Primary Sector of Indian Economy, Examples, Agriculture & Allied Sectors

Primary Sector of Indian Economy

Economic activity may be defined as an activity that involves a man’s endeavours for his earnings, living and economic well-being. It includes all man’s activities relating to agriculture, forestry, fishing, rearing of animals, manufacturing, making trade and commerce, and practising all other activities that involve subsistence and earnings for his living and the well-being of his well-being economic conditions.

Sectors of Indian Economy

The three-sector model in economics divides the economies into three sectors of activities.

• The Primary Sector involves the extraction and production of raw materials. Such as farming, logging, hunting, fishing, forestry, and mining.
• The Secondary Sector involves manufacturing and the role of industries. Such as the production of finished products.
• The Tertiary Sector involves service industries that facilitate the transportation and distribution of goods produced in the secondary sector.

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Primary Sector Examples

The primary sector refers to the part of the economy that involves the extraction and harvesting of natural resources. Examples of primary sector activities include Agriculture, Fishing, Mining, Forestry, Hunting, gathering etc.

Agriculture & Allied Sectors

Agriculture is a primary economic activity of the world because it involves direct utilization and exploitation of nature and components of nature, such as soil, climate, landforms, and others. According to the definition, primary economic activities include the following types of activities,

• Agriculture (Growing crops, raising livestock, and other farming activities)
• Hunting and gathering of fruits and roots of the forest.
• Animal rearing,
• Fishing (Catching fish and other seafood from the ocean, rivers, and lakes.)
• Mining (Extracting minerals and other resources from the earth, such as coal, oil, and natural gas.)
• Collection of forest products
• Water extraction (Collecting and transporting water for irrigation, drinking, and other purposes.)
• Collection of mineral resources, and so on.

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Importance of the Agriculture Sector

Agriculture is an essential primary economic activity in the world. Nearly half of the world’s population is still dependent on agriculture. About 65 per cent (65%) of the population in developing countries earn their livelihood by practising agriculture. Agriculture is the basic activity; because it is the only activity that provides food security to people. Agriculture provides raw materials to many basic industries (secondary activities) like textiles (jute, cotton, silk), tea, sugar, and oil.

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Influence of Agriculture on Environment

Agriculture is closely related to the environment. It depends solely upon a number of environmental factors. The difference in the method of agriculture and the variety in crop production are due to different environmental conditions. The environmental conditions may be classified into two groups:

• Physical Environment
• Non-physical or cultural environment

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Physical Environment

It includes the physical surroundings such as Topography, Soil, Climate etc.

1. Topography

The method of agriculture and the crops produced differ from place to place according to landscape features. The rugged and rocky mountainous regions do not favour agriculture. Sometimes, hills are terraced to create small farmlands; but machine cultivation is not possible there. Terraced cultivation is commonly noticed in the hilly parts of India, China, Japan, Indonesia, etc. Some crops like tea and coffee are grown best on hill slopes, as the soil on the slopes is well-drained. Plains, floodplains, and lowlands are ideal for agriculture. Most of the world’s farmlands are on plains and river valleys.

2. Soil

The soil is composed of various minerals and organic substances from the physical support of plants. The yield depends on the fertility of the soil and the type of crops selected to be grown in that particular soil. Agriculture is practised in regions where the soil is fertile and rich in plant food.

3. Climate

Of the various physical factors, the climate is the most influential. Types of crops grown, quality, and quantity of crops are all influenced by climate. Every crop has its own climatic needs, such as the need for temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind, and the length of the growing season; however, the most important are rainfall and temperature. Crops differ due to climatic variables. It is for the different climatic types, and a wide variety of crops is grown in the world.

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Non-Physical or Cultural Environment

It includes factors related to population, economic condition, technological development, governmental policy, etc.

1. Population

The population as a factor of agriculture: The density of the population exerts some influence on agricultural activities. It has a direct impact on the supply of agricultural labour. One of the main reasons for rice and tea plantation cultivation in Southeast Asia is the availability of cheap labour.

2. Economic Condition

Agriculture is carried on in regions where it is economically feasible. Before rubber cultivation started, large tracts of land were left forested and unutilized in Malaysia. Again types of crops grown in an area depend on local demand or commercial supply. Hence, the development of agriculture considerably rests upon several economic factors.

3. Technological Development

Modern technology, particularly the use of tractors and other implements and the extension of railways, has helped to bring new areas under agriculture. New methods of cultivation and technology, particularly the use of chemical fertilizers and hybrid seeds, have facilitated the production of crops.

4. Governmental Policy

It has a direct influence on agricultural activities. The government imposes tariffs and restrictions on importing commodities to protect the farmers. For example, after the partition of India, large areas were brought under jute cultivation in West Bengal and Assam as a result of direct subsidies and tax relief. The government takes part in agricultural research, propagates the new findings of the research, and awakens the farmers to the new cultivation methods. Sometimes, government issues agrarian loans for the development of agriculture.

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Primary Sector UPSC

Since agriculture is the most significant and substantial sector of the Indian economy, the agriculture sector is relevant here. However, underemployment is a significant underlying problem in this industry. For the UPSC/IAS preparation, this article is useful.

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