Chapter 8 Economic Geography: Primary Activities

8.1 The Classification of Economic Activity and Economies

Production patterns are rooted in the spatially variable circumstances of the physical environment
Unequal distribution of petroleum and mineral deposits make some regions wealthy and some dependent
Forestry and fishing need other natural resources that are unequal in occurrence * Type * Value
Complex environmental and cultural realities control the economic activities of humans
Cultural considerations may shape economic decisions
Culturally based food preferences rather than environmental limitations may dictate the choice of crops or livestock
Production is controlled by economic factors of demand, whether that demand is expressed
Preindustrial societies have no knowledge of or need the resources below for hunting, gathering, or gardening grounds * Iron ore * Coal * Petroleum * Uranium
Level of technological development of culture will affect its recognition of resources or its ability to exploit them
You can categorize the world’s productive work by viewing their economic activity * Primary Activity * Harvesting or extracting something from the Earth * Secondary Activity * They add value to materials by changing their form or combining them into more useful products * Tertiary Activity * Provide services to the primary and secondary sectors and goods and services to businesses and to individuals * Wholesale * Retail trade * Quaternary Activity * Service activities involving research, information, and administration
Worlds most advanced economies are now largely post-industrial information economies
Subsistence economy * Goods and services are created for the use of the producers
Market (commercial) economies * Making buyers and sellers transacting everyday business
Planned economies * Investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place while following economic and production plans

8.2 Primary Activities: Agriculture

38% of the world’s population depended on agriculture, hunting, fishing, and forestry for their livelihoods
Supplies for humankind’s basic concerns can be acquired directly, through hunting, gathering, farming, or fishing, or indirectly, through performance of other primary, secondary, or service sector endeavors
Increasing population would exceed food supplies
Annual food supplies are more than sufficient to meet world needs
11% of the world’s population are inadequately supplied with food and nutrients
Subsistence Agriculture * nearly total self-sufficiency on the part of its members
Extensive Subsistence Agriculture * Large areas of land and minimal labor input per hectare
Intensive Subsistence Agriculture * The cultivation of small landholdings through the expenditure of great amounts of labor per acre
Animals provide a variety of products * Milk, cheese, blood, and meat for food * Hair and wool for clothing * Skins for clothing and shelter * Excrement for fuel
Economic, social, and cultural changes are causing nomadic groups to change their way of life or to disappear entirely
Urban Subsistence Farming * Around 800 million city farmers worldwide are part of an urban subsistence farming * Urban food production reduced adult and child malnutrition in a lot of cities
Expanding Crop Production * There are two paths to promote increased food production * Expand the land area under cultivation * Increase crop yields from existing farmlands
Intensification and The Green Revolution * The key to agricultural production for the past few decades has been increased productivity of existed cropland rather than the expansion of the area * World grain yields rose nearly 140 percent between 1960-2009
Commercial Agriculture * Growing food to sell it as a business venture * Opposite of subsistence agriculture
A Model of Agricultural Location * Johann Heinrich von Thünen observed that uniformly fertile areas of farmland were used differently in the early 19th Century when the governmental influences were the normal
Intensive Commercial Agriculture * Has both plants and animals * Industrial agriculture * Crops that give a lot of profit and high yield
Extensive Commercial Agriculture * Large wheat farms * Animal ranching * Way of cropping with minimal amounts of labour * Produces lower yield per unit
Special Crops * Mediterranean Agriculture * Specialized farming economy * Known for fruits and vegetables * Plantation Agriculture * Foreign * Investments * Management * Marketing to indigenous * Culture * Economy * Employing nonnatives to produce crops for foreign markets
Sustainable Agriculture * Main point of this type of agriculture is to * provide enough food for everyone * prevent poverty * enhance social, ecological, economic, and individual health

8.3 Primary Activities: Resource Exploitation

Resource Terminology * Resources or natural resources are the naturally occurring materials that society perceives to be useful to its economic and material well-being
Fishing * Fish and shellfish account for just 17 percent of all human consumption of animal protein * The annual fish supply comes from three sources: * The inland catch; ponds, lakes, and rivers * Fish farming (or aquaculture) * The marine catch
Forestry * the world’s forests and woodlands probably covered some 45 percent of the Earth’s land area before the rise of agriculture * With forestry, you can: * Managing * Planting * Repairing * Constructing * Economic uses * Social uses * Ecological
Mining and Quarry * Extracting natural resources and minerals from the earth * Provides non-renewable resources * Minerals can be used for social, economic, ecological, and recreational purposes
Non-Metallic Minerals: * Minerals that do not contain metals of industrial interest as part of their composition * Non-metallic mineral reserves consist of quarries of stone, clay and sand pits
Fossil Fuels: * Are highly dense natural fuel such as coal and/or gas made from decomposing plants and animals
Metals: * Usually hard material used to construct objects

8.4 Trade in Primary Products

International trade expanded rapidly since the end of WW2 (Has increased more than 8 fold since 1980)
Primary commodities contribute to the total dollar value of international flows
The world distribution of supply and demand for primary commodities resulted in a colonial pattern of commodity flow (20th century)
Reverse flow carried manufactured goods from industrialized states for sale to developing countries
The two-way trade benefited the developed states
Also gave less developed countries some capital to invest
Trade flows have changed in modern days
Raw materials decreased and manufactured goods increased
Trade in unprocessed goods still remains dominant in the economic well-being of many third world countries
Commodity prices are volatile * May rise sharply in periods of product shortage or international economic growth
During the ’80s and ’90s, commodity price movements were downwards
Prices for agricultural raw materials dropped 30 percent between 1975-2000
Metals and minerals decreased by 40%
91 of the 141 developing countries rely on commodities for 60% of their export earnings
Technology has provided advanced countries with vast materials that substitute ores and metals produced by developing states
As world industrial economy expands, demand and prices for traditional raw materials remain low
Prices paid for developing country commodities are low | prices charged for the manufactured goods offered in exchange tend to be high
Some developing states placed restrictions on the export of unprocessed commodities to capture profit for themselves
Some dc’s also encouraged domestic manufacturing to reduce imports and diversify exports
In 1964 developing states promoted the establishment of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) * Expanded to 13 developing states * Continues to press for a new world economic order
WTO (Established in 1995) was designed to reduce trade barriers and inequities
WTO is ineffective on issues of importance to developing countries * Failure of the high-income countries to eliminate generous protections for their own agricultural and mineral industries
At WTO meeting in 2001, developing countries argued for the elimination of agricultural subsidies and protectionist policies in the EU and US
Negotiations continued through 2008
Agriculture was the primary roadblock in the trade talks
2015 Nairobi package included agreements to eliminate export subsidies for agricultural products