Lecture Notes on Economic Activities and Agriculture

Introduction

• Importance of hard work in achieving job choices
• Overview of job choices: agriculture, manufacturing, trade, transport, medical, engineering, administration
• Economic activities defined as activities that help us earn money

Types of Economic Activities

1. Primary Activities

   • Involves extraction and production of natural resources
   • Examples: fishing, mining, farming, gathering
   • Characteristics: earliest activities since the beginning of civilization

2. Secondary Activities

   • Involves converting natural resources into useful products
   • Examples: manufacturing cloth from cotton, sugar from sugarcane, steel from iron ore

3. Tertiary Activities

   • Provide support to primary and secondary sectors
   • Examples: transportation, communication, trade, health, education, administration

Focus on Agriculture

• Definition of Agriculture: art and science of cultivation of crops and domestication of animals
• Derived from Latin: "ager" (soil) and "cultura" (cultivation)

Types Related to Agriculture

1. Sericulture: silk farming
2. Pisciculture: fish farming
3. Viticulture: grape cultivation
4. Horticulture: cultivation of vegetables, flowers, and fruits

Factors Influencing Agricultural Activities

• Importance of understanding factors influencing agricultural development

Natural Factors

• Relief: Flat lands are more suitable for agriculture; hilly areas have less fertile soil and higher erosion
• Water: Essential for plant growth
• Climate: Controls arable land; suitable conditions aid crop growth

Man-Made Factors

• Machines, Fertilizers, Labor, Market, Transport: Vital for agricultural production

Farm System

• Definition: the method a farmer uses resources for agriculture
• Inputs: seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery, labor, sunlight, rainfall, temperature, soil
  • Classified into:
    • Human Inputs: labor, machinery, chemicals
    • Physical Inputs: sunshine, rainfall, soil, slopes
• Processes: actions turning inputs into outputs (sowing, harvesting, etc.)
• Outputs: agricultural products (crops, wool, dairy, poultry)

Types of Farming

• Farming varies by geographical conditions, demand for produce, labor, and technology

Types of Farming

1. Subsistence Farming

   • Done for the survival of farmers and families
   • Features: small land, simple tools, low technology, generally poor farmers
   • Types:
     • Intensive Subsistence Farming: small land, high labor, high-yielding variety seeds
     • Primitive Subsistence Farming: shifting cultivation and nomadic herding

2. Commercial Farming

   • Not discussed in detail in this lecture

Primitive Subsistence Farming

• Shifting Cultivation:

  • Practiced in forested areas, involves clearing and burning trees
  • Crops: maize, potatoes, cassavas
  • Seen as wasteful due to deforestation, soil erosion, and carbon dioxide increase

• Nomadic Herding:

  • Movement of nomads with cattle in search of water and fodder
  • Practiced in semi-arid and arid regions
  • Animals provide milk, meat, wool, and hides

Classification of Crops

1. Food Crops: wheat, rice, maize
2. Fiber Crops: jute, cotton
3. Beverage Crops: tea, coffee

Conditions Required for Crop Growth

• Rice: high temperature, high humidity, alluvial clayey soil
• Wheat: moderate temperature, well-drained loam
• Millet: low rainfall, less fertile sandy soil
• Maize: moderate temperature, well-drained fertile soils
• Cotton: high temperature, black and alluvial soil
• Jute: high temperatures, alluvial soil
• Coffee: warm and wet climate, well-drained soil
• Tea: cool climate, well-distributed high rainfall

Agricultural Development

• Key Aim: increase food security
• Food Security: access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food
• Four Pillars of Food Security: availability, access, utilization, stability
• UN's recognition of the right to food since 1948

Conclusion

• Development in agriculture is possible through wise planning and implementation
• Importance of learning about these topics for better agricultural practices

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