CHAPTER 5 : Primary Activities NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH GEOGRAPHY | EDUGROWN NOTES

Short Answer Type Questions:

Q1.List the areas where gathering is practiced.
Answer:

• Gathering is practiced in regions with harsh climatic conditions.
• Generally primitive societies who extract plant and animal products to satisfy their need for food, shelter and clothing, practise it.

It is practised in High latitude zones of Northern Canada, Northern Eurasia and Southern Chile, Low latitude zones of Amazon basin, Tropical Africa, Northern fringe of Australia, interior parts of South East Asia.

Q2.List different animals kept in different regions as far as nomadic herding is concerned.
Answer:
A wide variety of animals is kept in different regions. In tropical Africa, cattle are the most important livestock, while in Sahara and Asiatic deserts, sheep, goats and camel are reared. In the mountainous areas of Tibet and Andes, yak and llamas and in the Arctic and sub Arctic areas, reindeer are the most important animals.

Q3.Which regions are associated with pastoral nomadism?
Answer:
Pastoral nomadism is associated with three important regions. The core region extends from the Atlantic shores of North Africa eastwards across the Arabian peninsula into Mongolia and Central China. The second region extends over the tundra region of Eurasia. In the southern hemisphere there are small areas in South-west Africa and on the island of Madagascar.

Q4.What is transhumance?
Answer:
Pastoral nomadism is undertaken either over vast horizontal distances or vertically from one elevation to another in the mountainous regions. The process of migration from plain areas to pastures on mountains during summers and again from mountain pastures to plain areas during winters is known as transhumance. In mountain regions, such as Himalayas, Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas migrate from plains to the mountains in summers and to the plains from the high altitude pastures in winters. Similarly, in the tundra regions, the nomadic herders move from south to north in summers and from north to south in winters.

Q5.What is intensive subsistence agriculture? What are its types?
Answer:
Intensive subsistence agriculture is practiced in the poorer regions of the world, where farmers grow crops for family consumption. Very little is left as surplus for market. There are two types of

• Intensive subsistence agriculture dominated by wet paddy cultivation: – It is characterized by dominance of the rice crop. Land holdings are veiy small due to the high density of population. Farmers work with the help of family labour leading to intensive use of land. Use of machinery is limited and most of the agricultural operations are done by manual labour. Farm yard manure is used to maintain the fertility of the soil. In this type of agriculture, the yield per unit area is high but per labour productivity is low.
• Intensive subsidence agriculture dominated by crops other than paddy: Due to the difference in relief, climate, soil and some of the other geographical factors, it is not practical to grow paddy in many parts of monsoon Asia. Wheat, soyabean, barley and sorghum are grown in northern China, Manchuria, NorthKorea and North Japan. In India wheat is grown in western parts of the Indo- Gangetic plains and millets are grown in diy parts of western and southern India. Most of the characteristics of this type of agriculture are similar to those dominated by wet paddy except that irrigation is often used.

Q6.Write a note on Mediterranean agriculture from the point of view of its importance, areas and crops grown.
Answer:

• Mediterranean agriculture is highly specialized commercial agriculture.
• It is practised in the countries on either side of the Mediterranean sea in Europe and in north Africa from Tunisia to Atlantic coast, southern California, central Chile, south western parts of South Africa and south and south western parts of Australia.
• It is an important supplier of citrus fruits. »Viticulture or grape cultivation is a speciality of the Mediterranean region.
• Best quality wines in the world with distinctive flavors are produced from high quality grapes in various countries of this region. The inferior grapes are dried into raisins and currants.
• This region also produces olives and figs.
• The advantage of Mediterranean agriculture is that more valuable crops such as fruits and vegetables are grown in winters when there is great demand in European and North American markets.

Q7.List the different uses of minerals in ancient time.
Answer:
The discovery of minerals in the history of human development, is reflected in many stages in terms of copper age, bronze age and iron age. The use of minerals in ancient times was largely confined to the making of tools, utensils and weapons. The actual development of mining began with the industrial revolution and its importance is continuously increasing.

Q8.Describe the factors that affect mining activities.
Answer:
The profitability of mining operations depends on two main factors:

• Physical factors include the size, grade and the mode of occurrence of the deposits.
• Economic factors such as the demand for the mineral, technology available and used, capital to develop infrastructure and the labour and transport costs.

Q9.Write a short note on commercial livestock rearing.
Answer:
Commercial livestock rearing is organized and capital intensive. The ranches on which it is practised are permanent and cover large area, which are further divided into fenced parcels to regulate grazing. When one parcel is grazed, the animals are shifted to another parcel and the number of animals in a parcel are kept according to the carrying capacity of the parcel. Only one type of animal (like sheep, cattle, goat and horses) is reared. Their products like milk, wool and hide are processed and packed scientifically, and then exported to world markets. The main emphasis is here on breeding, health care, disease control and genetic improvement of the animal. This is totally market and profit oriented. The developed countries like New Zealand, Australia, USA practise commercial livestock rearing.

Q10.Describe four different groups/types of economic activities.
Answer:
Economic activities are broadly grouped as Primary activities, Secondary activities, Tertiary activities and Quaternary activities.

• Primary Activities: It refers to extraction/ utilisation of raw materials from the earth’s surface. These include hunting, gathering, pastoralism, fishing, forestry, mining and agriculture.
• Secondary Activities: It includes industries that transform raw materials into finished foods having higher value. For example, manufacturing cotton textiles from raw cotton, and iron and steel from iron ore.
• Tertiary Activities: It includes all kinds of services provided for the people such as education, health, trade and transport.
• Quaternary Activities: It represents special kind of services, which is related to highly intellectual activities. For example, research and development service, information generation, information processing and transmission.

Q11.In modem times some gathering is market-oriented and has become commercial. Explain.
OR
Narrate the changes in gathering as an activity in recent times.
Answer:
It is absolutely right to say that in modem times, some gathering is market- oriented and has become commercial. Gatherers collect valuable plants and after simple processing sell these in the market.
They use different parts of the plants. For example, they use:

• Bark of the tree for making quinine, tanin extract and cork.
• Leaves are used to produce beverages, drugs, cosmetics, fibres, thatch and fabrics.
• Nuts are used for food and oils.
• Tree trunk provides rubber, balata, gums and resins.

Q12.Write a short note on market gardening?
Answer:
In market gardening, high value crops such as vegetables, fruits and flowers are cultivated solely for the urban areas. Under this the size of farms is small and they are located where there are good transportation links with the urban centres where high income consumers are located. It is both labour and capital intensive and lays emphasis on the use of irrigation, HYV seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, green houses and artificial heating in colder regions.
This type of agriculture is well developed in densely populated industrial districts of North West Europe, North Eastern United States of America and the Mediterranean regions.

The Netherlands specializes in flowers and horticulture crops especially tulips, which are exported all over Europe. Those regions where farmers specialize in vegetables only, it is called truck farming.

Q13.What do you mean by Kolkhoz? How did it begin? Explain its features.
Answer:
Kolkhoz is the name for collective farming in Soviet Union. It was introduced in erstwhile Soviet Union to improve upon the inefficiency of previous methods of agriculture and to boost agricultural production for self sufficiency.
Its features:

• This type of farming is based on social ownership of the means of production and collective labour.
• The farmers pool in all their resources like land, livestock and labour.
• Yearly targets are set by the government and the produce is also sold to the state at fixed prices.
• Members are paid according to the nature of the work allotted to them by the farm management.

Q14.Describe the main features of extensive commercial grain cultivation.
Answer:
Important features of Extensive Commercial Grain Agriculture are as follows:

• It is practised in the interior parts of semi-arid lands of the mid latitudes.
• Wheat is the principal crop though other crops like com, barley, oats and rye are also grown.
• The size of the farm is very large; therefore all the operations from ploughing to harvesting are mechanised.
• Yield per hectare is low but yield per person is high because less people and more machines are used.
• It is best developed in Eurasian steppes, the Canadian and American Prairies, the Pampas of Argentina, the Velds of South Africa, the Australian Downs and the Canterbury plains of New Zealand.

Q15.Describe the main features of market gardening and horticulture.
OR
List six points to describe market gardening & horticulture.
Answer:
The main features of horticulture and market gardening are

• It specializes in the cultivation of high value crops such as vegetables, fruits and flowers.
• Crops are cultivated exclusively for the urban markets.
• Farms are small and are located near urban market.
• It is both labour and capital intensive.
• It lays emphasis on the use of irrigation, HYV seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, greenhouses and artificial heating in colder regions.
• This type of agriculture is well developed in densely populated industrial areas of Europe, North East U.S.A. and the Mediterranean regions.

Q16.What do you mean by subsistence agriculture? Explain its two types.
Answer:
Subsistence agriculture is one in which the farming areas consume all of the products that are locally grown. It is of two types:

• Primitive Subsistence Agriculture: It is also called shifting cultivation. Under this vegetation is cleared by fire and land is used for cultivation. These ashes add to fertility of soil and hence, it is also called slash and burn agriculture.
• Intensive Subsistence Agriculture: Under this type of farming, land holdings are very small and farmers work with the help of family labour leading to intensive use of land with limited used of machinery.

Long Answer Type Questions:

Q1.“There is low yield per acre but high yield per person.” In which type of agriculture is this evident? Why? Where is this type of agriculture practised?
Answer:
This feature is characteristic of extensive commercial grain cultivation. Since it is extensive that is on a very large scale, so use of mechanical devices, irrigation, sprinklers, tractors, low flying aircrafts is common.

In the areas practising commercial grain cultivation, the areas of production are high, as the farming is intensive, but due to the low population and high degree of mechanization, the number of people employed in these farms is less. Due to high level of scientific and technological skills employed in the production activities, the total yield is high, which results in very high per person yield, but due to extensive nature of farming and low pressure per unit area of land, yield per acre is low.

These are found in the developed countries of the world like in the Eurasian Steppes, the Canadian and American Prairies, the Pampas of Argentina, the Velds of South Africa, the Australian Downs and the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand.

Q2.What is the status of mining in the developed and developing economies of the world?
Answer:
Mining is primarily extraction of minerals from surface or beneath the surface of the earth’s crust for further processing in industrial and other uses. It involves more of manual labour and is hazardous, so the developed economies are retreating from mining, processing and refining stages of production due to high labour costs, while the developing countries with large labour force and striving for higher standard of living are becoming more important. Several countries of Africa and few of south America and Asia have over fifty per cent of the earnings from minerals alone.

Q3.Dairy farming is a modern occupation. Explain.
Answer:
It is absolutely right to say that dairy farming is a modern occupation. It is a type of agriculture in which major emphasis is on breeding and rearing milch cattle. Its main features are given below which can prove that it is a modem occupation:

• It is highly capital intensive. Large investments are made on animal sheds, storage facilities for fodder, feeding and milching machines.
• Special emphasis is laid on cattle-breeding, health care and veterinary services.
• It is also highly-labour intensive as it involves painstaking care in feeding and milching.
• There is no off-season during the year.
• It is practised mainly near urban and industrial market.
• Dairy farming development depends on transportation, refrigeration, pasteurisation and other preservation processes.

Q4.Distinguish between the types of farming based on organization.
Answer:

Cooperative Farming	Collecting Farming
(i) group of farmers form a co-operative society by pooling in their resources voluntarily for more efficient and profitable farming.	(i) the basic principle behind this types of farming is based on social ownership of the means of production and collective labour.
(ii) dividual farms remain intact and farming is a matter of cooperative initiative.	(ii) The farmers used to pool in all their resources like land, livestock and labour.
(iii) Co-operative societies help farmers, to procure all important inputs of farming, sell the products at the most favourable terms and help in processing of quality products at cheaper rate	(iii) Yearly targets were set by the government and the produce was also sold to the state at fixed prices. Produce in excess of the fixed amount was distributed among the members or sold in the market.
(iv) It has been successful in many western European countries like Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Italy etc.	(iv) This type of farming was introduced in former Soviet Union under the socialist regime which was adopted by the socialist countries. After its collapse, these have already been modified

Q5.Compare mixed farming and dairy farming.
Answer:

Mixed Farming	Dairy Farming
(i) Mixed farms are moderate in size and grow mainly wheat, barley, oat, rye, fodder. Crop rotation, inter cropping etc. are practised to maintain soil fertility.	(i) Dairy farming is most advanced  and efficient type of rearing milch animals.
(ii) It is highly capital intensive and high investment in farm machinery, building, fertilizer, manure and skill of the farmers.	(ii) It is labour intensive as it requires intensive care in feeding and milching. It is an activity requiring year round labour as there is no off season like in the cropping activities.
(iii) Animals like cattle, sheep, poultry provide main income along with crops	(iii) It is highly capital intensive. Animal sheds, storage facilities for fodder, feeding and milching machines are the areas of heaviest expenditures.
(iv) Equal emphasis on crop cultivation and animal husbandry.	(iv) Special emphasis is laid on cattle breeding, healthcare and veterinary services.
(v) Practised in highly developed parts of the world- North Western Europe, East and North America, parts of Eurasia and temperate latitudes of southern continents.	(v) Practised near urban and industrial centres for easy access to dairy market. The main regions of commercial dairy farming are North Western Europe (largest), Canada, South East Australia and New Zealand.