Introduction

Economic activities are those that generate income. They are broadly grouped into four categories: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. This chapter begins with the first of these — primary activities.

Primary activities are directly dependent on the environment. They involve the utilisation of earth’s resources such as land, water, vegetation, building materials, and minerals. Because of this direct link to nature, these activities are the most basic form of economic production.

The range of primary activities includes:

• Hunting and gathering
• Pastoral activities (herding livestock)
• Fishing
• Forestry
• Agriculture
• Mining and quarrying

Why do people in coastal regions engage in fishing, while those in plains take up agriculture? The answer lies in the physical and social factors that shape primary activities in different regions. Physical factors include climate, terrain, soil type, and availability of water. Social factors include cultural traditions, population density, and historical practices. Together, these determine which primary activity is dominant in a given area.

People engaged in primary activities are called red-collar workers, a term that comes from the outdoor nature of their work — often performed under the sun, in fields, forests, mines, or on water.