Primary Economic Activities

The primary sector is concerned with the extraction and usage of raw materials, including fishing, farming, mining and energy usage. In recent decades, the development of renewable energy technologies have formed a core part of the primary sector of some countries, including Ireland e.g. solar and wind energy. The primary sector is extremely valuable to the Irish economy in a number of ways, specifically:

 

• it provides the base for the other sectors of the economy
• it meets the demand of raw materials needed by secondary and tertiary sectors for their operations
• it is responsible for the maintenance of good food supply in the economy
• it provides employment to a large no. of people in Ireland
• it is a primary source of livelihood in rural areas
• it contributes to Ireland's economy in terms of GDP.