Increasing food supply

Question 1

What are the four key components of the green revolution

Answer 1

High yielding varieties, agrochemicals, improved irrigation, mechanisation

Question 2

What are some traits of HYVs

Answer 2

Higher crop yield per area, dwarfness, improved response to fertilisers, early maturation, disease-resistance

Question 3

How does agrochemicals increase food supply

Answer 3

HYVs require more fertilisers to grow well. Chemical fertilisers are used as they can be customised to meet needs of crop strain and local soil condition

Question 4

How does improved irrigation increase crop yield

Answer 4

Monsoons may be irregular in terms of amount and timing. Irrigation projects provide stable source of water or groundwater, making it possible for double or multiple cropping

Question 5

What are socioeconomic impacts of green revolution -widened income inequality

Answer 5

New technologies were costly so only large farm owners could afford them and adopt them. Small-scale farmers were unaffected or harmed due to lower product prices, higher input prices or efforts by landlords to increase rents or force tenants off the land, widening income inequality

Question 6

What are the socioeconomic impacts of green revolution - debt trap

Answer 6

High cost of inputs such as seeds, fertiliser and pesticides has led many farmers to fall into debt. Debt burden and other challenges faced by farmers led to high rate of suicide in many areas. Mechanisation led to lower rural wages and employment.

Question 7

What are environmental impacts of green revolution - pollution

Answer 7

Excessive and inappropriate use of fertiliser pollutes waterways, poisons workers and killed beneficial insects and other wildlife. Eutrophication occurs when fertilisers get washed into water bodies, causing harmful algal blooms where algae spread rapidly, killing fish and contaminating seafood and drinking water

Question 8

What are the environmental impacts of green revolution - illness

Answer 8

The use of mineral fertiliser introduced vast amounts of reactive nitrogen and phosphorus into the environment. Exposure can cause blue-baby syndrome, reproductive problems, and some forms of cancer

Question 9

What are environmental impacts of green revolution - groundwater

Answer 9

Mismanagement of irrigation practices have led to salinisation and eventual abandonment of some of the best farming lands. Groundwater levels are retreating in areas where more water is pumped for intensive irrigation than can be replenished by the rain

Question 10

What is salinisation of soil

Answer 10

Salt poisoning of arable land is consequence of intensive irrigation in arid regions. Regions of scarce rainfall, earth has large amount of unleached salts. Pouring irrigation water into soil brings salts to surface and leaves residue when water evaporates. Salt-pollution diminish productivity of soil and may ruin it forever

Question 11

What are challenges to agricultural production in cities

Answer 11

Competition for space, price of land(due to high demand) and limited water supply

Question 12

What is vertical farming

Answer 12

Practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, maximising available space. Soil-less agriculture system uses hydroponics(roots in water w nutrients) and aeroponics(roots sprayed w mist w nutrients)

Question 13

What is CEA technology

Answer 13

Controlled environment agriculture(CEA) uses artificial lighting, control of temperature, humidity that enables indoor farming

Question 14

What are main advantages of vertical farming

Answer 14

Maximises land use with higher production yield, close proximity to consumers, healthier and safer produce, CEA creates optimal growing conditions (each must elab)

Question 15

What are the disadvantages of vertical farming

Answer 15

Large amount of energy required - artificial light turned on for long time, greater carbon emissions and energy costs
Skilled labour - require advanced technology and knowledgeable people to maintain the systems
High startup costs - advanced tech, takes long time to see return on investment, hard to find investors and start without government subsidies

Question 16

What is rooftop farming

Answer 16

Cultivation of fresh produce on top of buildings, using hydroponics, alternative soil-less methods or planting in container, prevents added stress to roof’s waterproofing

Question 17

What are main advantages of rooftop farming

Answer 17

Relies on natural sunlight, makes use of unused space of roof, reduce food miles, acts as natural insulation, keeps heat out, keeps heat in by preventing dissipation through roofing material, less energy

Question 18

What are disadvantages of rooftop farming

Answer 18

Structural concerns due to load bearing capacity of building and roof, high winds and temperatures may require greenhouses/ heat-resistant crops. Crops not in greenhouse may be exposed to pollutants in cities, chemical pesticides may cause harm if used

Question 19

What is GMO

Answer 19

A plant, animals or microorganism that had genetic material changed using technology, including transfer of specific DNA from one organism to another

Question 20

What are benefits of GMO

Answer 20

Increased nutritional value can supplement diets with more nutrients or provide more vitamins which prevent diseases
Increase in food supply from resistant crops(to weeds, drought and pest) and reduce crop loss
Reduces environmental damage as they lead to reduction in insecticide use and reduces need for deforestation

Question 21

What are health risks of GMO

Answer 21

May cause potential health risks such as those caused by allergies to substances used to modify food. Fear of unknown consequences led to EU placing ban on important and cultivation of most GM crops, risk is high when GM food not labelled

Question 22

What are limitations of GMO due to them being property of private corporations

Answer 22

Research and development in GMO requires large sum of investment in testing and laboratory infrastructure. Private corporations will ensure research products are patented. Patents allow large private firms substantial control over plant genes, if farmers have to purchase seeds every sowing season, it affects income and food security. Puts LDCs at disadvantage and threatens livelihoods of majority of small farmers

Question 23

What are environmental limitations of GM crops

Answer 23

May pollute natural crops, which is irreversible process and results in loss of natural species. Pollen from pest resistant GM crop can contaminate natural crop species via insects or wind. May lead to development of superweeds and herbicide resistant gene in GM crops is passed onto weeds. May need strong herbicides or lead to out of control superweeds. GM crops may destroy harmless insects which depends on plants for survival, may lead to extinction of plant species.

Question 24

What are the types of international food aid

Answer 24

Relief food aid - for emergency situations and freely distributed, normally by World Food Programme or NGO
Project food aid - part of project related to promoting agricultural or economic development, nutrition and food security
Programme food aid - gov-to-gov transfer. Food grown in donor country and provided to recipient for sale on local markets. May not be free and comes with some form of condition

Question 25

What are issues with food aid (1)

Answer 25

Donor-driven, used as way to protect donor countries’ farmers and agribusinesses when harvest is high and stabilise prices.
Creates dependency and does not generate long-term agricultural development

Question 26

What are issues with food aid (2)

Answer 26

May not address malnutrition as limited types of food can be sent as food aid, not perishables
May increase likelihood and duration of civil wars as rival factions may compete to steal food aid, barter for weapons or feed soldier, rest of population forced to join conflict to get food to survive.

Question 27

What is public stockpiling

Answer 27

Public stockpiles of essential food commodities as response to international and regional trade uncertainties and volatility, strategy for domestic food security

Question 28

What are challenges to food stockpiling

Answer 28

High administrative and storage costs, stock losses due to improper storage and handling, leakage or theft of food from supplies

Question 29

What are two aspects of food waste

Answer 29

Food loss - decrease in quality/quantity of food resulting from actions of food supplier in chain
Food waste - decrease in quality/quantity of food from actions of retailers, providers and consumers

Question 30

What are key factors of food loss

Answer 30

Losses mostly occur at post-harvest and processing levels in LDC
Lack of coordination between stakeholders in supply chain
Losses during harvest sorting and grading due to discarding to meet quality standards set by retailers

Question 31

What are some methods to reduce food loss and waste

Answer 31

Improving storage methods, can be simple and low-cost for small-scale farmers
Reducing food loss close to farm as farmers do not have proper storage facilities
Redistribution of food to food banks and similar outreach groups

Question 32

What are limitations of rfwl

Answer 32

Lack of awareness of technical capacity - lack of expertise in accessing reduction of waste.
Non-existent/inappropriate policies - cannot discourage wasteful practices
Insufficient investment from private sector - LDC gov generally face financial constraint, require private sector investments