13.3 – What are the threats to global food security? Flashcards
FAO statistics 2015:
795 million people were hungry and 98% lived in LIDCs
What groups are most vulnerable?
- Rural dwellers – 75% of hungry people, dependent on agriculture and no alternative income
- Farmers – 50% of hungry people from small-scale farming communities
- Children – 146 million children are underweight due to acute/chronic hunger
- Women – primary food producers in many LIDCs but evidence shows more affected by hunger than men which impacts mortality rates during childbirth and birthweight of children
Figure for global undernourishment:
18.6% in 1990 to 10.9% in 2014 = rapidly growing population but undernourishment has decreased
Slowest areas to improve on food security:
Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa
Describe food security in Syria:
9.8 million people in need of food and agriculture assistance with 6.8 million ‘critical’ need
Food prices: flour 197% increase, rice 403% increase
Strategies = fewer meals a day, using credit, less nutritious food
Describe food security in Yemen:
6 million people described as facing food insecurity at emergency level – WFP
Water supplies seriously disrupted so long-term impact on 29% of crops that are irrigated by wells
Describe food security in Nepal:
2015 earthquake – 1.4 million in need of food assistance
Remote mountain areas = 70% battling borderline food consumption
Worst areas= 80% of households lost entire food stock
Seed losses are a worry as trading them was major income
Describe food security in Iraq:
4.4 million are food insecure
Conflict and displacement eroding food security
Food prices are high and volatile
Government-run distribution schemes stopped by conflict
What is the food supply chain?
The process where food moves from producer to consumer (and includes production, harvesting, processing, distribution, consumption, and disposal)
What are pinch points?
A place in the food supply chain where disruption occurs (occurs at every point)
What systems can disrupt the supply chain?
Just-in-time systems where retailers cut costs and wastage but can cause widespread disruption
Example of food supply disruption:
2010 Icelandic sorption caused planes to be grounded disruption food supply chain
What is desertification?
Persistent land degradation in dryland environments, caused by over-exploitation of resources, and natural processes, decreasing agricultural productivity
Desertification facts and figures?
168 countries affected
Every year an area THREE times the size of Switzerland becomes desertified
74% of poorest people directly affected by desertification
Name 4 types of extreme weather affecting food production + examples
Heatwaves – 2003 heatwave Portugal lost 3500 ha of forest and farmland to fires; food-exporting countries had to import for first time in years + heatwaves now occurring every 200 days (used to be every 3 years)
Droughts – reduce crop yield and reduce water quantity and quality - 2003 southern Ethiopia experienced longest drought on record with 20 million in need of food aid
Floods – destroy crops, disrupt food distribution, erode soil, and damage infrastructure
In UK DEFRA estimates 35,000 ha of high-quality arable land will be flooded at least once every 3 years by 2020s
Tropical storms – Destruction of farmland and infrastructure exacerbated by CC
How are climate change and global food production linked?
- Food production is a driver of CC - one third of GGE
- CC will influence growing seasons – increase in some places and decreasing in others + more extreme weather events like drought, wildfires
- Farming can be a carbon sink and in ACs set-aside land can sequester large amounts
- Extreme weather events can destroy key infrastructure, impacting distribution
How much water available for human use?
Less than 1% and of this 68% is agriculture which draws water from rivers, lakes and aquifers
How much water is lost due to poor irrigation systems?
60%
Where suffered a depletion in aquifer supplies?
Southeast Asia in the 1990s after a boom in groundwater irrigation
How is Australia combatting water scarcity?
- Major food-exporting country of wheat, meat and dairy
- Extreme weather driven by El Nino brings periodic drought affecting the Murray-Darling Basin
- Measures include a cap on amount of water extracted from major rivers, withdrawal of subsidies for irrigation and trade in water between farmers
What appropriate technology has Kenya been using to address water scarcity?
- Mulching - laying plant leaves between rows of crops to recue soil erosion and retain water
- Drip irrigation – reduces loss by evaporation by directing slow-moving water to base of crops
- Training farmers in water-harvesting
What is virtual water?
The volume of freshwater needed to make a product, measured at the site of manufacturing
Why do water-scarce countries import water-intensive foods?
It relieves pressure on domestic water sources
Who are the major virtual water exporters/importers?
Exporters - Australia, USA, Brazil
Importers – Japan and S. Korea
