3.2 Food production

Question 1

What are the main features of an agricultural system?

Answer 1

Inputs, processes, and outputs.

Question 2

Examples of inputs:

Answer 2

Soil, land and it’s relief, climate, investment, labour, seeds, machinery, transport, and fertilisers.

Question 3

Examples of processes:

Answer 3

Ploughing, sowing, weeding, reaping, milking, feeding, and harvesting.

Question 4

Examples of outputs:

Answer 4

Wheat, meat, milk, cotton, rubber, and leather.

Question 5

What is commercial farming?

Answer 5

Where crops and animals are produced to sell at the market for a profit.

Question 6

What is subsistence farming?

Answer 6

Where crops and animals are produced by a farmer to feed their families.

Question 7

What is arable farming?

Answer 7

Where crops are grown.

Question 8

What is pastoral farming?

Answer 8

Rearing animals for byproducts e.g. meat and eggs.

Question 9

What is mixed farming?

Answer 9

Where both crops and animals are farmed.

Question 10

What is intensive farming?

Answer 10

Where a large amount of produce is generated from a small area of land.

Question 11

What is extensive farming?

Answer 11

Where a small amount of produce is generated from a large area of land.

Question 12

What are the natural inputs on agricultural land use?

Answer 12

• temperature: crops have a minimum growing temperature and minimum growing season. Temperature is influenced by latitude and distance from the sea.
• precipitation: reliability and long periods to infiltrate soil.
• relief: steeper reliefs are difficult to use machinery on so are usually used for livestock.
• soil fertility: if it does not contain the nutrients needed for plants to grow, fertilisers need to be used which is expensive so livestock is left in these areas.

Question 13

What are the human inputs on agricultural land use?

Answer 13

• economic: transport costs, markets, capital, technology.

- social: tradition, government policies, land tenure, economies of scale.

Question 14

What are the results of the influence of human and natural inputs on farms?

Answer 14

• methods of organisation: commercial farming is highly modernised e.g automatic drivers and chemical sprays, systematic, high capital intensive. Subsistence farming focuses more on tradition / doing things by themselves.
• products of agricultural systems: commercial farms will produce things on a massive scale, but may be focused on a select few crops. Subsistence farms will focus on a small amount of products, but may have a wider range of products.

Question 15

What are some causes of food shortages?

Answer 15

• lack of technology.
• poverty leads to many people living subsistence lifestyles, if harvests are poor they have no savings to fall back on.
• unreliable rainfall puts stress on underground water making irrigation expensive.
• climate change leads to droughts, floods, tropical storms, and migrating pests.
• war and conflict leads to destroyed crops.
• poor transport facilities.
• low capital investment.
• soil erosion.
• overpopulation.

Question 16

What are the effects of food shortages?

Answer 16

• malnutrition which increases proneness to disease.
• leads to scurvy, rickets, and bone deformities.
• reduces quality of life.
• reduces work force.

Question 17

What are the possible solutions to food shortages?

Answer 17

Food shortages encourages food aid and measures to increase output.

Possible solutions are:
-relief food aid which is given during a crises.
-programme food aid which is given to local governments to sell.
-project food aid which targets specific groups in a country.
Food aid is good as it keeps people alive. However, people can become dependent and it’s expensive.

• selectively breed seeds boost yields, are resistant to diseases, have shorter growing seasons, and are more responsive to fertilisers.
• planting trees to conserve soil.
• planning.
• building small wells to provide water for irrigation.