What is primary economic activity? Explain the types of primary economic activities.

Answer: Primary economic activities are those activities in which man directly obtains resources from nature.

They depend directly on the natural environment (land, water, vegetation, minerals). People engaged in these activities are called ‘red-collar workers’. They are the oldest activities of man and are more important in developing countries.

Types of primary economic activities:

1. Hunting and food gathering: the oldest activity; people hunt animals and collect fruits, roots, honey, etc. Practised by tribes in harsh regions, e.g. Pygmies (Congo basin), Bushmen (Kalahari), Eskimos/Inuit (tundra), some tribes in India. Commercial gathering of products like rubber, gum, medicinal herbs and chicle is also done.

2. Animal husbandry / pastoralism: rearing of animals for milk, meat, wool and hides. Nomadic herding is practised by moving with herds in search of pasture (Sahara, Central Asia, tundra), e.g. Bedouins, Maasai, Gujjars. Commercial livestock rearing is done on large ranches with scientific methods in New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and the U.S.A.

3. Fishing: catching fish from seas, rivers and lakes. It may be subsistence or commercial. Major commercial fishing grounds are found where warm and cold currents meet and on continental shelves, e.g. Grand Banks (Newfoundland), Dogger Bank (North Sea), north-west Pacific near Japan.

4. Lumbering: cutting of trees for timber and other forest products. Commercial lumbering is mainly in temperate coniferous forests (Canada, Russia, Scandinavia) which have softwood, pure stands and snow for transporting logs. Tropical forests give hardwoods like teak and mahogany.

5. Mining: extraction of minerals from the earth’s crust by surface (open-cast) or underground (shaft) mining, e.g. coal, iron ore, petroleum, gold. It depends on availability of minerals, not on latitude.

6. Agriculture: cultivation of crops and rearing of animals on land. Types include shifting agriculture, intensive subsistence agriculture (monsoon Asia), extensive commercial grain farming (Prairies, Pampas, Steppes), plantation agriculture (tea, coffee, rubber), mixed farming, dairy farming and Mediterranean agriculture.

Conclusion: primary activities provide food and raw materials for secondary activities and still employ a large share of the workforce in developing countries such as India.