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Traditional occupations
Mongolian natural conditions are favorable for the development of many types of activities; in the past, however, only cattle-breeding was efficient – about 90% percent of the country’s population were engaged in it. Cattle-breeding is best adapted to steppe landscapes and the nomadic lifestyle of Mongolian people. The Mongolians almost did not engage in agriculture. They do not eat fish, and, therefore, do not catch it; in lean years, however, people living around big lakes added fish to their ration. Thus, cattle have always been the main and nearly the only source of Mongolians’ subsistence, the foundation of their natural economy. Hunting played subsidiary role in Mongolian economy. They have long hunted wild birds and animals and collected and stored berries, mushrooms, wild leek, garlic, herbs, lily bulbs, Polygonum viviparum roots and other plants. After the revolution, in the 1930s industry began to develop in Mongolia, and individual nomadic households united into cooperative ones. At present a little more than half of the country’s population is engaged in cattle-breeding; it is being transferred to industrial basis. In the 1950s Mongolians began to cultivate virgin lands and agriculture became the second largest branch of the national economy. At the end of the 20th century the return to nomadic lifestyle (as the optimal form of economy) began to show.
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