefore entire operations of cultivation from cotton, oil palm, sugarcane, bananas and ploughing to pineapples. harvesting are The characteristic features of this type of mechanised (Fig. farming are large estates or plantations, large 5.11). There is low capital investment, managerial and technical yield per acre but support, scientific methods of cultivation, high yield per single crop specialisation, cheap labour, and person. Why does a good system of transportation which links this happen? tt the estates to the factories and markets for the export of the products. Fig. 5.11: Mechanised Grain Farming The French established cocoa and coffee Combine crews are no plantations in west Africa. The British set up large tea gardens in India and Sri Lanka, capable of harvesting rubber plantations in Malaysia and sugarcane grain over many and banana plantations in West Indies. hectares in a single Spanish and Americans invested heavily in day. Primary Activities 37  h ed pu T is re R bl E Fig. 5.12: Areas of Extensive Commercial Grain Farming be C This type of agriculture is best developed building, extensive use of chemical fertilisers in Eurasian steppes, the Canadian and and green manures and also by the skill and American Prairies, the Pampas of Argentina, the expertise of the farmers. o N Velds of South Africa, the Australian Downs and the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand. (Locate Dairy Farming these areas on the world map). Dairy is the most advanced and efficient type of rearing of milch animals. It is highly capital Mixed Farming © intensive. Animal sheds, storage facilities for This form of agriculture is found in the highly fodder, feeding and milching machines add to developed parts of the world, e.g. North-western the cost of dairy farming. Special emphasis is Europe, Eastern North America, parts of laid on cattle breeding, health care and Eurasia and the temperate latitudes of veterinary services. Southern continents (Fig. 5.14). 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 tt mixed farming. Crop rotation and intercropping play an important role in maintaining soil fertility. Equal emphasis is laid on crop cultivation and animal husbandry. Animals like no cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry provide the main income along with crops. Mixed farming is characterised by high capital expenditure on farm machinery and Fig. 5.13: A Dairy Farm in Austria 38 Fundamentals of Human Geography  h ed pu T is re R bl E Fig. 5.14: Areas of Mixed Farming be C It is highly labour intensive as it involves There are three main regions of commercial rigorous care in feeding and milching. There is dairy farming. The largest is North Western no off season during the year as in the case of Europe the second is Canada and the third belt o N crop raising. includes South Eastern Australia, New Zealand It is practised mainly near urban and and Tasmania (Fig. 5.16). industrial centres which provide neighbourhood market for fresh milk and dairy Mediterranean Agriculture products. The development of transportation, © refrigeration, pasteurisation and other Mediterranean agriculture is highly specialised preservation processes have increased the commercial agriculture. It is practised in the duration of storage of various dairy products. countries on either side of the Mediterranean tt no Fig. 5.15 (a): A vineyard in Switzerland Fig. 5.15 (b): Collection of grapes in a collective farm of Kazakhstan Primary Activities 39  h ed pu T is re R bl E Fig. 5.16: Areas of Dairy Farming be C sea in Europe and in north Africa from Tunisia links with the urban centre where high income to Atlantic coast, southern California, central group of consumers is located. It is both labour Chile, south western parts of South Africa and and capital intensive and lays emphasis on the o N south and south western parts of Australia. use of irrigation, HYV seeds, fertilisers, This region is an important supplier of citrus insecticides, greenhouses and artificial heating fruits. in colder regions. Viticulture or grape cultivation is a This type of agriculture is well developed © speciality of the Mediterranean region. Best in densely populated industrial districts of quality wines in the world with distinctive north west Europe, north eastern United States flavours are produced from high quality grapes of America and the Mediterranean regions. The in various countries of this region. The inferior Netherlands specialises in growing flowers and grapes are dried into raisins and currants. This horticultural crops especially tulips, which are region also produces olives and figs. The flown to all major cities of Europe. advantage of Mediterranean agriculture is that The regions where farmers specialise in more valuable crops such as fruits and vegetables only, the farming is know as truck vegetables are grown in winters when there is farming. The distance of truck farms from the great demand in European and North American market is governed by the distance that a truck tt markets. can cover overnight, hence the name truck farming. Market Gardening and Horticulture In addition to market gardening, a modern development in the industrial regions of Western no Market gardening and horticulture specialise in the cultivation of high value crops such as Europe and North America is factory farming. vegetables, fruits and flowers, solely for the Livestock, particularly poultry and cattle urban markets. Farms are small and are rearing, is done in stalls and pens, fed on located where there are good transportation manufactured feedstuff and carefully 40 Fundamentals of Human Geography  ed Figure 5.17 (a): Vegetables being grown in the Figure 5.17 (b): Vegetables being loaded into a truck vicinity of the city and cycle carts for transporting to city markets h supervised against diseases. This requires heavy is based on social ownership of the means of pu T capital investment in terms of building, production and collective labour. Collective is machinery for various operations, veterinary farming or the model of Kolkhoz was introduced in erstwhile Soviet Union to improve re R services and heating and lighting. One of the important features of poultry farming and cattle upon the inefficiency of the previous methods bl rearing is breed selection and scientific of agriculture and to boost agricultural production for self-sufficiency. E breeding. The farmers used to pool in all their Types of farming can also be categorised resources like land, livestock and labour. according to the farming organisation. Farming However, they were allowed to retain very small be C organisation is affected by the way in which plots to grow crops in order to meet their daily farmers own their farms and various policies of requirements. the government which help to run these farms. Yearly targets were set by the government o N and the produce was also sold to the state at Co-operative Farming fixed prices. Produce in excess of the fixed amount was distributed among the members A group of farmers form a co-operative society or sold in the market. The farmers had to pay by pooling in their resources voluntarily for taxes on the farm produces, hired machinery © more efficient and profitable farming. Individual etc. Members were paid according to the nature farms remain intact and farming is a matter of of the work allotted to them by the farm cooperative initiative. management. Exceptional work was rewarded Co-operative societies help farmers, to in cash or kind. This type of farming was procure all important inputs of farming, sell the introduced in former Soviet Union under the products at the most favourable terms and help socialist regime which was adopted by the in processing of quality products at cheaper socialist countries. After its collapse, these have rates. already been modified. Co-operative movement originated over a century ago and has been successful in many MINING tt western European countries like Denmark, The discovery of minerals in the history of Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Italy etc. In human development, is reflected in many stages Denmark, the movement has been so successful in terms of copper age, bronze age and iron age. that practically every farmer is a member of a no The use of minerals in ancient times was largely co-operative. confined to the making of tools, utensils and weapons. The actual development of mining Collective Farming began with the industrial revolution and its The basic principle behind this types of farming importance is continuously increasing. Primary Activities 41  as safety precautions and equipment is relatively low in this method. The output is both large and rapid. SHAFT MINING OPEN-CAST OR (STRIP MINING) h ed pu T is re R Fig. 5.19: Methods of Mining When the ore lies deep below the surface, underground mining method (shaft method) bl Fig. 5.18: Oil drilling operation has to be used. In this method, vertical shafts E in the Gulf of Mexico have to be sunk, from where underground galleries radiate to reach the minerals. Factors Affecting Mining Activity Minerals are extracted and transported to the be C surface through these passages. It requires The profitability of mining operations thus, specially designed lifts, drills, haulage vehicles, depends on two main factors: ventilation system for safety and efficient (i) Physical factors include the size, grade and o N movement of people and material. This method the mode of occurrence of the deposits. is risky. Poisonous gases, fires, floods and (ii) Economic factors such as the demand for caving in lead to fatal accidents. Have you ever the mineral, technology available and used, read about mine fires and flooding of coal capital to develop infrastructure and the mines in India? © labour and transport costs. The developed economies are retreating from mining, processing and refining stages of Methods of Mining production due to high labour costs, while the Depending on the mode of occurrence and the developing countries with large labour force and nature of the ore, mining is of two types: surface striving for higher standard of living are and underground mining. The surface mining becoming more important. Several countries also known as open-cast mining is the easiest of Africa and few of south America and Asia and the cheapest way of mining minerals that have over fifty per cent of the earnings from occur close to the surface. Overhead costs such minerals alone. tt no 42 Fundamentals of Human Geography  EXERCISES 1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below. (i) Which one of the following is not a plantation crop? ed (a) Coffee (c) Wheat (b) Sugarcane (d) Rubber (ii) In which one of the following countries co-operative farming was the most successful experiment? h (a) Russia (c) India pu T (b) Denmark (d) The Netherlands is (iii) Growing of flowers is called: (a) Truck farming (c) Mixed farming re R (b) Factory farming (d) Floriculture bl (iv) Which one of the following types of cultivation was developed by European colonists? E (a) Kolkoz (c) Mixed farming (b) Viticulture (d) Plantation be C (v) In which one of the following regions is extensive commercial grain cultivation not practised? (a) American Canadian prairies (c) Pampas of Argentina o N (b) European Steppes (d) Amazon Basin (vi) In which of the following types of agriculture is the farming of citrus fruit very important? (a) Market gardening (c) Mediterranean agriculture © (b) Plantation agriculture (d) Co-operative farming (vii) Which one type of agriculture amongst the following is also called ‘slash and burn agriculture’? (a) Extensive subsistence agriculture (b) Primitive subsistence agriculture (c) Extensive commercial grain cultivation (d) Mixed farming (viii) Which one of the following does not follow monoculture? (a) Dairy farming (c) Plantation agriculture tt (b) Mixed farming (d) Commercial grain farming 2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words. (i) Future of shifting cultivation is bleak. Discuss. no (ii) Market gardening is practised near urban areas. Why? (iii) Large scale dairy farming is the result of the development of transportation and refrigeration. Primary Activities 43  3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words. (i) Differentiate between Nomadic Herding and Commercial Livestock Rearing. (ii) Discuss the important characteristic features of plantation agriculture. Name a few important plantation crops from different countries. Project/Activity Visit a nearby village and observe the cultivation of some crops. Ask the farmers and list the various operations. h ed pu T is re R bl E be C o N © tt no 44 Fundamentals of Human Geography