Gathering, pastoral, mining, subsistence agriculture, modern agriculture

Primary activities in agriculture: Introduction 

The primary activities comprise those occupations that seem to be closely associated with the man’s natural environment. Gathering, animal rearing, pastoral, farming, fishing, hunting, and mining are significant examples of primary activities. In this article, we will understand the concept of primary activities with the help of an example, i.e., animal rearing or dairy as the primary activity. In such activity, farmers have been dependent on the biological process of the animal along with the availability of fodder. Milk is also considered to be a natural product. The salient feature related to the primary sector is that it establishes the base of all other activities.

What are Primary Activities?

The transformation from the plant to the complete products comprises three economic activities, i.e., primary, secondary, and tertiary. The primary activities comprise the extraction and manufacturing of natural resources like fishing, gathering, and Agriculture. The secondary activities involve processing resources such as baking bread, producing steel, and weaving cloth. The tertiary activities will offer support to both primary and secondary activities through its services such as banking, transport, trading, and advertising. Agriculture is recognised as one of the major primary activities. The favourable topography of climate and soil is essential for agricultural activity.

Farm System

Agriculture or farming can be considered a system that includes fertilisers, Machinery, important input seeds, and labour. The major operation of agriculture includes irrigation, weeding, sowing, and harvesting. The output received from the system crops is wool, dairy, and poultry products.

Types of Farming

Farming can be classified into two categories, i.e., subsistence agriculture and commercial farming. The main types of farming will depend on the geographical condition, labour, product demand, and technology levelology. Subsistence agriculture has been further classified into two types, i.e., intensive subsistence and primitive subsistence farming.

Modern agriculture plays a significant role in enhancing human beings’ living standards and quality of life by enhancing the accessibility of food all year round at cost-effective prices. The intensification of agriculture has both advantages and limitations.

What is modern agriculture?

Maintaining the constant food manufacturing productivity for the increasing population by employing accessible limited resources such as land and water seems to be a major challenge for the agriculture sector. There has been a need to adopt intensified agricultural practices to overcome the shortcomings. 

In general words, modern agriculture is defined as the approach depending on the high input-high output methodologies. This includes practising intense tillage, employing abundant irrigation water, and using the inorganic fertilisers and chemical control of pests to combat the global fuel demand and food. Modern agriculture is also termed intensive agriculture or modern farming.

Importance of modern agriculture

Let us discuss the importance and advantages of modern agriculture in detail.

Increases the food production

The utilisation of more products offers a higher yield and therefore increases the overall production. The higher yield will be sufficient to combat the growing population’s increasing food and fuel demand. It also helps to alleviate hunger and malnourishment incidences. 

Ensures food security

The increased food production will also assist in controlling the reliable, steady access to nutritious food worldwide.

Improves the affordability

The accessibility of the agricultural product will lower the amount of money that needs to be spent on buying products and thus improve human beings’ living standards and quality of life.

Alleviate the physical pressure on the environment

The utilisation of productive technology such as genetic manipulation of plants and biotechnology helps to gain a higher yield and lower input per unit of output. Therefore, it can be said that adopting modern agriculture helps alleviate the impact on the environment.

Impacts of modern agriculture on the environment

Soil erosion

The widespread drip irrigation systems, sprinklers, pumps, construction of dams, and adoption of diversion strategies will enhance the farmlands’ water supply. However, while concerning the long-run excess water eliminates the surface soil from the land and thus resulting in soil erosion. The surface soil generally comprises many plant nutrients and organic matter as the finest soil practice, which helps in moisture and nutrient retention. The elimination of the fertile topsoil from the farmland lowers the overall productivity.

Reducing the soil quality

Concerning the traditional method of agriculture, soil fertility and quality are controlled by the recycling of nutrients by a variety of plant and animal species and different other natural contributors. However, soil fertility has been maintained in intensive agriculture by incorporating fertiliser frequently. Poor soil quality results in the nutrients and other minerals getting lost because of the continuous cultivation and excess runoff.

Contamination of water sources

The surface runoff can carry fertiliser and pesticides into the water resource such as rivers, wells, and lakes. The process of water percolation by the modern agricultural land usually enhances the chemical concentration of the groundwater, thus creating them unacceptable for drinking purposes. The fertiliser contamination will increase the algae growth in rivers and lakes, leading to blockages or flood conditions around the reservoir.

Development of pest-resistant species

In modern farming, most farmers depend on the utilisation of chemicals to protect the crop. The major limitation associated with using the pesticide is that it kills not only the pest of the concern but also a range of other organisms. The chemical used will kill both the insect and pest predators. Another impact of modern agriculture is that it develops resistance in the pest species, producing species with higher tolerance to the particular pesticide.

Conclusion 

We have discussed the primary activities where agriculture is the major primary activity. The concept of modern agriculture is introduced to combat the growing demand for food and fuel the productivity of the increasing population. However, some limitations have also been associated with modern agriculture, which is discussed above. 

The article will help students understand the importance and procedure of primary activities and how it has affected the modern standards of agriculture. If you still have any doubts or suggestions, do let us know by dropping a comment in the box given below.