What are non-farm primary activities? How are these activities related to physiographic features in India? Discuss with suitable examples. (Answer in 150 words)

Non-farm primary activities directly extract natural resources without crop cultivation. Their location reflects the availability, accessibility and quality of physical resources.

Major activities

• Fishing, forestry, pastoralism, hunting, mining, quarrying and salt production are important examples.
• They supply food, fuel, fibre, minerals and industrial raw materials, often supporting vulnerable communities.

Physiographic linkages

• Coasts, estuaries and continental shelves support marine fishing and aquaculture; Kerala and Gujarat illustrate this relationship.
• Himalayan forests support timber, medicinal plants, pastoralism and ecotourism, subject to ecological limits.
• Mineral-rich plateau rocks underpin coal, iron ore and bauxite mining in Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
• Arid western plains favour camel and sheep pastoralism and salt extraction in the Rann of Kachchh.

Sustainability

Technology can expand access but cannot remove ecological constraints. Overfishing, deforestation, land degradation and unsafe mining create externalities. Resource mapping, community rights, scientific regulation and value addition are necessary to convert physiographic advantage into sustainable livelihoods.

Keywords: extraction, physiography, fishing, pastoralism, mineral plateau, resource sustainability.