Primary Economic Activities (Leaving Cert Geography): Revision Notes
Primary Economic Activities
Overview of primary activities in the Mezzogiorno
The Mezzogiorno region faces significant challenges in developing primary economic activities due to limited natural resources. As a result, these activities tend to focus on basic survival rather than generating substantial profits. The region's primary economic activities centre around two main areas: agriculture and fishing, with very limited forestry production in certain inland locations.
The term "Mezzogiorno" refers to southern Italy, including the regions of Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Puglia, and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. This area has historically been less economically developed compared to northern Italy.
Agriculture
Agriculture plays a vital role in the Mezzogiorno's economy, despite being generally unproductive and focused on meeting basic needs rather than commercial success. The development of efficient and profitable farming has been restricted by both environmental and social challenges that have shaped the region's agricultural landscape.
Physical factors affecting agriculture
Relief
The mountainous landscape presents major obstacles for agricultural development. Around 85% of the region consists of the Apennine mountains and other elevated terrain, which severely limits farming opportunities. The lack of sufficient rainfall and moisture means that limestone rock doesn't weather properly, creating thin and generally unproductive soils across upland areas.
Relief refers to the shape and elevation of the land surface, which directly impacts what types of farming are possible in different areas.
These challenging conditions mean that upland regions cannot support traditional arable farming. Instead, farmers have adapted by growing tree crops such as olive trees along steep slopes. The root systems of these trees help bind the thin soil together, preventing soil erosion on the unstable terrain.
Historically, farmers practised a system called transhumance, where goat and sheep herds were moved to cooler mountain areas during summer months and returned to lowlands in winter. This practice declined during the 1950s and 1960s as economic conditions changed.
Today, goats and sheep are mainly kept in upland regions where poor grass growth only supports basic grazing activities. The steep terrain makes farm mechanisation extremely difficult since modern agricultural machinery cannot access or operate effectively on such slopes. This means farming remains labour-intensive throughout much of the region.
However, in lowland areas like the Plain of Campania, farming becomes much more productive due to deeper, fertile soils that support a wider variety of crops and easier cultivation methods.
Climate
The Mediterranean climate creates ongoing challenges for farmers, particularly regarding water availability. The Azores High pressure system dominates the region during summer months, bringing constant high pressure that results in very little rainfall. Combined with high temperatures, this leads to significant water loss through evaporation from both rivers and soil.
These conditions cause regular drought periods and reduced crop yields due to stunted plant growth. To combat this, extensive irrigation systems have become essential for preventing crops from wilting. Over one million hectares of land throughout the region now receive artificial irrigation, mainly supporting the growth of olives, grapes and citrus fruits.
Irrigation schemes are artificial water supply systems designed to provide crops with water during dry periods when natural rainfall is insufficient.
Despite government investment in irrigation infrastructure, high evaporation rates and decreasing river volumes during summer make these systems difficult to sustain long-term.
Olive trees thrive in these drought conditions because they have evolved specific adaptations. Their thick bark and waxy leaves help retain moisture, whilst their deep root systems can access water from far below the surface.
The intense summer heat has led to most farming activities being carried out during milder winter months when rainfall is more reliable. However, these high temperatures have also enabled intensive citrus fruit production as cash crops. The hot climate allows fruits to ripen early, which are then exported to wealthier markets in northern Italy and throughout the European Union. Sicily alone produces nearly two-thirds of Italy's citrus fruits, though this production is limited to lowland areas with fertile soil and irrigation access.
Human factors affecting agriculture
Land ownership
Historical land ownership patterns have significantly impacted agricultural development in the region. Until the 1950s, over 70% of the population worked in agriculture, but only 25% of farmers actually owned their land. The remaining 75% worked as braccianti (landless labourers) on large estates called latifundia owned by wealthy landlords.
Latifundia were large agricultural estates owned by wealthy landlords, whilst minifundia were small plots typically between 3-5 hectares rented to tenant farmers.
Absentee landlords were property owners who lived in different regions from their estates and rarely invested in improving the land or farming practices.
These latifundia estates were subdivided into small plots called minifundia and rented to tenant farmers. Minifundia were typically between 3 and 5 hectares, making it extremely difficult for farmers to produce enough to both pay rent and support their families. Farmers were forced to overgraze and overcrop their land to pay landlords rent that could reach up to 60% of their total produce.
Many landlords lived in northern Italy and didn't actively manage their estates or invest in improvements. These absentee landlords rarely provided capital for modernising farm practices, leaving farming methods labour-intensive, outdated and extensive rather than intensive.
Extensive farming produces less output per unit of land compared to intensive farming, often because farmers lack the resources or security to invest in improvements.
Farmers working minifundia had no legal rights to the land and therefore lacked land security. This meant they couldn't plan long-term improvements or investments, knowing they might lose access to their plots from one year to the next. Consequently, agriculture developed on a subsistence basis focused purely on survival.
Government intervention
Recognising the problems of increasing poverty and social unrest, the government introduced the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno Scheme to reform agriculture throughout the region.
The Cassa Scheme represented one of the most significant government interventions in regional development in post-war Europe, running from 1950 to 1984.
The Cassa Scheme redistributed over 10% of all regional land from landlords to tenant farmers. Approximately 100,000 former braccianti families received farms ranging from 5 to 50 hectares, depending on land quality.
These new farm owners received training in more profitable farming methods, including growing cash crops and diversifying into crops like olives, vines, citrus fruits and winter wheat. This enabled farmers to transition from extensive subsistence farming to more intensive commercial farming practices.
To support intensive crop production in drought-prone areas, new irrigation schemes were developed. Wells were constructed and water was transported via pipes from rivers and reservoirs to farming areas.
The Autostrada del Sole motorway was constructed to enable easy transport of goods from the region to larger markets in northern Italy. This infrastructure development meant that perishable products such as fruits and vegetables could be exported much more efficiently.
New urban centres were established to provide farmers with access to essential farm materials and markets, helping to prevent continued migration away from rural areas. New farm houses were built, allowing farmers to live directly on their land rather than commuting from distant hillside villages.
Cooperatives are jointly owned enterprises run by members for their mutual benefit, typically involving the production or distribution of goods such as farm produce.
The Cassa Scheme ended in 1984 and was replaced by the EU Regional Development Fund, which continues supporting farms in peripheral locations. By 1984, the Cassa Scheme had invested €20 billion, with 70% dedicated to agricultural reform.
Positive and negative impacts of agricultural changes
Positive impacts
Cooperatives were established to help farmers sell goods to northern markets, giving the region access to much larger and wealthier markets throughout northern Italy and the EU.
Malarial swamps were drained in the Metapontino area, allowing previously unusable land to be reclaimed for agricultural purposes. Wheat is now grown intensively in this reclaimed area.
The Mezzogiorno has become the world's largest producer of olive oil, demonstrating the success of focusing on crops suited to the Mediterranean climate.
Mixed cultivation now occurs along the Plain of Campania, where the deep, fertile soils around Mount Vesuvius support a wide variety of crops. Previously, farmers grew single crops which depleted soil nutrients, but crop rotation now maintains soil fertility.
Mechanisation of farms and increased use of technology have enabled the development of more intensive farming practices throughout lowland areas.
Negative impacts
Government intervention has mainly benefitted lowland areas, whilst upland regions have been largely unaffected by developments. This means farming practices in mountainous areas remain less developed than in wealthier northern parts of the country, widening the income gap between upland and lowland areas.
Income gap refers to the difference in income between the richest and poorest areas within the region.
The intensive growth of cash crops such as tomatoes has led to seasonal overproduction. Over the past three decades, tomato production has increased by 1000%, with supply far exceeding demand and greatly reducing market prices.
Irrigation systems are expensive and unsustainable given the region's regular drought periods. These schemes drain additional water from already stressed groundwater supplies and rivers.
Arable farming remains limited to lowland regions, with extensive pastoral farming still dominating upland areas where mechanisation remains impossible.
Forestry
Forestry production faces severe limitations in the Mezzogiorno due to climatic conditions that don't support significant tree growth. The forestry that does exist consists mainly of mixed hardwood species such as oak, cork, cypress and olive trees. Most natural woodland has been cleared over time to make space for settlements and agricultural land.
In upland areas, thin soils cannot support the growth of most tree species, preventing the development of dense forest patches. However, some trees like olive trees have successfully adapted to the harsh climate conditions by developing waxy leaves for protection against intense sunshine and deep root systems to access water deep within the soil.
Fishing
Fishing does not represent a significant economic activity across the Mezzogiorno region. Despite this limitation, fishing remains an important source of income for small coastal ports and towns. In coastal areas with poor-quality land, fishing often provides the only source of employment. Much of the fish caught supplies local tourist markets along the Amalfi Coast, south of Naples.
Several factors limit the fishing industry's development. The Mediterranean Sea's high salt content prevents plankton from building up and reduces fish breeding opportunities due to limited food availability. Tourist activity around Mediterranean coastal areas causes water pollution, leading to algal blooms that kill large numbers of fish.
Algal blooms occur when nutrients and pollution in water promote rapid growth of algae microorganisms, covering water surfaces with thick green scum that kills marine life.
Key Points to Remember:
- Primary activities in the Mezzogiorno are limited by lack of natural resources, making them subsistence-focused rather than profitable
- Physical factors (mountainous relief and Mediterranean climate) create major challenges for agriculture, requiring irrigation and limiting farming to suitable areas
- Historical land ownership patterns (latifundia and minifundia systems) kept farming inefficient until government intervention through the Cassa Scheme
- Government reforms successfully improved lowland agriculture but widened the gap between upland and lowland areas
- Forestry and fishing remain very limited due to climatic and environmental constraints