Short Notes: Class 12 Geography Key Notes Chapter 4 Primary Activities
Class 12 Geography Key Notes Chapter 4 Primary Activities
What do you mean by primary activities?
- Primary activities are directly related with land and water
- These activities include hunting, gathering, pastoral activities fishing, Forestry, agriculture, mining, quarrying
Economic activities
Human activities which generate income are known as economic activities
Types of economic activities
- Primary activities
- Secondary activities
- Tertiary activities
- Quaternary activities
Primary activities
Hunting and gathering
- The earliest human beings were depending upon their immediate environment
- They subsisted on animals hunting, gathering edible plants
- They ate animal plushCatching fish in the coastal areas
- The earliest people used primitive tools such as arrows, twigs and these tools are made up of stones
- Now the number of animals killed was limited
- The gathering is practiced in regions with horse climatic conditions
- It is done by primitive societies
- They depend upon plants and animals to satisfy their needs for food, shelter and clothing
- It requires very less amount of capital investment and technology
- No surplus is produced
Areas of gathering in the world
- High latitude zones like northern Canada, Northern Eurasia and southern Chile
- Low latitude zone areas like Amazon Basin, tropical Africa Northern fringe of Australia and interior parts of Southeast Asia
In modern times gathering is a market-oriented practice. Justify?
Gatherers collect leaves, barks, and nuts of the trees for medicinal uses and they are sold in the market after a small processing
Uses of the collected forest products
| Products | Uses |
| Bark | Preparing quinine |
| Leaves | Preparing beverages, drugs, cosmetics |
| Nuts | To prepare different foods and oils |
| Liquid of trunk | Making rubber, gums and resins |
Pastoralism
People living in different climatic conditions domesticate animals and they are totally dependent upon geographical environment
Nomadic herding
- People move from one place to another along with their cattle
- The movement is depending upon the quality of pastures and water
- Territory is confined
Pastoral nomadism is practised in three major regions
- Area extending from Atlantic shore in the North Africa East words Arabian Peninsula China and Central China
- The second region is Tundra region Eurasia
- The third region is South West Africa and island of Madagascar
- The process of migration from mountain areas to the plain area during winter and plain area to mountain area in summer is known as transhumance
- Example- Gujjar, Bakarwal, Gaddis, Bhotiyas in India
Commercial livestock rearing
- It is well organised and capital intensive
- It is practiced in permanent ranches
- Ranches cover large areas and they are divided into different parcels
- Only one type of animal is rearedImportant animals are sheep, cattle, goats, and horses
- It is scientifically maintained and its products are exported to many countries
- Importance is given on breeding and genetic improvement
- Countries are New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and united states of America
Agriculture
Types of Agriculture
- Subsistence agriculture
- Primitive subsistence agriculture
- Intensive subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture
- Subsistence agriculture is one in which the farmers consume all or nearly so of the products locally grown
- Primitive subsistence agriculture
- Another name is shifting agriculture
- It is widely practiced in tribal areas of tropics particularly in Africa south and central America and south east Asia
- The vegetation is usually cleared by fire and asses of the vegetation is used to add the fertility
- Hence it is called slash and burn agriculture
- The patches are very small and cultivation is done by primitive tools
- As soon as the soil fertility gets over the family members move to other areas and clear the patches and start cultivation
- It is practiced in tropical forest areas
Problems of shifting cultivation
- Soil becomes infertile
- It leads to soil erosion
- yield is very less
Intensive subsistence agriculture Two types
- Dominated by wet paddy cultivation
- Dominated by crops other than paddy
Dominated by the paddy cultivation
- Rice is the dominant crop
- Fields are very small due to high density of population
- Farmers work with the help of family members
- Machinery is limited and manual labour are more
- Farm yard manure is used (cow dung)
- Yield per unit area is high
Dominated by crops other than paddy
- Different crops are cultivated due to different geographical factors
- Wheat, soya bean, barley and sorghum
- In India wheat is grown in western part of Indo- Gangetic plain
- Millets are grown in dry parts of western and southern India
Plantation agriculture
- Introduced by the Europeans in the colonies situated in the tropics
- Example- tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, cotton, oil palm sugar cane bananas and pineapples
Important characteristics
- It is a mono cropping system
- Farming is done with scientific methods and require large investment
- Skilled and unskilled labour are required
- Cheap labour is also required
- Good means of transport and communication is required
- The British developed tea gardens in India and Sri Lanka, rubber plantation in Malaysia and sugar cane in west Indies
Extensive commercial grain cultivation
- It is practiced in the interior parts of semi-arid lands of the mid latitude
- Wheat is the principal crop
- Other crops like corn barley oats are also grown
- It is completely mechanised cultivation
- It is practiced in Eurasian steppes, Canadian Highlands American prairies, the pampas of Argentina, the Wales of South Africa and New Zealand
Mixed farming
- It is found in the highly developed parts of the world
- Example- North Western Europe, Eastern North America parts of Eurasia and temperate latitudes of southern continents
- The farm size is moderate and crops are mixed with wheat barley, oats, maize fodder and root crops
- Crop rotation and intercropping play an important role in maintaining soil fertility
- Animals are reared with crop cultivation is to give extra income
- It requires very high capital to purchase from machineries buildings, chemical fertilizers and green manure
- Special skill and expertisation are required to the farmers
- P.SELVAMANI TA (GEO) ZIET MYSURU
Dairy farming
- It is highly capital intensive
- Capital is required for constructing animal sheds, storage facilities, fodder feeding and milchig machines
- Emphasis is given on cattle breeding healthcare and veterinary services
- There is no off season during the year
- Practiced mainly near the urban and industrial centres
- Needs good means of transport, refrigeration and other important facilities
- Main regions are North Western Europe, Cannada, South Eastern Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania
Mediterranean agriculture
- It is practiced on either side of the Mediterranean Sea (Europe and North Africa)
- The viticulture is the other name (grape cultivation)
- The high quality of best wine is produced with the distinctive flavours from the high quality of grapes
- Also produce olive and figs
- Fruits and vegetables are grown in winters when there is the great demand in European countries and North American markets
Market gardening and horticulture
- Cultivation of high value crops such as fruits, vegetables flowers
- Farms are very small and are located near urban areas
- It is a labour and capital oriented
- Importance is given on use of irrigation HYV seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, greenhouse and artificial heating in cold region
- It is developed in thickly populated industrial area of North Western Europe, Northeastern parts of USA and the Mediterranean region
- The regions where farmers specialise in vegetables only is known as truck farming
What do you mean by truck farming?
- The truck covers the distance lies between market area and garden area in an overnight
Co-operative Farming
- A group of farmers form a cooperative society for more efficient and profitable farming
- It is very much successful in western European countries like Denmark, Sweden, and Italy
- The moment has been so successful in Denmark
- There every farmer is a member
Collective farming
- It was introduced in Soviet Union to improve efficiency in farming activities and to boost agricultural production for self sufficiency
- The farmers pool all the resources like land, livestock and labour
- However, they can keep a small piece of land for the family purpose
- Yearly target is fixed by the government and output is sold at fixed price
- The farmers have to pay tax to the government
Mining
Factors affecting mining activity
Physical factors
- It includes the size, grade and the mode of occurrence of the deposits
Economic factors
- It includes the demand for the mineral, technology available capital to develop infrastructure labour and transport cost
Types of mining
- Surface mining (open cast mining)
- Underground mining (closed mining)
- When the ore lies deep below the surface underground mining method (shaft method) has to be used
- Minerals are extracted through the pipes or passages to the surface
- It requires lift, drills, haulage vehicles, ventilation system
Problems of closed mining
- It is very risky
- Chances for poisonous gases
- Fire accident and flood
- Roof collapse
Class 12 Geography Key Notes
