case study: a country or region suffering from food shortages

•case study: South Sudan 

•seriousness of Sudan's food shortage 

          •4 million / 40% short of food in South Sudan  

          •70,000 died from hunger and diseases during the civil war 

          •aid workers stopped WFP assistance as it was too dangerous 

•physical factors - how drought and soil degradation have contributed to food shortages

          •long-term decline of rainfall

          •increased use of marginal land leading to degradation 

          •drought is the main reason as it lies 15 degrees North of the equator 

          •difficult to reach - too boggy 

          •pests and bad weather failed crops 

          •diseased water - cholera and typhoid contracted 

          •prolonged drought means poor ground, with inflation of food prices 

•social factors - poor health and population growth 

          •high population growth - 3% a year worsens marginal land 

          •high population leads to overgrazing and land erosion 

          •high IMR due to AIDS threat 53 deaths per 1000

          •female illiteracy (65%) 

•political / economic factors 

          •has to import from Uganda - double the price

          •high military spending $1bn 

          •limited access to buy food or infrastructure to distribute it due to the 50 year civil war

          •high dependency on farming (70% of workforce) for income 

          •conflict in Dafur reduces food production and distribution, reducing availability and inflating prices 

          •after splitting, the South is much poorer than the North

          •lack of government and political will 

          •bombings threaten border communities e.g. Nuba Mountains 

          •war has undermined agricultural production in South Sudan

          

•solutions to Sudan’s food shortages

          •UN food programme delivers food

          •Red Cross Emergency relief air drops food

          •FAO project - rehabilitates those flooded on the Malarial river and improves watermelon growth along the river Nile

          •holds camps teaching women fish preservation, even using bones to create soup 

case study: a farm or agricultural system

•case study: rice farming at Dambulla, Sri Lanka

•inputs

          •temperature (28 degrees celsius)

          •rainfall (1000mm)

          •rich clay / loam soils

          •no machinery

          •no physical labour from children as they go to school, but uses an oxen

          •uses oxen manure as fertiliser 

          •flat land due to being on the River Mahaweli

          •small land of 2ha 

•processes 

          •ploughing of the oxen 

          •picking bananas e.g in the Jathika forest

          •planting (rice, sweet potatoes, manioc, chilliest and cabbages) 

          •rice is grown in flooded fields 

•outputs 

          •cabbage 

          •chillies 

          •bananas 

          •sweet potatoes 

          •rice 

          •manioc 

•how is an income made 

          •hires out oxen for £1 a day

          •selling fruit (bananas, cabbages and fruit) at a roadside stall

          •20 bananas for 25p

•why is an income made 

          •75% live in rural areas

          •land was inherited as it's a tradition

          •need to live 

recognise the causes and effects of food shortages and describe possible solutions to this problem

•causes of food shortages

          •natural

                    •desertification

                    •landslides

                    •pests

                    •marginal land

                    •unsuitable land

                    •inappropriate climates e.g drought

                    •tropical storms 

                    •flooding

          •economic 

                    •poor transport reduces incentive 

                    •high prices due to shortage 

                    •debt

                    •poor economy limits government support in investments 

                    •war

          •human

                    •high brith rate

                    •high population density

                    •overpopulation 

                    •weak workforce means not enough suitable people to farm 

                    •soil erosion / soil exhaustion 

•effects of food shortages

          •malnutrition, which increases proneness to disease and limits their physical / intellectual potential, reducing their incentive to work, leading landlocked countries into a cycle 

          •leads to scurvy, rickets and protein deficiencies, leading to bone deformities / swelling  

                    •reduces quality of life

                    •reduces incentive to work

                    •more likely to fall ill

                    •land may not be well tended 

                    •other economic production may fall further

                    

•programmed solutions to food shortages

          •Food Aid

                    •relief food aid - given during a crisis

                    •programme food aid - given to local government to sell

                    •project food aid - targeting specific groups in a country 

                              •advantages

                                        •keeps people alive 

                              •disadvantages

                                        •dependent on aid to avoid famine

                                        •undermining the ability to produce

                                        •expensive (transport)

                                        •USA’s excess rice is cheaper 

          •Green Revolution 

                    •created the HYV, boosting yield 2 - 4 times

                    •brought resistance to diseases, more responsive to fertilisers and a shorter growing season 

                    •farmers educated and offered credit to buy machinery

                              •advantages 

                                        •long-term planning 

                                        •diet more varied

                                        •employment 

                                        •farming income has increased 

                              •disadvantages 

                                        •mechanisation increased rural employment 

                                        •fertilisers affect economy and environment 

                                        •really benefitted middle and higher income farmers 

•solutions to food shortages

          •building small wells to provide water for irrigation

          •planting trees to conserve soil

          •inter cropping to limit rainfall runoff

          •improved food storage to allow it to last longer and be protected

describe and explain the main features of an agricultural system: inputs, processes and outputs

•the main features of agricultural systems

          •inputs

                     •natural 

                               •soils

                               •land and its relief (including drainage)

                               •climate: rainfall, temperature, sunshine 

                     •human / economic

                               •investment

                               •labour

                               •machinery 

                               •seeds

                               •transport

                               •fertilisers 

          •processes 

                     •preparing land 

                     •ploughing 

                     •sowing

                     •weeding

                     •reaping

                     •milking

                     •feeding

                     •slaughtering 

                     •harvesting 

                                •arable farm focuses on plants etc. whilst pastoral is more animal based 

          •outputs

                     •wheat grain

                     •meat 

                     •milk

                     •cotton

                     •rubber 

                     •leather 

                     •manure

•commercial farming

          •where crops and animals are produced to sell at the market for a profit

•subsistence farming

          •where crops and animals are produced by a farmer to feed their family

•arable farming

          •where crops are grown

•pastoral farming

          •rearing animals for by products e.g eggs, milk or for meat 

•mixed farming

          •where both crops and animals are farmed 

•intensive farming 

          •where a large amount of produce is generated from a small area of land

•extensive farming

          •where a small amount of produce is generated from a large area of land 

•the influence of natural and human inputs on agricultural land use

          •natural factors 

                    •temperature (affected by latitude, altitude and distance from the sea)

                    •precipitation 

                    •steep land slopes make machinery difficult, only suitable for sheep 

                    •soil needs to be fertile for it to be efficiently farmed

                    •flat areas may  

          •human factors 

                    •economic 

                              •transport: cost of growing different crops in different areas

                              •markets: prices for products can change year on year

                              •capital: investment in machines can be expensive, limiting consumer demand

                              •technology: requires investment but is vital for food security

                              

                      •social 

                              •tradition: farmers in certain regions tend to produce things the same way

                              •land tenure: inheritance laws have banned equal division of land to stop subsistence farming

                              •government policies: the government may control surplus, loans and income supplements or own the land 

•scale of production 

          •farms in MEDCs may be run by large companies - economies of scale, reducing the unit cost of production and wiping out smaller farms - high capital allows them to acquire lots of land 

          •LEDCs may have smaller farms due to split of inheritance  

•methods of organisation 

          •commercial farming is highly modernised e.g automatic drivers and chemical sprays, systematic, high capital intensive

          •subsistence farming focuses more on tradition / doing things by themselves 

•products of agricultural systems

          •commercial farms will produce things on a massive scale, but may be focused on a select few crops

          •subsistence farms will focus on a small amount of products, but may have a wider range of products