ST. D.

COMBONI SECONDARY AND PREPARATORY SCHOOL – HAWASSA

EXCELLENCE SINCE 1991
ADDITIONAL GEOGRAPHY HAND OUT FOR GRADE 9
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE WORLD
I. primary economic activities (red collar workers)
A. Agriculture
Factors that affecting agricultural development:
-physical factors such as, relief, the fertility of the soil, climate and biological factors like plant disease.
-human factors such as, method of cultivation, labor organization, markets and political factors.
Agriculture in Ethiopia
The importance of agriculture in Ethiopia can be seen from the following angles:
 It is the major source of food and industrial raw materials.
 More than 80% of the country’s population is engaged in agricultural activities.
 It accounts for 70% 0f the total national economy.
 It provides more than 90% of export commodities.
 About 56% of the land is suitable for farming.
Major agricultural practices
1. Subsistence agriculture:
Is type of peasant agriculture in which products are grown or raised in traditional method using backward tools
and techniques.
 Grain crops: this group of crops can be divided in to two: cool weather crops: includes wheat, barley,
teff and warm weather crops: includes maize, millet and sorghum e.t.c.
 Pulses: includes peas, chick peas, lentils, beans, horse beans etc.
 Oil seeds: includes linseed, nigger seed, sesame, sun flower, ground nuts etc.
 Enset
2. Cash crops: are crops that are produced for market. Example: coffee, tea etc.
Problems of Agriculture in Ethiopia
a. fragmentation of farm plots and small size of holdings.
b. soil degradation
c. dependence on rain-fed agriculture
d. traditional cropping system
e. lack of capital
Measures to be taken
In order to improve the existing low level of agricultural productivity:
 Improving the land holding system
 Developing better extension service
 Using improved technology
 Using effective erosion control methods.
B. Forestry
Forestry in Ethiopia
-by 1900 about 40% of Ethiopia’s land surface was covered by dense forest, but at present, approximately 2.5%-
3% of the total area of the country is covered by forest.
Types of forest in Ethiopia
Forest of Ethiopia can be classified into a number of groups based on two criteria:
i. Based on altitudinal zonation
 Highland forest: includes junipers(tid), podocarpus(zigba), aningeria(kerero), arundineria(kerkeha),
olea(weira) and hagenia(kosso) forests.
 Lowland forest: includes gallery or riverine forests such as shola, warka etc.
ii. Based on plant composition
 Broad leafed forests: includes equatorial rain forest,which composed of hard wood tree species such as
woira, wanza, kerero, and tikur inchet.

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  Coniferous forest: include temperate evergreen forests of soft wood variety. The most common are tid
and zigba trees.
C. Fishery
Major uses of Fish
 Source of food-source of protein and fats
 Source of essential minerals- contain mineral such as iron, magnesium, calcium, iodine, etc.
 Oil production-fish liver oils are very rich sources of vitamin A and D
 Industrial raw materials- fish and whales are used in the production of fish meals, glues, oils, fertilizers,
soaps, margarine, etc.
 Cloth making: among others seals and walruses provide skin for making clothes.
D. Mining
Mining in Ethiopia
The low level of the mining sector in the country is associated with the following factors:
 Lack of huge capital for prospecting and mapping minerals.
 Shortage of geologically skilled human power’
 The nature of the mineral deposits.
 Lack of technology and the necessary infrastructure.
Mineral groups
1. Rocks: basalt, sand stone, lime stone, granite: they are useful for road and other constructional purpose and
brick and cement making mixing concrete.
2. Metallic minerals: iron, base metals (tin, copper, lead), ferroalloys (manganese, cobalt), precious metals (gold,
silver, platinum) and others(uranium).they are the most voluble minerals w/c can be used
for d/t purposes.
3. Non-metallic minerals: salt -for eating, potash, nitrate and others –for making fertilizers.
4. Mineral fuels: coal, petroleum and natural gas- for energy resources.
II. Secondary economic activities (blue collar workers)
Manufacturing
- Industry describes the place where manufacturing is conducted.
- Manufacturing is a process of producing finished or semi-finished product from raw materials using labour,
energy and equipment.
Factors affecting location of industries
 Raw materials- iron smelting, cement factories, brick making, paper and pulp industry.
 Power resource (energy)-industries w/c use large amount of power. Example: iron and steel, electron
chemical and pulp industries.
 Water supply-industries that need large water supplies. Example: paper making, food processing,
chemical industries and brewing and textile.
 Labour supply- needs large quantity or skill of human labour forces.
 Market oriented
 Transport facilities
 Capital resources
 Government policy and management.
Main industrial regions of the world
- The North-Eastern USA and SEastern Canada –N. America
- Western Europe that include UK, Fr,and Gr
- Western Russia –the Ukraine-urals and mosco region
- The Far East –Northern India, china, Korea and Japan
Manufacturing industries in Ethiopia
Types of manufacturing industries in Ethiopia
-can be classified in to two broad groups;
A. Traditional (cottage) industries:
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 - have long history in the country with little changes and refinement.

- The main cottage industries- weaving, carpentry, tannery, basketry, and metal work etc.
B. Modern manufacturing industries;
- have emerged recently and dominated by the production of consumer goods. They are further sub- divided
into two groups. These are:
a. Heavy industries- produce bulky machinery and construction materials and handle large quantities of raw
materials. Example: metal manufacturing and cement industries.
b. Light industries: produce mostly consumers’ goods. They includes industries such as, textile, food
processing , paper and pulp industries , beverage industries.
Problems of industrialization in Ethiopia
 Scarcity of sufficient capital
 Lack of modern industrial technology and machinery.
 Lack of qualified human labour.
 Low infrastructural development such as roads, rail ways and communication facilities
 Lack of industrial raw materials and adequate market.
Measures that should be taken
 The use of labour intensive technology.
 Promotion of the basic and engineering industries.
 Development of domestic technological capability.
 Forming local research and development center.
 Developing and implementing agro-industries.
Major industrial areas in Ethiopia
 A.A- Adama area(major industrial zone)
 D.Dawa- Harar area. In addition to the above regions- B.Dar, Hawassa, Kombolcha, Mekelle etc.
III. Tertiary economic activities (White collar jobs)
Trade
- Trade basically arises because of the following major facts:
 Unequal distribution of resources.
 Specialization of human skills.
 Diverse and limitless human wants.
Trade in Ethiopia
Trade may be divided in to two:
A. Internal (Domestic) trade:
- is the exchange of goods, services and inputs within the territory of a country.
B. International (External) trade:
- is a trade (exchange of goods, services, inputs) among d/t countries. It includes the import and export trades.
I. Import trade:
- are goods or services that brought in by a country from another country.
- Ethiopia’s imports are finished goods, particularly machinery, transport equipment and fuels.
II. Export trade:
- are goods or services sold by a country to another country.
- the major export items of Ethiopia includes coffee, live animals, hides and skins, oil seeds, pulses, vegetables
and fruits
and flowers and also gold and platinum are exported in small amount.
Classification of Natural Resources
- There are various methods of categorizing natural resources, these include
 source of origin,
 stage of development and
 by their renewability.

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A. on the basis of origin, natural resources may be divided in to two types:
 Biotic resources: are obtained from the biosphere (living and organic material), such as forest and
animals and the materials that can be obtained from them. Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum are
formed from decayed organic matters.
 Abiotic resources: are those that come from non-living, non-organic material. Examples land, fresh
water, air , rare earth’s metals and heavy metals including ores such as gold, iron, copper, silver etc.

B. on the stage of development, natural resources may be referred to in the following ways:
 Potential resources: are those that exist in a region and may be used in the future. For example,
petroleum.
 Actual resources:-are those that have been surveyed, their quantity and quality determined and are
being used in present times. Examples wood processing depends upon the technology available and
the cost involved.
 Reserve resources: the part of actual resource w/c can be developed profitably in the future.
 Stock resources: are those that have been surveyed but cannot be used by organisms due to lack of
technology. For example hydrogen.

C. on their renewability, natural resources can be categorized as renewable or non- renewable:

 Renewable resources: can be replenished naturally.
For example: tidal energy, biomass, soil, forest, sun light, air, wind, water, geothermal energy
 Non-renewable: cannot be replaced in human life span. For example: minerals and fossil fuels.

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