Food: Gateway 2 (Factors affecting Food Production, Effects of Production and Reasons for Shortages

Question 1

What are the categories for factors affecting food production?

Answer 1

PPET

• Physical
• Political
• Economic
• Technological

Question 2

What are the physical factors affecting food production?

Answer 2

1. Climate
2. Soil and drainage
3. Relief features

Question 3

Describe climate as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 3

• Average condition of atmosphere over a long period of time
• Temperature (rate of photosynthesis, range for different crops)
• Rainfall (range for different crops; eg. rice, high rainfall; soya bean, low rainfall)

Eg. Tropics
- High temperature and rainfall makes it conducive for growing crops
- Long growing season compared to temperate regions

Question 4

Describe soils and drainage as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 4

Soil fertility
- Determined by availability of air, water and nutrients
- Fertile soil: rich in minerals, high crop yields (eg. Mekong Delta in Vietnam–> high rice harvest)

Soil Drainage
- Improper drainage hinders growth of crops
- Rice, wet soil; oat, well drained soil

Question 5

Describe relief features as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 5

Gentle slopes
- Suitable for some crops, ease of farming

Steep slopes
- Rain removes topsoil (rich in nutrients)
- Reduces stability
- Still favoured for some crops (coffee, tea, grapes); better drained

Altitude
- Higher altitude, lower temperatures
- Eg. Strawberries

Question 6

What are political factors affecting food production?

Answer 6

1. Government policies (agricultural and food)
2. ASEAN

Question 7

Describe government policies as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 7

Agricultural policies
- Determines how best to make use of limited resources
- Eg. India
- Education programme for wheat farmers on seed varieties, pesticide treatment, irrigation methods

Food policies
- Affects food production, processing, distribution, purchase and packaging
- Stockpiling–> setting aside and storage of food to ensure food security during emergencies
- Diversify food supplies–> more sources from more countries–> buffer against food shortages and price fluctuations

Question 8

Describe ASEAN as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 8

Eg. ASEAN Plus 3 Emergency Rice Reserve Agreement- 2011
- Commitment of rice producers to supply rice for a reserve (China, Japan, S. Korea)
- Can be used during disasters
- Rice and money contributed to reserves

Eg2. Thailand- 2012
- Programme to intensify rice production in the region
- Work with ASEAN members to increase effeciency in rice production

Question 9

What are the economic factors affecting food supply?

Answer 9

1. Purpose of farming
2. Demand and capital
3. Agribusiness

Question 10

Describe purpose of farming as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 10

Subsistence
- Solely to provide food to feed family
- Small land
- Capital; simple farming tools, use previous harvest’s seeds to grow subsequent crop
- Low crop yield
- Eg. Sub-Saharan Africa–> grow staples

Commercial
- Large scale production of cash crops for sale
- Large land
- Capital; advanced machines
- Large crop yield
- Eg. Europe, USA

Question 11

Describe demand and capital as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 11

• Determines intensity of food production
• Changes according to tastes and preferences of consumers
• Affects type and amount of crops produced

Eg. Corn in China
- Usually self-sufficient
- Exports corn
- In recent years, more corn needed to feed livestock due to growing demand for meat by wealthy Chinese
- Starts importing corn from USA

Question 12

Describe agribusiness as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 12

• Large farming companies involved in most or all parts of food supply change
• Priorities in scientific and business principals of farming
• Able to withstand impact of changes brought by environment
• Larger financial capacity–> able to absorb losses

Question 13

What are the technological factors affecting food production?

Answer 13

Green Revolution
1. High yielding varieties
2. Fertilisers and pesticides
3. Improved irrigation
4. Mechanisation

Question 14

Describe high yielding varieties as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 14

• Improved crop strains with increased growth rates
• Improved resistance to pests, diseases
• Able to grow faster
• Requires more nutrients and water to sustain

Eg.
Wonder rice–> 100 days instead of 120
IR8–> increased output

Question 15

Describe fertilisers as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 15

• Applied to replenish nutrients in used soil from farming

Question 16

Describe pesticides as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 16

• Chemicals used to kill insects/weeds that destroy crops

Eg. India: arsenic to kill rats
Eg2. California: Malathion used to kill flies

Question 17

Describe improved irrigation as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 17

• Artificial means of supplying water to land in regulated amounts at regulated times

Eg: Libya, North Africa
- Great Man-made river
- Made it possible to grow crops in the Sahara Desert
- Network of underground pipes, canals and wells

Question 18

Describe mechanisation as a factor affecting food supply. Support with examples if necessary.

Answer 18

• Refers to advanced machines for tasks otherwise carried out manually
• Speeds up processes
• Reduces reliance on manual labour

Eg: Japan
- Use of combined harvesters, harvests grain crops
- Cut down labour costs

Question 19

What are the benefits of the Green Revolution?

Answer 19

1. Increased crop yields
2. Decrease in food prices
3. Create jobs ( creation of lateral facilities–> factories, hydroelectric power stations)
4. Reduced pressure to convert natural land to crop land

Question 20

What are the limitations to the Green Revolution?

Answer 20

1. Decrease crop variations
2. Use of machineries–> may not be affordable–> debts
3. Less manual labour, less employment; more rural to urban migration
4. Pollution of land and water (pesticides and insecticides)

Question 21

What are the effects of continuing intensification of food production?

Answer 21

1. Effect of extensive irrigation on water and soil quality
2. Effect of overuse of chemicals on water and soil quality

Question 22

What is the effect of extensive irrigation on water and soil quality?

Answer 22

Water logging
1. Soil is oversaturated with water
2. Roots of plants deprived of air and nutrients

Salinisation
1. Water evaporates, leaving salt behind
2. Groundwater reaches upper soil layers, bringing dissolved salts–> crops fail

Eg. Murray Darling Basin, Australia
1. Salt commonly found in basin
2. Concentrated due to irrigation and deforestation
3. High evaporation, intensifies salisation
4. Soil surfaces harden, plants wither and die

Question 23

What is the effect of overusing chemicals on water and soil quality?

Answer 23

• Overuse of chemicals, concentrated in soil
• Seeps into groundwater, contamination
• Excess washed into waterways
• Leads to eutrophication (algae bloom)
• Blocks sunlight to aquatic plants
• Death of animals and plants, depleting water of oxygen

Eg. Measures taken in USA
1. Control measures on amount of chemicals allowed for use
2. Raising awareness of eutrophication through campaigns

Question 24

What are the categories of the reasons why food shortages occur?

Answer 24

PPES
1. Physical
2. Political
3. Economic
4. Social

Question 25

What are the physical reasons for food shortages?

Answer 25

1. Climate change
2. Extreme weather events
3. Pests

Question 26

Describe climate change as a reason for food shortages and the category it is from.

Answer 26

Physical
a. Global temperatures increase
- Affects existing farmland (unpredictable weather, changed climate)–> less suitable
- Lengthening growing seasons in cool areas
- Loss of biodiversity in fragile areas

b. Shrinking of glaciers from global warming
- Loss of fertile lands from rising sea levels
- Seasonal melting might provide river basins with water during dry seasons. However, smaller glaciers = less water–> reduced harvest

Question 27

Describe extreme weather events as a reason for food shortages and the category it is from. Give an example

Answer 27

Physical
- Weather events cause the loss of lives or damage to property = reduced food supplies

Eg. Cyclone Yasi (Australia, 3rd highest exporter of sugar cane)
- 50% of crops destroyed
- Disrupts exports of coal, tin and copper
- Inflate global commodity prices

Question 28

Describe pests as a reason for food shortages and the category it is from. Give an example

Answer 28

Physical
- Pests damage crops

Eg. Liberia, Africa, 2009
- State of emergency declared
- Armyworm caterpillars invaded crops
- Devoured plants and crops
- 46 villages affected

Question 29

What are the economic reasons for food shortages?

Answer 29

1. Demand from emerging economies
2. Soaring costs of fertilisers and transport
3. Conversion of farmland to industrial crop production

Question 30

Describe demand from emerging economies as a reason for food shortages and the category it is from.

Answer 30

Economic
- Some LDCs have developing economies that grow at very high rates
- Huge increase in food demand
- Depleted global food supplies due
- Due to rapidly growing middle class with more purchasing power and changing food preferences

Question 31

Describe soaring costs of fertilisers and transport as a reason for food shortages and the category it is from. Give an example

Answer 31

Economic
- Affects cost of food production and thus food prices increase
- Consumers bear the brunt of the increase

Eg. Kazakhstan, 2011
- Energy cost (oil) leads to price hike
- Modern farming uses petroleum products to fuel machines and transport harvest
- Petroleum price increase, food price increase

Question 32

Describe converting farmland to industrial crop production as a reason for food shortages and the category it is from. Give an example

Answer 32

Economic
- Growing crops for industrial use is more profitable than food crops
- Eg. Biofuels (from corn, sugar, palm)

Eg. USA
- 25% of food crops are used for biofuels
- Enough to feed 330 million people for a year
- 2006-2007 food price hike due to less available

Question 33

What are the social reasons for food shortages?

Answer 33

1. Lack of accessibility
2. Inadequate logistics of food distribution and storage
3. Rapid population growth

Question 34

Describe lack of accessibility as a reason for food shortages and the category it is from.

Answer 34

Social
- Consumers unable to reach food (no transport, insufficient and out of range locations)
- Have to make do with reduced amount

Question 35

Describe inadequate logistics for distribution and storage as a reason for food shortages and the category it is from. Give an example

Answer 35

Social
- Inadequate logs in terms of movement of food from farm to outlets
- Depends on good transport network
- May be affected by physical barriers

Eg. Timor Leste
- Experiences food shortages between harvests, need imports
- However, has a lack of storage and villages are remote, complicating access

Question 36

Describe rapid population growth as a reason for food shortages and the category it is from. Give an example

Answer 36

Social
- Higher birth rates= insufficient food supplies

Eg. Sub-Saharan Africa
- By 2025, 75% of sub-Saharan Africans will have to rely on food aid
- Conditions for farming made worse by global warming
- Population growth pose threat to food security