2. Primary economic Activities Primary economic activities are those economic activities by which Homo sapiens conduct economic activity to produce primary products. Primary goods are also called tangible goods. For example: rice, wheat, fish.

3. Characteristics Primary activities are conducted by Homo sapiens to produce primary products. These are the products, which can be characterized by least processing and mass production directly from the field. Primary products fetch least price in the market. In primary economic activities net return may not be cost effective in some cases.

4. Producers involved in these economic activities may remain poor. Primary economic activities belong to the production sector. Contribution to GDP from primary sector is less in developed countries (5%) and underdeveloped is about 60%-70%.

5. Different Sectors of Primary Economic Activity Agriculture Growing of crops and raising of domesticated animals under human supervision. Fishing The harvesting of fish from fresh and salty water. Mining The extraction of minerals and natural resources from nature Forestry Cutting and collecting of timber/wood from natural or forest areas.

6. Fishing Fishing is a primary economic activity by which different types of fish are caught from water bodies. The production is bulk in size and in raw form. Fish provide an important source of protein in the diet for much of the world’s population For many parts of the third world, fish are the predominant source of high quality animal protein.

7. Water bodies: There are two types of water bodies. - Saline water bodies: ocean. - Fresh water bodies: river, lake, pond, canal etc. Most of the fish are found in saline water bodies. Fishing ground Fishing grounds are those spaces of the water body where most of the fish are found. There are two types of fishing. Capture fishing: nature induced Culture fishing: man induced

8. Capture fishing: is that fishing activities where the fishermen only capture fish from natural water bodies without getting involved in maturing the fish. Biggest fishing ground is situated near Peru, Chile and Argentina (South America) Culture fishing: is the fishing activity where people culture/cultivate fish in man made water bodies.

9. Commercial fishing activity occurs predominantly in northern hemisphere ocean waters. Coastal margins of the middle latitudes are the biggest producing areas. The largest producing areas for commercial fish are shallow waters on the continental shelf.

10. Importance of Fishing Many jobs, both fulltime and part time, depend upon fishing. Apart from fishing itself, there is also work in related processing industries, such as canning, freezing for human use. Many of the smaller fish and other organisms, are processed in factories to make pet food, animal feed and fertilizers. There are related industries like boat building, making nets and fishing tackle and ice production.

11. Fishing In Bangladesh The total annual fish production of Bangladesh is estimated to be in the range of 1.5 to1.7 million tons. 2 million families directly dependent on fishing as their principal livelihood. But only 5 to 6 percent of the national GDP is from fisheries sector. Fisheries provide 60% of the animal protein intake of the entire population of the country.

12. Forestry Forestry is a primary economic activity by which people extract necessary things (wood, timber, leaves, honey etc.) from nature. There are two types forest. -Natural forest (nature induced) -Social forest (man induced) Timbering is the most widespread and dominant type of forestry activity. Wood consumption occurs as fuel (cooking and heating users) and industrial purpose also.

13. Commercial Forestry Commercial forests occur in two huge global belts. The first virtually encircles the world in the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Second forest gathering realm lies in the tropical equatorial zone, including a large part of South America and Central Africa.

14. There are two kinds of wood. - Hard wood - Soft wood Hard wood is used for construction of houses, buildings, railway line, electric poles, furniture etc. Location: Hard wood is mainly found in the low latitude region (equatorial area). Most of the hard wood found in Amazon River valley. Soft wood is mainly used for making paper, pulp etc. Location: Soft wood is mainly found in high latitude area.