Class 12 Geography Chapter 4 Handwritten Notes | Primary Activities Handwritten Notes
In this article, you will get Class 12 Geography Chapter 4 Handwritten Notes. These are based on my notes, which I have prepared for my class 12 boards. Use them to excel in your exams and get good grades. Also, you can get the explanation on our YouTube Channel.
Class 12 Geography – Chapter 4: Primary Activities
Class 12 Geography Chapter 4 Handwritten Notes
1. Introduction
- Human beings depend on nature for survival and development.
- Activities that involve direct use of natural resources are called Primary Activities.
- Examples: Hunting, Gathering, Herding, Fishing, Forestry, Agriculture, Mining.
- These activities formed the basis of human civilisation.
2. Types of Primary Activities
(A) Hunting and Gathering
- Oldest economic activity.
- People collect edible plants, roots, fruits, and hunt animals.
- Today → confined to tribal groups in remote regions.
📍 Regions where it survives:
- Amazon Basin (South America)
- Central Africa (Pygmies, Bushmen)
- Arctic (Eskimos/Inuit)
- Interior Asia
(B) Pastoral Activities
(i) Pastoral Nomadism
- Herders move from place to place with livestock in search of pastures.
- Found in arid & semi-arid regions.
- Livestock: sheep, goats, camels, yaks.
📍 Examples:
- Masai (East Africa) → cattle
- Bedouins (Arabia) → camels, goats
- Gaddi shepherds (Himachal Pradesh)
(ii) Transhumance
- Seasonal migration of herders with livestock.
- Summer → move to mountain pastures.
- Winter → return to plains/valleys.
📍 Examples:
- Gaddi shepherds (Himachal Pradesh)
- Bakarwals (Jammu & Kashmir)
(C) Agricultural Systems
(i) Shifting Cultivation (Slash-and-Burn)
- Land cleared by burning forest, cropped for few years → abandoned.
- Soil regains fertility → reused after a gap.
- Crops: millets, maize, yam, cassava.
📍 Local Names:
- Jhumming (NE India)
- Milpa (Mexico)
- Ladang (Indonesia)
- Conuco (Venezuela)
Features:
- Primitive, low productivity, subsistence-oriented.
- Destructive to forests if cycles shorten.
(ii) Intensive Subsistence Farming
- Most important farming type in monsoon Asia.
- Small farms, high labour input.
- Crops: rice (dominant), wheat, pulses, vegetables.
Favourable conditions:
- Dense population
- Fertile alluvial soils
- Heavy monsoon rainfall
- Cheap labour
(iii) Extensive Commercial Grain Farming
- Practised in temperate grasslands with mechanisation.
- Large farms, low labour, high machine use.
- Crops: wheat, maize, barley.
📍 Regions:
- Prairies (Canada, USA)
- Pampas (Argentina)
- Steppes (Russia, Ukraine)
(iv) Plantation Agriculture
- Introduced by European colonists.
- Large estates, monoculture, capital + labour intensive.
- Oriented towards exports.
📍 Examples:
- Tea (India, Sri Lanka)
- Coffee (Brazil)
- Rubber (Malaysia)
- Sugarcane (West Indies)
Key Feature: Linked to processing industries (tea factories, sugar mills).
(v) Mixed Farming
- Combines crops + livestock.
- Provides balanced income → crops for food, livestock for milk, meat, manure.
📍 Regions: Europe, North America.
(vi) Dairy Farming
- Highly capital & labour intensive.
- Requires refrigeration, veterinary care, modern equipment.
- Products: milk, cheese, butter → daily supply to urban markets.
📍 Regions: Denmark, Netherlands, USA, New Zealand.
📍 Called “Factory Farming” because of mechanisation.
(vii) Mediterranean Agriculture
- Climate: Hot, dry summers & mild, wet winters.
- Crops: citrus fruits, grapes, olives, figs, wheat.
- Famous for viticulture (wine production).
📍 Regions: Mediterranean Basin, California, Chile, South Africa, SW Australia.
(D) Other Types
(i) Truck Farming
- Cultivation of vegetables near cities.
- Fast transport allows supply to urban markets.
(ii) Horticulture / Floriculture
- Horticulture: Fruits, vegetables.
- Floriculture: Flowers for export (Netherlands).
(iii) Co-operative Farming
- Farmers pool land and resources voluntarily.
- Land remains private, but inputs and outputs managed collectively.
- Successful in Denmark, parts of India.
(iv) Collective Farming
- Practised in Russia (Kolkhoz).
- Land owned by state, farmers work for wages + share of profit.
- Based on socialist ideology.
(E) Mining
- Extraction of minerals from earth’s crust.
- Types:
- Open-cast mining → cheap, safe, surface deposits.
- Underground mining → costly, dangerous.
📍 Examples:
- South Africa (gold, diamond)
- Russia (oil, natural gas)
- India (coal, iron ore)
Significance:
- Provides raw materials to industries.
- Employment + export earnings.
3. Tables & Comparisons of Primary Activity
Table 1: Subsistence vs Commercial Farming
| Feature | Subsistence Farming | Commercial Farming |
|---|---|---|
| Scale | Small | Large |
| Labour | Family labour | Hired labour |
| Crops | Food crops (rice, wheat) | Cash crops (tea, coffee) |
| Purpose | Family consumption | Market/exports |
| Mechanisation | Low | High |
Table 2: Intensive vs Extensive Farming
| Feature | Intensive Subsistence | Extensive Commercial Grain |
|---|---|---|
| Area | Small | Large |
| Labour | High | Low |
| Tools | Traditional | Mechanised |
| Yield | High per area | High per farm |
| Region | Asia | Grasslands (Prairies, Pampas, Steppes) |
Table 3: Cooperative vs Collective Farming
| Feature | Cooperative Farming | Collective Farming |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Individual | State |
| Control | Voluntary pooling | State-controlled |
| Examples | Denmark, India | Russia (Kolkhoz) |
4. Importance of Primary Activities
- Basis of human civilisation.
- Provide raw materials for industries.
- Generate employment and income.
- Maintain food and resource security.
- Support global trade (tea, coffee, oil, minerals).
5. Challenges
- Deforestation (shifting cultivation).
- Overgrazing (pastoralism).
- Resource depletion (mining).
- Climate dependency (farming).
- Inequality in land ownership (plantations).
6. Conclusion
- Primary activities remain the foundation of economies, even in modern times.
- They must be practised with sustainability and modern techniques to balance economic growth and environmental protection.
Class 12 Geography Chapter 4 Question Answer | Primary Activities Important Question Answer
