Primary Activities Class 12 Notes Geography Chapter 5 - CBSE
Chapter : 5
What Are Primary Activities ?
Hunting And Gathering
- Hunting and gathering are two of man’s first primal pursuits. Early humans lived in woodlands and hunted animals to survive. In the beginning, he also gathered numerous goods from the trees to meet his requirements.
- Primitive man lived off of food plants they hunted and edible plants collected from the wild. Because early humans used crude instruments like stones, twigs, and arrows to carry out these tasks, the number of animals slaughtered was restricted. However, modern technology has resulted in widespread animal
poaching, making hunting unlawful. - The gathering takes place in high latitude zones such as North Canada, Northern Eurasia, and Southern Chile, as well as low latitude zones such as the Amazon Basin, tropical Africa, and South-East Asia’s interiors.
Nomading Herding
- It is a primitive practice in which herders move their animals from one location to another in search of food and water. It is also known as pastoral nomadism. Food, clothes, housing, tools, and transportation are all provided by animals.
- Cattle are raised in tropical Africa, sheep, goats, and camels in the Sahara, Asiatic deserts, Yak, llamas in Tibet and the Andes, and reindeer in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic locations, depending on geographical circumstances. Mongolia, Central China, Eurasia, South-West Africa, and Madagascar are among the other regions.
Commercial Livestock Rearing
- This practice is highly organised and capital demanding, and it is connected with western civilization. This practice takes place on large, permanent ranches.
- Breeding, genetic enhancement, disease prevention, and health care are all done using modern scientific technologies. Meat, wool, and skins are produced and shipped to various international markets.
- The ranches raise sheep, cattle, goats, and horses. Commercial cattle farming is concentrated in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Uruguay, South-West Africa, the Western United States, and Central Asia.
Agriculture
- Agriculture is practised under a variety of physical and socioeconomic circumstances, resulting in several types of agricultural systems.
- Different types of crops and livestock are cultivated and reared based on agricultural practices. The primary agricultural systems are as follows:
Subsistence Agriculture
Farmers consume all or almost all of the products in this style of agriculture since the farm is tiny. Primitive subsistence agriculture and intense subsistence agriculture are two types of subsistence agriculture.
- Primitive Subsistence Agriculture: This is common in tropical parts of Africa and the Middle East, Central America, and Southeast Asia. Milpa, Jhuming, and Ladang are some of its names in different regions. Slash and bum agriculture, or shifting agriculture, is another name. Cultivation is accomplished by clearing a piece
of ground with essential equipment. When the soil loses its fertility after 3 to 5 years, fresh ground is cleared for agriculture. - Intensive Subsistence Agriculture: This sort of agriculture is common in monsoon Asia’s highly populated areas. Wet paddy cultivation and crops other than paddy are dominant in this form of farming. The production per unit area is great, but land holdings are limited due to high population density, reduced use of
equipment, family labour, and the usage of farmyard manure. Wheat, soybean, barley, and sorghum are some of the other crops cultivated in Northern China, Manchuria, North Korea, and Japan. It is practised across India’s Indo-Gangetic plains, as well as the drier portions of Western and Southern India.
Plantation Agriculture
Europeans introduced crops such as cocoa and coffee to West Africa, tea to India and Sri Lanka, rubber to Malaysia, sugarcane and banana to the West Indies by the British, and coconut and sugarcane to the Philippines by the Spanish and so on.
- Extensive Commercial Grain Cultivation: This is done in the interiors of semi-arid mid-latitude regions such as the Eurasian steppes, Canadian and American Prairies, Argentina’s Pampas, South Africa’s velds, Australia’s Downs, and New Zealand’s Canterbury Plains.
- Mixed Farming: (i) North-Western Europe, Eastern-North America, sections of Eurasia, and temperate latitudes of Southern continents all practise this. Crop agriculture and animal husbandry are also practised here. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, fodder and root crops, as well as the production of farm animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens, are all used to supplement income.
(ii) Crop rotation and intercropping are used, as well as a significant capital investment in agricultural supplies.
- Dairy Farming: (i) It is practised in North-Western Europe, Canada, South-Eastern Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania near urban and industrial hubs. Feeding, milking machines, animal buildings, storage facilities, veterinary services, and other costs add up quickly.
(ii) It is also time-consuming due to the need for meticulous animal care. Unlike crop farming, there is no off-season during the year.
Mediterranean Agriculture
It is practised in Europe on both sides of the Mediterranean, in North Africa from Tunisia to the Atlantic coast, Southern California, certain areas of Chile, South-Western South Africa, and South-Western Australia. It is a highly specialised commercial agribusiness and a major citrus fruit provider.
- Viticulture: This refers to the cultivation of grapes in the Mediterranean regions. Inferior grapes are made into raisins and currants, while superior grapes are processed into wines. Figs and olives are also cultivated.
- Market Gardening and Horticulture: This style of farming focuses on high-value products such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers that are grown especially for urban markets. Small, mechanised farms are the norm. It needs both capital and labour.
- Truck Farming: This mainly relates to the growing of vegetables as a specialty. Truck farming gets its name from the fact that the distance between farms and metropolitan markets may be spanned overnight by trucks.
- Factory Farming: This refers to the raising of animals, primarily chickens and cattle. This is a capital-intensive process that needs ongoing maintenance, supervision, and scientific breeding. It is used throughout Europe and North America’s industrial regions.
- Co-operative Farming: Farmers create a co-operative organisation under this agricultural system by combining their resources willingly for more efficient and lucrative farming. Farm goods are bought and sold with the assistance of societies. Individual farms are unaffected. Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium,
Sweden, and Italy are among the countries that practise it. - Collected Farming: It is based on group labour and social ownership of the means of production. Farmers share their resources here, with the exception of a tiny portion that they are permitted to keep for themselves. Produce is sold to the government at predetermined rates. Members are compensated based on
the type of work they perform. It was initially practised in Kelkhoz, in the former Soviet Union.
Mining
It is the process of extracting mineral resources from the Earth’s surface. The industrial revolution was the catalyst for its growth. Factors that Influence Mining Activity The mining industry is influenced by two elements. These are the following: The size, grade, and method of occurrence of the deposits are all physical
characteristics. Demand for minerals, technology, money to create infrastructure, labour, and transportation costs are all economic issues.
Methods Of Mining
Surface and underground mining are the two forms of mining. Opencast mining occurs near the surface, making it the simplest and most cost-effective method. The other is underground mining, which uses vertical shafts to harvest minerals from very deep mines. It necessitates the use of lifts, drills, and high-tech equipment.
