Food resources (strategies to overcome food shortage)

Question 1

strategies?

Answer 1

Technology

• —> storage
• —> farming tech
• —> biotech

Agriculture

• —> multiple cropping & crop rotation
• —> water and soil conservation
• —> leasing farmland to other countries

Social

• —> support local farmers
• —> population control

political and economic strategies

• —> 2 national
• —> 2 international

Question 2

technology strategies

Answer 2

• —> storage
• —> farming tech
• —> biotech

Question 3

tech strategies (storage)

Answer 3

• —> use of refrigerated warehouse storage
• —> keep food fresh for a longer period of time
• —> LDCS
• —> use silos
• —> silo: airtight structure for storing crops

Question 4

storage successes + example

Answer 4

• —> distributed to places further away from its area of production
• —> larger variety of food made available and accessible

example:

• —> Timer-Leste
• —> build silos
• —> FAO helped reduce loss of crops to pests by 20% to 40%

Question 5

storage limitations

Answer 5

• —> very expensive for refrigeration of food on a large scale
• —> increases costs of food
• —> silos unaffordable for farmers
• —> fungus growth when grains not dried b4 stored in silos

Question 6

farming tech

Answer 6

it is the use of
----> HYVs
----> irrigation
----> technology
----> chemical fertilisers
----> pesticides
----> machinery
to increase crop yield

Question 7

farming tech successes

Answer 7

HYVs & fertilizers
—-> increase yield of food crops

Irrigation
—-> more crops to be planted in areas previously too dry

Pesticides
—-> reduce crop loss

Machines
—-> speed up activities

examples

• —> using HYVs
• —> rice and wheat production in LDCS increased 75% btw 1965 and 1980

Question 8

farming tech limitations

Answer 8

• —> too expensive, especially for people in LDCS
• —> use of irrigation, fertilisers, pesticides lead to environmental problems
• —> salinisation, waterlogging, eutrophication, soil contamination, chemical pollution

Question 9

biotech

Answer 9

• —> it is the science of modifying living organisms

- —> GM

Question 10

biotech success

Answer 10

Genetically modified crops (GM):

• —> higher yield
• —> pest-resistant
• —> herbicide resistant
• —> environment-resistant
• —> long shelf life
• —> fast maturing

example:

• —> drought-resistant corn
• —> tolerant of low rainfall conditions
• —> grown on Western Great Plains, USA
• —> max rainfall there only: 600mm

Question 11

biotech limitations

Answer 11

• —> seeds are expensive
• —> GM crops mostly grown on large scales in DCS
• —> potential health risks
• —> ban on their cultivation in some European countries

Question 12

multiple cropping

Answer 12

• —> growing single crops one aft the other
• —> growing several crops simultaneously

Benefits

• —> soil fertility restored w/o excessive use of chemical fertilisers increasing crop yield
• —> some crops are natural pest deterrents
• —> growing them next to other crops minimizes problems of pests, minimizing crop losses
• —> dependence on one crop is avoided

Question 13

multiple cropping examples

Answer 13

Need nitrogen: corn and sorghum
Replenish nitrogen: groundnuts and soyabean
Prevent soil erosion: groundnuts
Deter pests: Garlic, pepper, onions

Question 14

water and soil conservation

Answer 14

No-til farming

• —> farming w/o removing weeds
• —> w/o creating rows in the soil
• —> allows plant materials like leaves and branches from previous growing season to be kept at surface of soil
• —> dead plant materials decomposes, provide nutrients to soil
• —> absence of tilling causes soil to be less compacted
• —> water infiltrate to reach roots of plants
• —> soil protected against erosion
• —> allow soil to remain fertile
• —> higher crop yield