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Primary Activities – Class 12 Geography notes, important questions and MCQs

NCERT Class 12 Geography, chapter 4. Notes, key terms, important questions with answers and MCQs.

Chapter overview

Primary activities directly depend on the environment and involve using natural resources such as land, water, vegetation and minerals. They include hunting and gathering, pastoralism, agriculture, mining, fishing and lumbering. People engaged in primary activities are called red-collar workers because much of their work is outdoors. Agriculture takes many forms, from subsistence farming to commercial plantations.

Hunting, gathering and pastoralism

Hunting and gathering are the oldest economic activities; gathering is still practised in some tropical and high-latitude regions.
Nomadic herding involves moving with animals in search of pasture; transhumance is the seasonal movement between mountains and plains, as practised by the Gujjars and Bakarwals.
Commercial livestock rearing is organised on ranches in New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and the USA.

Types of agriculture

Subsistence agriculture includes primitive subsistence (shifting cultivation, called jhuming in north-east India) and intensive subsistence agriculture in monsoon Asia, dominated by paddy.
Commercial types include plantation agriculture (tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane), extensive commercial grain cultivation (wheat in the prairies and steppes), mixed farming, dairy farming, Mediterranean agriculture (citrus fruits and grapes) and market gardening.
Co-operative farming and collective farming (kolkhoz in the former USSR) are organisational forms.

Mining

Mining depends on physical factors (size, grade and mode of occurrence of deposits) and economic factors (demand, technology, capital, labour and transport).
Methods are surface (open-cast) mining and underground (shaft) mining.
Developed countries are reducing mining because of high labour costs, while developing countries depend more on mineral exports.

Key terms

Primary activities: activities that directly use natural resources
Transhumance: seasonal movement of herders between mountains and plains
Shifting cultivation: clearing forest, cultivating for a few years and moving on
Plantation agriculture: large-scale commercial cultivation of a single crop
Red-collar workers: people engaged in primary activities

Important questions with answers

What is transhumance?2 marks

Transhumance is the seasonal movement of herders with their animals between mountain pastures in summer and lower valleys or plains in winter. In India, the Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas practise it.

What are the main features of plantation agriculture?3 marks

Plantation agriculture involves large estates growing a single cash crop such as tea, coffee, rubber or sugarcane, with large capital investment, scientific methods, managerial and technical support, cheap labour and good transport links to processing units and markets. It was introduced by Europeans in their colonies.

Describe the main types of agriculture practised in the world.5 marks

Agriculture varies with physical, economic and social conditions. Primitive subsistence agriculture, or shifting cultivation, is practised by tribes in tropical forests: a patch of forest is cleared and burnt, crops are grown for a few years until soil fertility declines, and the farmers move to a new patch; it is called jhuming in north-east India and milpa in Mexico. Intensive subsistence agriculture is found in densely populated monsoon Asia; small holdings are cultivated intensively with much labour and manure, and paddy is the main crop where rainfall is high. Plantation agriculture, introduced by Europeans, grows single cash crops like tea, coffee, rubber, cocoa and sugarcane on large estates using capital and hired labour. Extensive commercial grain cultivation grows wheat and other grains on huge mechanised farms in the prairies, steppes, pampas and Australian downs. Mixed farming combines crop cultivation and animal husbandry in north-western Europe and North America. Dairy farming, the most advanced and efficient type of rearing milch animals, is common near urban markets. Mediterranean agriculture produces citrus fruits, grapes and olives in regions with dry summers and wet winters. Market gardening and horticulture grow vegetables, fruits and flowers for nearby cities. Co-operative and collective farming are organisational forms.

Quick revision

Hunting, gathering, pastoralism, transhumance.
Subsistence: primitive and intensive.
Commercial: plantation, grain, mixed, dairy, Mediterranean, market gardening.
Mining: factors and methods.

Exam tips

Make a table: type of agriculture, region, main crops, features.
Remember: jhuming in north-east India is shifting cultivation.

Practice MCQs

The oldest economic activity is
1. manufacturing
2. hunting and gathering
3. trade
4. banking
Show answer
Answer: (b) hunting and gathering. Early humans depended on it.
Shifting cultivation in north-east India is called
1. roca
2. ladang
3. milpa
4. jhuming
Show answer
Answer: (d) jhuming. Forests are cleared and burnt.
People engaged in primary activities are called
1. white-collar workers
2. red-collar workers
3. gold-collar workers
4. pink-collar workers
Show answer
Answer: (b) red-collar workers. Their work is mostly outdoors.
Seasonal movement of herders between mountains and plains is called
1. shifting cultivation
2. transhumance
3. ranching
4. migration of birds
Show answer
Answer: (b) transhumance. Gujjars and Bakarwals practise it.
Mediterranean agriculture is known for
1. rice
2. citrus fruits and grapes
3. jute
4. tea
Show answer
Answer: (b) citrus fruits and grapes. It has dry summers and wet winters.
Extensive commercial grain cultivation is typical of the
1. Ganga plains
2. Sahara
3. Amazon basin
4. prairies and steppes
Show answer
Answer: (d) prairies and steppes. Wheat is grown on large mechanised farms.
Intensive subsistence agriculture dominated by paddy is found mainly in
1. Europe
2. North America
3. Australia
4. monsoon Asia
Show answer
Answer: (d) monsoon Asia. Small holdings use much labour.
Which is NOT a physical factor affecting mining
1. demand in the market
2. grade of ore
3. size of the deposit
4. mode of occurrence
Show answer
Answer: (a) demand in the market. Demand is an economic factor.

All chapters of Class 12 Geography

Written by Kundali IQ from standard, well-established facts to help with revision. This is not an official NCERT publication; always read your textbook too.