Sectors of Economy: Primary and Secondary

Primary Sector: This sector consists of Agriculture & Allied sectors and Mining. Here we will discuss forestry, fishing, dairy farming, ranching, plantations, and truck farming.

Jhum Cultivation

This type of cultivation is also known as Shifting Cultivation. Tribes inhabiting forested hills practice to do it. In India, the tribes of Khasi and Naga practice “Jhum Cultivation”. This type of cultivation consists of two-step first is Field Rotation and the second is Crop Rotation.

Crop Rotation

The field has fixed ownership. The crops will change according to the reason so that the fertility of the soil is maintained.

Field Rotation

Slash/burn indicates the process of field preparation i.e., done by slashing and burning crops/trees. This is done before the onset of winds. In infield rotation, the fields are cultivated for 3 to 5 years. Once the trees are slashed/burned there occurs rag aid soil version and launching and field become infertile. However, in the absence of a version, the productivity of the land is maintained by changing the field. The process is repeated in other parts of the forest to maintain production.

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

These types of agriculture are practiced in river Valleys and coastal plains of South Asia, East Asia, and South-East Asia. These farmers have small holdings of land due to overpopulation. There are multiple cropping approaches practiced here. Due to the burgeoning food needs of a growing population, almost the whole production of crops is consumed and it has nothing to export because it is not surplus in quantity.

Extensive Commercial Cropping

This type of agriculture is practiced in temperate grasslands. The farmers have large fields. The cultivation is done based on machines and production is large in quantity and it is surplus, hence it is exported.

Nomadic Herding

It is a practice of domestication of animals by nomads. Nomads are people who continuously move with animal herds in search of water and grasses. Animals are their source of food and livelihood. Food is in the form of blood, meat, milk, etc. It is generally practiced in tropical grasslands.

Animal Ranching

It is the large scale domestication of animals on permanent farms. These animals are domesticated for Meat, Pork, Poultry, Wool, and Milk. These are produced in surplus and hence exported. Ranching is a commercial activity.

Commercial Plantation

These types of plantations were introduced by the colonizers in their colonies. The important plantations done by colonizers are tea, coffee, cocoa, and rubber.

Market Gardening

It is practiced in areas close to cities and this type of cultivation involves cultivating Fruits, Flowers & Vegetables. These are also capital and labor-intensive which are marketed and exported. Market gardening is also called Truck Farming.

Dairy Farming

It is associated with milk production and other value-added products produced from milk. These include products like milk powder, cheese, curd, butter, etc… Again, this is Commercial Farming. In Denmark and New Zealand, it is capital and, technology-intensive. India is the largest producer of milk in the world.

Fishing

Broadly clarified into 2 categories, Inland and Marine. Fish is a good source of protein and unsaturated fatty acids. It also provides employment and additional income generation. The sources of inland fishing include ponds, rivers, lakes, and lagoons. China & India are the largest inland fishing. The sources of marine fishing are seas & oceans. Fish production is directly associated with planktons in seas and oceans. Planktons grow at the convergence of cold and warm currents. The major fishing zones are, North West Pacific – Japan, North East Pacific – West Coast of North America, North West Atlantic – West Coast of North America, North East Atlantic – West Coast of Europe, Marine fishing is dominated by China, India & Japan.

Forestry

Forestry is the main source of timber production, help, and paper & newsprint. It is not economically and environmentally viable. The forests that are exploited are, Coniferous or Taiga Forests, the Mediterranean or Temperate Deciduous Forests, and Tropical Monsoon Forest.

These forests are exploited because it is close to human civilization and has a moderate population density. So, it’ is easy to construct roads and transport for the transportation of valuable timber.

Mining

Mining depends on the vocational factors mentioned as follows:

• Economic use & value of mineral
• Presence of minerals
• Mining location i.e., location of mines should be viable economically which is achieved by exploration and estimation of the mineral
• Technology
• Labor
• Transport to industries and manufacture units

Secondary Sector (Manufacturing & Industry)

The Secondary sector of the economy is also called as Industrial sector. That means all the industry with the purpose of manufacturing of goods belongs to the secondary sector of the economy. To establish an industry, location is quite an important factor. The location factors are broadly classified into two categories:

Geographic Factors

1. Supply of Raw Materials: If industries are located close to raw materials, they are called Weight Loss Industries. For example, the Sugar industry in Western U.P. being close to the sugarcane areas. Here, we use a mathematical expression to denote Material Index, which is,

Material Index = Amount of Output/Amount of Input   <   1 (For weight Lose Industries)

2. Market: Market Location determines the demand for products as well as its profitability. Some of the industries are located close to markets and these are called Weight Gain Industries. For example, Sugar Industry, Bakery, etc. Here,

Material Index = Amount of Output/Amount of Input   >   1 (For weight Gain Industries)

3. Power: Availability of power ensures that the scale of production increases, effective production is obtained, and communication facilities are prompt and ready. These are important because they strengthen the backward and forward literates of the secondary. It improves the integration of the economy.
4. Availability of technology: Technology up-gradation helps in the mechanization of production of goods, improvement in the efficiency, and increases the scale of goods. Technology is capital goods.
5. Labor: Depending on the availability of labor industries are classified into labor-intensive industries and capital and technology-intensive industries. The former employs manual labor on a massive scale like cottage industries. The Latter relies on automation, human knowledge & technical know-how more and hence few people are employed. For example, Hardware Automobile Industry. Also, industries that are not connected with the supply of raw materials are called Food LOSE INDUSTRIES, For example, Software Industry
6. Agglomeration: Also called industrial inertia. It is the concentration of industries and manufacturing units and farming together. With the concentration of these together, they share, Raw Materials, Capital, Power, Labor, Market, and Innovation.

By sharing these resources, the production cost is reduced and savings increased. Production is enhanced. Savings lead to reproduction which in turn leads to increased production and diversification. The profitability of the industry is increased.

These are associated with government policies and programs. These are based on the following factors:

1. Social Consideration: It is in the national interest that there be the promotion of industrialization in backward regions to improve employment, income generation, improvement in intra-generational growth, and overall economic development of backward regions.
2. Environmental Consideration: To remove polluting industries from urban regions and areas/regions with high population density; the government uses regulations and plays the role of facilitator, providing incentives and concessions like reducing tax.