A quick-revision cut of this chapter: definitions, the classification of primary activities, every named farming system with its region, and the two methods of mining. The full notes, with the complete explanation, are available separately.
1 Definitions to learn
Primary activities are economic activities directly dependent on the environment, that is, on the use of earth’s resources such as land, water, vegetation, building materials and minerals. People engaged in them are called red-collar workers because of the outdoor nature of their work.
Transhumance is the seasonal migration of herders with their livestock from plain areas to mountain pastures in summer, and back to the plains in winter.
Shifting cultivation (also called slash-and-burn agriculture) is primitive subsistence farming in which vegetation is cleared by fire, the ash-enriched patch is cultivated for 3 to 5 years, and the farmer then shifts to a fresh patch as the soil loses fertility. Called Jhuming (North-eastern India), Milpa (Central America and Mexico), and Ladang (Indonesia and Malaysia).
Viticulture (grape cultivation) is the speciality of Mediterranean agriculture. Truck farming is market gardening specialised only in vegetables, named for the distance a truck can cover overnight to market. Factory farming rears poultry or cattle in stalls and pens on manufactured feed.
Co-operative farming is a voluntary pooling of resources by farmers whose individual farms stay intact, most successful in Denmark. Collective farming (the Kolkhoz model, from the erstwhile Soviet Union) is based on social ownership of land, livestock and labour, with only small personal plots kept back.
2 Six primary activities
| # | Activity | One-line meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hunting and gathering | Living off hunted animals and gathered wild plants; the oldest economic activity known |
| 2 | Pastoral activities | Rearing animals: nomadic herding (subsistence) or commercial livestock rearing |
| 3 | Fishing | Practised by coastal people; modernised by technology |
| 4 | Forestry | Use of forest (vegetation) resources, named by the chapter as a primary activity |
| 5 | Agriculture | Subsistence and commercial farming systems (the largest topic of this chapter) |
| 6 | Mining and quarrying | Surface (open-cast) and underground (shaft) extraction of minerals |
Gathering zones (learn these zones on the world map: they are a CBSE map item): high-latitude: northern Canada, northern Eurasia, southern Chile. Low-latitude: Amazon Basin, tropical Africa, northern fringe of Australia, interior South-east Asia. Commercial gathering: bark → quinine, tannin, cork; leaves → beverages, drugs, cosmetics, fibres; nuts → food and oils; tree trunk → rubber, balata, gums, resins.
3 Pastoralism: nomadic herding vs commercial livestock rearing
| Feature | Nomadic Herding | Commercial Livestock Rearing |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Primitive, subsistence | Organised, capital intensive |
| Culture | Traditional, community-based | Associated with western cultures |
| Land | Moves with pasture and water; traditional territory | Permanent, fenced ranches |
| Animals kept | Several kinds, per region | One specialised type: sheep, cattle, goats or horses |
| Method | Follows nature | Scientific breeding, disease control, health care |
| Countries / examples | Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis, Bhotiyas (Himalayas) | New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Uruguay, USA |
| Region | Livestock reared |
|---|---|
| Tropical Africa | Cattle |
| Sahara and Asiatic deserts | Sheep, goats, camel |
| Tibet and the Andes | Yak and llama |
| Arctic and sub-Arctic areas | Reindeer |
Three core regions of pastoral nomadism: (1) Atlantic shores of North Africa → Arabian peninsula → Mongolia and Central China (2) tundra region of Eurasia (3) small areas in south-west Africa and Madagascar. Nomad numbers are decreasing because of political boundaries and new government settlement plans.
4 Agriculture: every named system, in one table
| System | Key feature | Main region / example |
|---|---|---|
| Primitive subsistence (shifting cultivation) | Slash-and-burn; small patches, primitive tools; jhum cycle shortening | Africa, South and Central America, South-east Asia |
| Intensive subsistence, wet paddy | Very small holdings, family labour, farm yard manure; high yield/area, low yield/labour | Densely populated monsoon Asia |
| Intensive subsistence, non-paddy | Wheat, soyabean, barley, sorghum; irrigation often used | N China, Manchuria, N Korea, N Japan; wheat in western Indo-Gangetic plains (India) |
| Plantation agriculture | Large estates, single-crop, cheap labour, introduced by colonists | Tea/rubber (India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia), cocoa/coffee (West Africa) |
| Extensive commercial grain | Wheat principal crop; fully mechanised; low yield/acre, high yield/person | Eurasian steppes, Prairies, Pampas, Velds, Downs, Canterbury Plains |
| Mixed farming | Equal emphasis crops + animals; not monoculture | NW Europe, E North America |
| Dairy farming | Highly capital and labour intensive; no off-season | NW Europe (largest), Canada, SE Australia/NZ/Tasmania |
| Mediterranean agriculture | Citrus fruits; viticulture; grown in winter for export | Mediterranean basin, S California, central Chile, SW South Africa/Australia |
| Market gardening / horticulture | High-value veg/fruit/flowers; small farms near cities | NW Europe, NE USA; Netherlands (tulips) |
| Co-operative farming | Voluntary pooling; individual farms intact | Denmark (most successful), Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Italy |
| Collective farming (Kolkhoz) | Social ownership; small personal plots allowed | Erstwhile Soviet Union |
Don’t mix up nomadic herding (subsistence, many animal types, moves for pasture) with commercial livestock rearing (capital intensive, one animal type, permanent fenced ranch). Don’t mix up co-operative farming (individual farms stay intact) with collective farming (land and labour itself are pooled, only small personal plots remain).
5 Mining
| Method | When used | Key facts |
|---|---|---|
| Surface (open-cast) mining | Ore close to the surface | Easiest, cheapest; low overhead cost; large, rapid output |
| Underground (shaft) mining | Ore deep below the surface | Vertical shafts + galleries; needs lifts, drills, haulage vehicles, ventilation; risky: gases, fires, floods, caving-in |
Stages of mineral use in human history: copper age → bronze age → iron age. Real development of mining began with the Industrial Revolution. Mining’s profitability depends on physical factors (size, grade, mode of occurrence) and economic factors (demand, technology, capital, labour and transport costs). Today, developed economies are retreating from mining (high labour costs) while developing countries (large labour force) are becoming more important, and several African, South American and Asian countries earn over 50% of their income from minerals alone.
6 Map work (CBSE 2026-27): five areas on the world map
| CBSE map item | Regions to shade and label |
|---|---|
| Subsistence gathering | Northern Canada, northern Eurasia, southern Chile; Amazon Basin, tropical Africa, northern fringe of Australia, interior Southeast Asia |
| Nomadic herding | Atlantic shores of North Africa → Arabian peninsula → Mongolia and Central China (core); tundra of Eurasia; south-west Africa and Madagascar |
| Commercial livestock rearing | New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Uruguay, USA |
| Extensive commercial grain farming | Eurasian steppes, Canadian and American Prairies, Pampas (Argentina), Velds (South Africa), Australian Downs, Canterbury Plains (New Zealand) |
| Mixed farming | North-western Europe, eastern North America, parts of Eurasia, temperate latitudes of the southern continents |
The world-map question (5 marks) marks places on a world outline map and asks you to identify them; the CBSE 2026-27 sample paper’s first item is “an area of nomadic herding”. Practise shading each area above on a blank world map.
7 Recap
Name the six primary activities · define transhumance and shifting cultivation, with their regional names · distinguish nomadic herding from commercial livestock rearing, with countries · list every commercial farming system with its region · distinguish co-operative from collective farming · explain the two mining methods and why one is riskier than the other · shade and label the five CBSE map areas on a world outline map.