Primary activities – Concept

A major aspect that determines the economy of any country is its industry and its various sectors. This is because the industry comprises the systematic production of services and goods for sale. The Indian industry is divided into three major sectors – primary, secondary, and tertiary. The economic sector which uses natural resources directly is the primary sector. The primary activities include mining, agriculture, forestry and fishing, and oil and gas extraction. The primary sector is typically less important in industrial countries, but it plays a major role in less developed or developing countries like India.

What is the primary sector?

The sector associated with extracting raw materials or natural resources from the Earth is the primary sector. The nature of a particular place determines the economic operations that can take place there. The products supplied or sold to the general public are manufactured under this sector. Its economic operations are fulfilled by using the Earth’s natural resources such as water, minerals, vegetation, etc.

In emerging countries, the primary sector is the most significant of the three sectors. There are many such examples of primary activities, but let us consider animal farming. Animal farming is the most important primary activity in Africa than any other country.

The major examples of primary activities are farming, mining, and fishing.

Primary industry is divided into two types:

• Genetic Industry

This sector included the extraction or collection of raw materials that can further be improved by human involvement in the manufacturing process. Livestock management, forestry, fisheries, and agriculture are examples of the genetic industry of the primary sector. These sectors are vulnerable to technological and scientific advancements in renewable resources.

• Extractive Industry

The extraction or production of finite raw materials that can’t be renewed or replenished by cultivation come under this category. Stone is quarried, mineral fuels are extracted, and mineral ores are mined in the extractive industries.

What percentage of the workforce is involved in primary activities?

Let us consider some examples for answering this question.

Ethiopia, in East Africa, for example, is a developing country. The workforce employed in Ethiopia in primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors is 88%, 2%, and 10%, respectively. These figures clearly signify that the primary activities are a major part of any developing country.

Considering the example of an industrialised nation, say the United Kingdom. The workforce employment figures here for the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors are 3%, 25%, and 70%, respectively. The employment of people is far less in the primary activities than in a developing nation.

Industries involved in the primary sector:

1. Agriculture

   Agriculture is the skill of producing natural or raw food and other items such as cotton using different farming techniques and methods. It forms a major part of the primary sector. Farmers use their lands to rear animals and grow plants, and then this yield is used to manufacture other food products.
   
   The goods produced in agriculture are vast and are categorised into four main categories for simplification. These categories are – food, fuel, textiles, and raw materials.

2. Mining

   The process of extracting raw materials or resources from the Earth is called mining. These resources may include metals, gemstones, rock, clay, silt, minerals, etc. The most valuable assets of a mining corporation are its reserves and resources. Mining is a much broader concept than just extracting raw materials. It also comprises many other factors such as locating ore deposits, determining the potential profit of a mining operation, and extracting precious commodities.
   
   The raw materials or resources extracted from mining form a huge component of the secondary sector to produce a wide range of key products.

3. Fishing

   Fishing is one of the most significant examples of primary activities. It includes various tasks such as marketing, shipping, selling, processing fish products, and preserving. Even the world’s fastest-growing food protection method is industrial fish farming. Almost half of the world’s seafood is provided by fish farms.

4. Forestry

   A significant source of raw materials for various industries is forest products. This industry contributes significantly to global economies. All the products produced by this industry increase global human well-being and meet some of modern society’s necessities.

Issues of the primary sector:

1. Monopoly Power: In the primary sector, the main problem is that wealth becomes unequally distributed.
2. Industrialisation: In industrial countries, the share of the primary sector is tiny because the major resources in such countries are used in the secondary and tertiary sectors.
3. Volatility: The products of primary activities are volatile in both output and price. The demand here is quite unpredictable. Many commodities face large fluctuations in prices. Countries that are largely dependent on the primary sector for their revenue face a significant decline when the prices of the commodities under the primary sector fall.

Conclusion:

The different types of industries in India are primary, secondary, and tertiary. The role played by each one of them is important for the economy. However, India being a country where over 60% of the people are employed in the agriculture sector, the primary sector is the major one in the country. Hence, the success of the other two sectors is somewhere or the other dependent on agriculture. The contribution of all three sectors to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) is significant. A country like India, with vast diversity, depends on all three sectors vitally.