food gateway 2

Question 1

what are the 4 main categories of factors affecting food production?

Answer 1

1. physical
2. economic
3. political
4. technological

Question 2

what are the physical factors? (theres 3)

Answer 2

1. climate:
   - High temperatures and rainfall are conducive environments for plant growth, especially in the tropics due to the long growing seasons that ensure 2-3 harvests in a year
   - greenhouses can overcome short growing seasons in some countries (canada, USA etc) as key environmental factors can be controlled
2. soils and drainage:
   - soil fertility depends on availability of air, water and nutrients from minerals (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) in the soil. Fertile soil is usually found in floodplains along rivers and areas near volcanoes.
   - soil drainage refers to the soil’s ability to drain or retain water (rice requires clay soils that retain water, oats require sandy soils that drain water)
3. relief
   - steep relief –> easy removal of topsoil by rain –> reduction of nutrients and stability of soil. HOWEVER, slopes can be modified to create flat land for farming through terracing. crops such as grapes and coffee grow best in sloping land.
   - high altitude means cooler temperatures which is suitable for growing crops such as strawberries

Question 3

what are the economic factors?

Answer 3

1. purpose of farming
   - subsistence vs commercial farming
   subsistence: increase food production intensity in view of increase in no. of mouths to feed.
   commercial: increase food production intensity in view of potentially high cash returns
2. demand and capital
   - high demand causes shortage of food, increasing food prices and causing farmers to increase output to meet demands and earn money from the high prices
3. agribusiness
   - refers to large-scale farming and related business activities such as processing, packaging, distributing and retailing.
   - large businesses are able to withstand the impacts of changes in the environment compared to small scale farmers.

Question 4

what are the political factors?

Answer 4

1. government policies
   - agricultural policy
   policies regarding domestic agriculture, deciding how limited resources such as land and money should be used. E.g, India, the Punjab Agriculture Department responded in 2012 to the need to ensure greater productivity from its farmland. This was achieved by starting an education programme for its wheat farmers, teaching them the best available seed varieties, pesticide treatments and irrigation methods.

• food policy
  decisions made by govt that affects how much food is produced, processed, distributed, purchased and packaged. Some ways to ensure food security is by stockpiling and diversifying the source of food supply.

2. ASEAN
   - 2011, signed an agreement with China, Japan and South Korea to ensure food security for its members. The ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) is a commitment from big rice producers to supply rice for a reserve which will be used to supply rice to countries who have signed the agreement. China (300 000 tonnes of rice), Thailand (15000 tonnes) and SG (US $107 500)

Question 5

what are the technological factors?

Answer 5

1. Green Revolution: refers to the rapid increase in the productivity of agriculture through the use of science and technology.
   - HYVs
   wonder rice, shortened growing season of 20 days (increase harvesting periods, thus increasing crop yields)
   - fertilisers
   restore fertility to soil, improve crop growth, increase crop yield
   -pesticides
   reduce damage from pests, increase crop yield
   -irrigation
   increase no. of places where crops can grow, increase crop yield
   - mechanisation
   speed up processes involved in farming, reduce reliance on human labour

Question 6

what are the effects of irrigation on soil and water quality?

Answer 6

1. waterlogging
   - excess water cannot be drained, over saturating the soil and thus depriving roots of air and nutrients for growth.
2. salinisation
   - water evaporates directly from soil, leaving salts behind. without proper drainage of water, groundwater may reach the upper layers of the soil, bringing up dissolved salts and increasing the concentration of salts in the soil. This reduces the suitability of the soil for growing crops.

Question 7

what is the effect of chemicals on water and soil quality?

Answer 7

1. eutrophication: presence of excess nutrients in water
   - overuse of fertilisers and pesticides may cause them to seep into groundwater, and eventually contaminating streams and rivers. They become nutrients for algae bloom, causing a depletion in oxygen in the water and lack of sunlight entering the water, thus resulting in the death of aquatic life

Question 8

what are the 4 factors that cause food shortages to still occur?

Answer 8

1. physical (climate change, extreme weather events, pests)
2. political (civil strife, poor governance)
3. economic (rising demand, increasing costs, conversion of farmland to other uses)
4. social (lack of accessibility, inadequate logistics, rapid population growth)

Question 9

explain how physical factors cause food shortages

Answer 9

1. climate change
   - cause existing farmland to be unsuitable for farming, while lengthening the growing season elsewhere. (50% reduction in food production in Brazil and India)
   - melting of glaciers cause a reduction in water supply in countries, thus reducing crop yield (seasonal melting of Himalayas provides China and India with water to irrigate crops)
2. extreme weather events
   - droughts, cold waves, heat waves, tropical cyclones that destroy crops and property (2011, Cyclone Yasi, Queensland, Australia: destroyed 75% of banana crops)
3. pests
   - damage crops

Question 10

explain how political factors cause food shortages

Answer 10

1. civil strife
   - riots, unrest, civil war that damage crops, land and other resources that hinder food production
   (using same example as gateway 1) 2010, drought in Mozambique, Russia: caused food prices to increase, thus leading to violent protests that killed 10 and injured 400.
2. poor governance
   - inability to implement policies that prevent food shortage, corruption, policy errors.
   - prioritise other needs before food production/food security
   Madhya Pradesh, India, 2010: 40 000 villages deprived of land for farming due to development of mining and ports, resulting in a loss of ability to produce their own food.

Question 11

explain how economical factors cause food shortages

Answer 11

1. rising demand for meat and dairy products from emerging economies
   - rising disposable incomes in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) lead to rising demand for meat and dairy products. Production cannot keep up with rising demand, causing a depletion in certain foods, such as grains.
2. soaring costs of fertilisers and transport
   - rising costs of production leads to rising prices of food. Affects lower SES people who spend a large portion of their disposable income on food.
   March 2011, world oil prices increase by 10.3%, leading to an increase in food prices
3. conversion of farmland to industrial crop production to produce biofuel crops
   - growing crops for industrial use is more profitable than food crops
   - rising demand for biofuels leads to rising production of biofuels, causing a decrease in production of food crops
   E.g USA, 2009: 25% of crops grown in the USA was for fuel.

Question 12

explain how social factors cause food shortages

Answer 12

1. lack of accessibility
   - lack of food outlets, especially in LDCs decreases the accessibility of food, resulting in the residents being unable to easily obtain fresh produce, resulting in a smaller food intake
2. inadequate logistics of food distribution and storage
   - lack of proper transport network makes food more inaccessible, especially in countries where local production cannot meet demand, resulting in imports being necessary. Physical barriers (landslides,mountains etc) also decrease accessibility
   E.g Timor-Leste: experiences food shortages in between harvests worsened by lack of proper storage and inaccessibility for remote communities.
3. rapid population growth
   - food supply unable to meet growing demands of food, especially in LDCs where there is high birth rates and high population growths
   E.g by 2025, it is estimated that 75% of Sub-Saharan Africans will have to rely on food aid.