3.2.4.2 Environment and population

Question 1

Geopolitics of food (geofile): According to FAO, global food production needs to increase by more than ___% by 2030 and more than _____% by 2050

Why?

Answer 1

40%
70%

increased population growth BUT the increase in demand for food is DOUBLE that of the population growth - and this is due to changes in food consumption as global wealth increases i.e. more waste, and the ‘westernisation’ of diet with more meat based diets

Question 2

1kg of beef takes _____kg of grass or soya-based feed

in 1980 people in China consumed just ___ kg of meat per person per year, by 2015 this had risen to almost ____kg

Answer 2

10kg

12kg, 60kg

hence link to why increased meat consumption is not good - more resource intensive.. also link to climate change (methane emissions) and the effect of that on agriculture

Question 3

Green Revolution- describe and explain effects (with an example)

Answer 3

estimated extra 1bn people fed as a result

fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation to improve yields:
e.g. HYV rice + irrigation systems - increases yields of staple crops such as wheat and rice by using the available land more intensively rather than increasing the amount of land under cultivation

87% increase in wheat production in India from 1968 - percentage of malnourished people in India decreased by 19% between 1970 and 2001 i.e. food security was increased (food security also increased globally as well as more food was exported from India, which increased the global accessibility to food).

however: environmental effects = bad - uncontrolled irrigation in India = 4 million hectares soil became infertile due to soil salinisation

Question 4

policies to help combat undernourishment?

Answer 4

Millennium Development Goal 1: to halve hunger between 1999 and 2015 - not effective mainly due to the economic recession in 2008 where food prices increased by 24%!

Sustainable development goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Question 5

What percentage of their income do poorer consumers spend on staples?
what effect does this have on the economy?

Answer 5

60%

very high proportion of their income - even in HICs too: as such if food prices increase (e.g. in 2008, 24% increase) - choice between reducing food consumption (undernourishment) or not spending as much in other areas - negatively affecting the economy

food prices also affects NGOs and the UN as they rely on funds

Question 6

NOTE TO SELF: LINK FOOD PRODUCTION TO TNCS AND GLOBALISATION

agriculture = most protected and most trade-distorted sector of global economy

Answer 6

monsanto
protectionist measures e.g. CAP - restrictions on market access, subsidies to guarantee farmers’ incomes, export subsidies to make exports more competitive
fairtrade
world bank estimates global income could increase by 290n billion DOLLARS if trade distorting policies including agriculture were eliminated

Question 7

barriers to food production: political instability and war

Answer 7

political instability and war - people may compete for food, distrust/war with other countries cuts off trade - harder to import/produce food
lack of investment into agriculture - more focused on war/medicine+hospitals for wounded

Question 8

barriers to food production: competition for land

Answer 8

cash crops - e.g. Kenya: best land used to produce flowers (non-essential) for EU instead of food - contribute more to the economy than coffee or tourism! meansk kenya has to import more food = more expensive (increasing food insecurity)

biofuels - amazon basin soya production for biofuels not food = issue

Question 9

barriers to food production: any others?

Answer 9

lack of infrastructure and investment
diseases such as AIDS and malaria (weakened immune system = less economic productivity)
climate change - environmental degradation, shifting patterns - diff temps and precipitation levels

Question 10

in last 50 years, food production has ___________ to meet demand

leading to what percentage of ecosystems being degraded? why is this bad?

Answer 10

tripled

60%
lack of biodiversity, reduced yield - malthus :(

Question 11

producing more food: china and GM crops

Answer 11

china - yangtze valley, very fertile, alluvium rich, warm humid climate - produces 40% rice requirements, with MULTIPLE HARVESTING SEASONS each year :)
BUT: development means a million acres of arable land EACH YEAR are being lost to factories, meaning more imports are needed to ensure food security

GM crops: Monsanto (link to globalisation - TNC) seeds = double yield and reduce water need by 30%. GM crops grown in unproductive areas so can withstand the effects of climate change e.g. heat, salinity - so link to boserup)

Question 12

global patterns of food production?

Answer 12

uneven due to environmental limitations
LICs = least amount of crops yet makes up most of gdp
richer countries have enough food to sustain population

Question 13

regional patterns of food production: high yields occur where and why?

Answer 13

eastern asia
North america
western europe

high availability of resources e.g. nutrients and water

Question 14

regional patterns of food production: middle yields

Answer 14

india
south america
western africa

moderate yields and at risk to the effects of climate change e.g. droughts and flooding

Question 15

regional patterns of food production: low yields - where and why?

Answer 15

central australia
saharan africa
eastern russia

low yields: EXTREME environmental limitations

Question 16

how many people globally suffer from under-nutrition?

Answer 16

800 million people

Question 17

Calories consumed are unevenly distributed: HICs vs LICs: why?

Answer 17

HICs = =3500 calories approx per day
LICs = 2400 calories approx per day BUT although >2000, mainly staples so missing out on lots of nutrients 

HICs = money to import and invest in agriculture
NEE: china kcal intake increased by 1000 in last 50 years
LICS: highest increasing consumption rates BUT still lower (27% Africa suffers from severe food insecurity)

Question 18

Agricultural system: open or closed?

inputs, processes, flow, outputs

Answer 18

open
inputs - physical: temp/climate, aspect, slope, altitude, soil pH and fertility
- economic: market, government, trade blocs, policies e.g. CAP
- behavioural: age, experience
- cultural: inheritance, tenure
processes: e.g. ploughing, calving
outputs: crops, livestock, PROFIT

flows: + feedback = droughts, leaching of nutrients, salinisation etc.
- feedback = investment,

Question 19

types of farming and examples: intensive and extensive

Answer 19

capital intensive - high investment input per hectare, low labour input, high output per hectare and worker, farm size is small relative to inputs - e.g. tomato production in Netherlands

labour intensive - high labour input: high output per hectare, low output per worker e.g. rice cultivation in ganges

extensive - small inputs of labour and capital relative to area of land e.g. sheep farming in Scotland (55% of land)

Question 20

types of farming and examples: commercial, subsistence and arable and pastoral

Answer 20

commercial - for-profit: produce is sold and income generated = livelihood for farmers and allows for re-investment back into the farm
subsistence - farming for oneself without any surplus for trade. little investment back into the farm

arable - growing of crops
pastoral - rearing of livestock
mixed - both arable and pastoral

Question 21

Arable farming case study: in Australia :)

the one with the absolutely beautiful vegemite drawing

Answer 21

driest nation in the world! (<600mm)
combated by dryland farming and effective irrigation
south of Goyder line = arable (north is susceptible to droughts)
farms = 61% landmass
agriculture accounts for 12% GDP - $155 bn

Question 22

Pastoral farming case study…….in iceland :)

the one with the absolutely beautiful cow drawing

Answer 22

cool climate = lack of pests so pesticides - low
long daylight hours = good for grass (to feed livestock)
no livestock market in iceland - so only accounts for 2% GDP
climate change: 1.2 degrees celsius increase = 11% increase hay production

Question 23

what is agricultural productivity? how to measure? what affects productivity?

Answer 23

ratio of agricultural outputs to inputs

TFP - HICs have a higher productivity than LICs (less inputs and higher outputs) whereas although productivity in LICS is increasing, often to increase yields - land expansion

climate and soils

Question 24

POLAR TUNDRA VS TROPICAL MONSOON CASE STUDY: where?

Answer 24

Nunavut in Canada vs Chittagong in Bangladesh

link polar tundra to physical geography Inuit people

Question 25

POLAR TUNDRA VS TROPICAL MONSOON: climate facts and pop density

Answer 25

Nunavut: HIGH temp range of 37 degrees
average temp = -9 degrees
0.02 people per km^2!!!! due to harsh climate and non-arable land = not
very economically productive

Chittagong: LOW temp range of 9 degrees
average temp = 26 degrees
pop density in the thousands - 5 million population

Question 26

POLAR TUNDRA farming?

Answer 26

predominantly meat-based diet - hunting and fishing (selective) e.g. whales, caribou with _____% of their diet being fat

limited plant intake due to permafrost (harsh conditions)

Question 27

TROPICAL MONSOON farming?

Answer 27

73% rice
3 harvests (multiple growing seasons due to high temps and ppn)
monsoon = good for rice - floods - deposits alluvium = fertile

Question 28

Climate change affecting agriculture: how are countries affected? + and -
give some examples

Answer 28

LICs and NEEs more affected than HICs (bar Australia) due to geographical location where increased temp = droughts, hurricanes, excessive flooding and soil problems (desertification)

overall developing = expected 20% decline in agricultural productivity YET in HICS, USA = $1.3 bn increase in agricultural profits per year whilst sub Saharan Africa = $2.2 bn decrease in profits

moral ethical issue!!!!

so to increase yields - land expansion = deforestation further exacerbating climate change
likewise, increase in biofuels to prevent climate change = preventing food production!!!

higher latitudes - thawing permafrost =further release of methane :( but does make land more agri productive

Question 29

4 FACTORS AFFECTING FOOD SECURITY

Answer 29

availability
stability
access
utilisation

Question 30

differing views: GAFSP VS FAO facts and figures

Answer 30

GAFSP: food production needs to increase by more than 50% by 2050

FAO: already produce enough food for one and a half times current pop - waste, storage losses and overconsumption = main issue

Question 31

GAFSP: increasing food production

link to green revolution - CASE STUDY

Answer 31

HYV and irrigation systems - increased the yields of staple crops such as wheat and rice by using the available land more intensively rather than increasing the amount of land under cultivation
87% increase in wheat production from 1968:
- due to the increase in irrigation of the crops (with 88% of wheat areas irrigated in 2004)
- the increase of fertiliser consumption by 15 million tonnes between 1960 and 2003
- 95% of the seeds sewn were HYV – which subsequently produced higher yields.

Higher agricultural yields meant that more food was accessible to more people, and as a result, the percentage of malnourished people in India decreased by 19% between 1970 and 2001 i.e. food security was increased (food security also increased globally as well as more food was exported from India, which increased the global accessibility to food).

Question 32

negatives of increasing food production

Answer 32

uncontrolled irrigation in India, 4 million hectares of soils have become infertile, as the soil has become salinized – making the land permanently unusable for crop production.

Infertile soil increases risk of desertification (soil more susceptible to wind and water erosion).

high water demand for irrigating crops – over-abstraction of groundwater supplies may occur, which not only leads to insufficient water resources to sustain future yields, but also increases the risk of saline intrusion, which would contaminate the groundwater supply and increase the risk of salinization, leading to a reduction in crop yields.

fertilisers and pesticides can lead to eutrophication and water pollution-reducing biodiversity (which reduces crop yield),

contaminated water supplies can lead to serious health issues amongst people, and may cause the labour productivity to decrease

The increased use of heavy machinery can also lead to the formation of plough pans (by soil compaction), which can cause waterlogging – reducing crop yields and thereby increasing the risk of food insecurity.

fave statistic: 60% ecosystems degraded

Question 33

sustainable way to increase food production?

Answer 33

GM crops - drought resistant and saline resistant
integrated crop management approach, where farmers receive the maximum yield from their crops by the balanced use of water and fertiliser inputs, and by planting the crops at the optimum time for maximum yield e..g. thus occurred in Burkina Faso helping to reduce desertification

Question 34

FAO: improving post-harvest practises

Answer 34

the WFP in Uganda and Burkina Faso, which aimed to reduce post-harvest losses by over 70%

crop contamination- aflatoxin contamination (in which the crops come in contact with soil during harvesting, threshing and drying or due to pest infestation and poor storage conditions that lead to accelerated growths of fungi).

• causes aflatoxin poisoning = epidemic throughout Africa

research trials, farmers were educated on the importance of drying crops to prevent aflatoxin growth, and were trained in drying, harvesting and threshing crops, which helped minimise food losses. This meant that more crops were safe to be sold, leading to improved nutrition and higher incomes for the farmers, increasing food security.

Also, improvements in farm storages such as using metal silos meant that average food losses in Uganda were reduced by 99% with only 0.59% of the food being lost after more than 90 days after harvest, increasing the amount of food available to the local community.

Question 35

sustainabilty of improving post harvest practsies

Answer 35

very sustainable, as once the farmers have received adequate training, and understand the importance of drying, threshing etc in order to prevent aflatoxin poisoning, these new farming practices would become natural to them -

on-farm support was also provided during the research trials, ensuring that the storage instructions were carried out correctly.

The increase in crops suitable to be sold would be an immediate benefit to the farmers, leading to a higher profit allowing for reinvestment

• long-term, they would see an improvement in nutrition, increasing their labour productivity, which would lead to increased crop yields, ensuring food security (can lead to global food security through exports and trade)