Key Points

Primary activities are economic activities directly dependent on the environment, involving the utilization of earth's resources like land, water, and minerals. Examples include agriculture, hunting, fishing, and mining.

People engaged in primary activities are called red-collar workers. This term is used due to the outdoor nature of their work.

These are the oldest known economic activities, practiced by primitive societies in harsh climates. They involve low capital investment, low technology, and yield very little surplus.

Nomadic herding is a primitive subsistence activity where herders move with their livestock in search of pastures and water. It is practiced in regions like North Africa, parts of Asia, and tundra regions.

Transhumance is the seasonal migration of pastoralists with their livestock. It typically occurs between mountain pastures in summer and plain areas in winter.

This is an organized, capital-intensive activity on permanent ranches, focusing on rearing a single type of animal for products like meat and wool. It is prominent in countries like New Zealand, Australia, and the USA.

Also known as shifting cultivation or 'slash and burn' agriculture, it is practiced by tribes in tropical regions. It involves clearing a patch of forest, cultivating it for a few years, and then moving to a new patch.

Shifting cultivation is known by different names globally. It is called Jhuming in North-East India, Milpa in Central America and Mexico, and Ladang in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Found in densely populated regions of monsoon Asia, this farming is characterized by small plots, intensive use of family labor, and high yield per unit area. It can be dominated by either wet paddy or other crops.

Introduced by Europeans in tropical colonies, this is a large-scale farming system specializing in a single crop like tea, coffee, or rubber. It requires large capital investment, technical support, and cheap labor.

Practiced in the interior of mid-latitudes like the Prairies and Steppes, this involves large, mechanized farms. The yield per acre is low, but the yield per person is high.

This form of agriculture combines crop cultivation with animal husbandry. It is characterized by moderate-sized farms, crop rotation, and high capital expenditure on machinery and fertilizers.

Dairy farming is a highly advanced, capital-intensive, and labor-intensive activity focused on rearing milch animals. It is typically practiced near urban and industrial centers which provide a ready market.

This is a highly specialized commercial agriculture focused on citrus fruits, olives, and figs. Viticulture, or grape cultivation for producing high-quality wines, is a specialty of this region.

This involves the intensive cultivation of high-value crops like vegetables, fruits, and flowers for urban markets. When it specializes only in vegetables, it is known as truck farming.

In co-operative farming, farmers pool resources voluntarily but retain individual farms. In collective farming, based on social ownership, farmers pool all resources like land and labor, as seen in the Kolkhoz model.

Mining is done through two main methods. Surface or open-cast mining is used for minerals near the surface, while underground or shaft mining is used for deep-seated deposits.