Ch05 Primary Activities - Solutions

 CBSE Class 12 Geography

NCERT Solutions
Chapter 5
Primary Activities

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.

(i) Which one of the following is not a plantation crop?

  1. Coffee
  2. Sugarcane
  3. Wheat
  4. Rubber

Ans. (3) Wheat

(ii) In which one of the following countries co-operative farming was the most successful experiment?

  1. Russia
  2. Denmark
  3. India
  4. The Netherlands

Ans. (2) Denmark

(iii) Growing of flowers is called:

  1. Truck farming
  2. Factory farming
  3. Mixed farming
  4. Floriculture

Ans. (4) Floriculture

(iv) Which one of the following types of cultivation was developed by European colonists?

  1. Kolkoz
  2. Viticulture
  3. Mixed farming
  4. Plantation

Ans. (4) Plantation

(v) In which one of the following regions is extensive commercial grain cultivation not practised?

  1. American Canadian prairies
  2. European Steppes
  3. Pampas of Argentina
  4. Amazon Basin

Ans. (4) Amazon Basin

(vi) In which of the following types of agriculture is the farming of citrus fruit very important?

  1. Market gardening
  2. Plantation agriculture
  3. Mediterranean agriculture
  4. Co-operative farming

Ans. (3) Mediterranean agriculture

(vii) Which one type of agriculture amongst the following is also called 'slash and burn agriculture'?

  1. Extensive subsistence agriculture
  2. Primitive subsistence agriculture
  3. Extensive commercial grain cultivation
  4. Mixed farming

Ans. (2) Primitive subsistence agriculture

(viii) Which one of the following does not follow monoculture?

  1. Dairy farming
  2. Mixed Farming
  3. Plantation agriculture
  4. Commercial grain farming

Ans. (b) Mixed Farming

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.

(i) Future of shifting cultivation is bleak. Discuss.

Ans.It is absolutely right that the future of shifting cultivation is bleak because after three to five years the soil loses its fertility and farmer shifts to other parts and clears other patch of forest for cultivation. If it is continued then forest area will decrease year by year. On the other hand, in areas where this is practised people are getting familiar with latest technology. So it is expected that they will move to other forms of agriculture.

(ii) Market gardening is practised near urban areas. Why?

Ans. Market gardening is practised near urban areas because:

  1. Their demand and consumption is more in urban areas;
  2. Farms are small and are located where there are good transportation
    links with the urban centre where high income group of consumers is located.
  3. It is both labour and capital-intensive and lays emphasis on the use of irrigation, HYV seeds, fertilisers, insecticides, green houses and artificial heating in colder regions.
  4. This type of agriculture is well developed in densely populated industrial districts of north west Europe, north eastern United States of America and the Mediterranean regions.

(iii) Large scale dairy farming is the result of the development of transportation and refrigeration.

Ans. In dairy farming, milch animals are reared at a large scale. Milk and its products are perishable and hence it could not be practised unless there was proper transportation and refrigeration. The development of transportation, refrigeration, pasteurisation and other preservation measures has led to large scale dairy farming.In other words,there is no off season for dairy farming. Since the urban and industrial demands for milk and dairy products are always high. The development of transportation, refrigeration, pasteurization and other preservation processes have increased the duration of storage of various dairy products.

3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words.

(i) Differentiate between Nomadic Herding and Commercial Livestock Rearing.

Ans. Nomadic Herding:

  1. Nomadic herding is a primitive subsistence activity in which the herders rely on animals for food, clothing and shelter, tools and transport.
  2. They move from one place to another along with their livestock depending on the amount and quality of pastures and water.
  3. Each nomadic community occupies a well-defined territory as a matter of tradition.
  4. In mountain regions such as the Himalayas, Gujjars, Bakkarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas migrate from plains to mountains in summer and from the mountain to plains in winter. Similarly, in the Tundra regions, the nomadic herders move from north to south in winters and from south to north in summers.
  5. A wide varieties of animals are kept in different regions of the world. In tropical Africa, cattle are the most important livestock, while in Sahara and Asiatic deserts, sheep, goats and camel are reared. In the mountainous areas of Tibet and Andes, yak and llamas and in the Arctic and sub-Arctic areas, reindeer are the most important animals.

Commercial Livestock rearing:

  1. The capital-intensive and organised rearing of animals on scientific lines is called commercial livestock rearing.
  2. The farms under commercial livestock rearing are permanent. They are spread under vast areas and the entire area is divided into small units. The ranches cover large areas and are divided into small parcels which are fenced to regulate grazing.
  3. The number of animals in a pasture is kept according to the carrying capacity of the pasture.
  4. It is a specialised type of activity in which only one type of animals are reared. Important animals include sheep, cattle, goats, and horses.
  5. Products such as meat, wool, hides, and skin are processed and packed scientifically and exported to different world markets.
  6. Rearing of animals in ranching is organised on a scientific basis. The main stress is laid on breeding, genetic improvement, disease control, and health care of the animals.

(ii) Discuss the important characteristic features of plantation agriculture. Name a few important plantation crops from different countries.

Ans. Plantation agriculture: It is a method of farming in which large estates estates or plantations are purchased and large capital investment is done along with providing for scientific and technical support and most modern methods of cultivation with specialisation in a single crop. It was introduced by the Europeans in colonies situated in the tropics.

Characteristics Features:

  1. Plantation agriculture is highly sophisticated and scientific methods are used for large-scale production.

  2. There is specialization of single crop in plantation agriculture, e.g., coffee in Brazil, tea in India, rubber in Malaysia, etc.

  3. Plantation crops are usually raised on large estates, of more than 40 hectares (100 acres) each, though the success of such crops has often encouraged other farmers to grow them so that small holdings exist side by side with the large estates.

    In some parts of West Africa small holdings are, however, more important than estates and small holding rubber production in Malaysia now exceeds that from estates. Seedlings are first grown in nursery seed-beds and then transplanted in neat rows, well-spaced and regularly weeded, on the estates.

  4. Foreign ownership and local labour: Most of the largest estates are owned by Europeans. For example, most Malaysian rubber estates were originally in the hands of British companies with their head offices in London, and were managed and supervised by Englishmen.Since independence, however, there has been an increase in local ownership. The tapping and processing of the rubber is done entirely by local people or by immigrant labourers from southern India.

    The British also established large tea gardens in India and Sri Lanka and banana and sugar plantations in the West Indies. The French have established cocoa and coffee plantations in West Africa, e.g., in Cameroun and Ivory Coast, but Ghana and Nigeria have fewer estates.

    Some coffee fazendas in Brazil are still in the hands of the Portuguese, though most of them belong to wealthy Brazilians, and there is also some Spanish, American and Canadian interest in plantation agriculture in tropical America. Sugar plantations in Queensland, Australia, are unusual as they employ white labour.

  5. Farming in estates is scientifically managed: Work in estates is executed with specialised skill, and wherever possible with the application of machinery and fertilizers. It aims at high yields, high quality production and a large output, most of which is exported.

    The final products, whether sheet rubber, palm oil or tea, have to be carefully processed and standardised to meet world demand and specification.

  6. Heavy capital outlay: To initiate and to maintain a tropical plantation, large sums of money are required. As many plantations are located in previously undeveloped or sparsely populated areas, far from urban centers, a minimum network of communication by road or rail has to be developed first, either with or without government assistance.

    This is a very expensive undertaking especially under tropical conditions where maintenance costs are also high. Plantations are manned more and more by local staff, however, less adminis­trative expenses are incurred, but the overall production cost is still high, especially where labour is highly unionised as in Indian and Sri Lankan tea estates.

  7. Plantation agriculture is an export-oriented agriculture: Nearly the entire product of plantation agriculture is generally exported to the international market. Therefore, it requires a better communication network, packaging and processing facilities.

  8. Plantation agriculture often encourages migration from other countries. In colonial period thousands of people migrated from one place to another for work. In this way, cultural exchange occurs.
  9. Most of the crops grown in plantation agriculture have a life cycle of more than two years. Natural rubber, coconuts, oil palm, tea, cocoa, and coffee are all tree crops and take years to mature, but afterwards they are productive for long periods.

Important plantation crop are: Some of the important plantation farming are coffee plantation in Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, Tanzania, Kenya; sugarcane plantation in Cuba, Brazil, Peru, Puerto Rico and Philippines; tea plantation in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia; cocoa farming in West Indies, Ecuador, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana; rubber plantation in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, India; banana plantation in Mexico, Jamaica, Columbia, Brazil, Panama and Costa Rico.