Primary Sector Activities: Farming, Forestry, Fishing, and Mining
What is Farming?
Farming is the practice of cultivating crops and raising animals to produce food and other raw materials.
What is Forestry?
Forestry is a primary sector activity focused on obtaining resources from forests, such as wood, paper, and cork.
What is Fishing?
Fishing is a primary sector activity that involves obtaining resources like fish, seafood, and coral from rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans.
What is Mining?
Mining is a primary sector activity based on the extraction of mineral resources from the subsoil, including copper, coal, iron, and uranium. These raw materials are later used in factories to create new processed products.
Key Factors in Farming
- Soils: Fertile land rich in organic matter and minerals is crucial for successful crop growth.
- Human and Economic Factors:
- Labor force
- Buildings
- Machinery and technology (irrigation systems, greenhouses, biotechnology)
- Market demand
- Transport
- Capital
- Subsidies
- Pesticides, fertilizers
Aquaculture
Aquaculture involves breeding aquatic animal and plant species in fish farms. Currently, 30% of the world’s fishing production comes from aquaculture.
The main advantage of aquaculture is that it minimizes ecological damage, helping to prevent overfishing.
In fish farms, we can find:
- Freshwater fishes: Trout and salmon
- Seawater fishes: Sea bass, hake, and turbot
- Mollusks: Oysters and mussels
Agricultural Processes
- Ploughing
- Planting
- Weeding, pest control
- Harvesting
- Grazing
- Shearing
- Milking
- Silage production
Agricultural Outputs
- Crops: Wheat, barley, corn, potatoes, vegetables, tomatoes, flowers
- Animal products: Wool, milk, skin, eggs, beef, lamb, mutton, pork
Elements of Farming: Inhabited Space
- Concentrated settlement: Houses are grouped together to form a village.
- Dispersed settlement: Houses are distributed among the fields.
Cultivated Space
Depending on the Limits
- Enclosures / Bocage: Small, enclosed, fenced plots (e.g., Atlantic Europe).
- Open fields: Plots with no fences or separation (e.g., Mediterranean Europe).
Depending on Irrigation
- Dry farming: Crops are irrigated only by rainwater.
- Irrigated agriculture: Artificial irrigation (sprinklers, drip, or flood methods) is used.
Depending on the Size
- Small farming: When the field’s size is less than 30 hectares.
- Large estate: When the field’s size is more than 100 hectares.
Depending on Productivity
- Intensive farming: High productivity.
- Extensive farming: Low productivity.
Depending on the Number of Crops Cultivated
- Polyculture: Farmers cultivate several crops.
- Monoculture: Farmers cultivate only one crop.
Depending on Who Exploits the Land
- Direct exploitation: The owner exploits their land.
- Indirect exploitation: The owner rents the field out to someone else.
Types of Mining
There are two main types of mines, categorized by their location:
- Opencast mines: These mines are on the Earth’s surface, allowing for easy extraction of minerals like copper, iron, silver, and tin. Advantage: They are cheaper than underground mines. Disadvantage: They can cause significant environmental damage.
- Underground mines: These are the most common type of mines, used when mineral deposits are located deep underground. Uranium, coal, diamonds, and precious stones are often obtained this way. Disadvantage: They require substantial investment in technology and safety measures.