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FOOD (Gateway 2) why food shortages still occur (Physical (Extreme Weather…
FOOD (Gateway 2)
why food shortages still occur
Physical
Climate Change
variation in global climate/climate patterns in the long term
may cause existing farmland to becomes suitable/unsuitable for farming OR lengthen growing seasons
UN Environment Programme: when global temp.s increase, staple food producers like india, most of aus, most of se asia, will see food prod. decreasing by 50% AND other staple food producers like china, russia, will see food prod. increasing by 35%
shrinking glaciers-> in himalayas, river basins in india, china, will have more h2o to irrigate food crops during dry seasons
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: reports many glaciers could melt entirely by 2035, resulting in h2o loss during dry season-> smaller harvests
Extreme Weather Events
weather events which may cause the loss of lives or damage to property
droughts: reduce h2o supply
cyclones: flooding of farmland
heat/cold waves
cause crop damage, make it difficult for growth-> food shortage, esp. if countries unable to recover from loss of crops
cyclone yasi in queensland in 2011: floods-> worst harvest in 20 years, exports forecast to be down by 25% than 2010, raw sugar cane price sold to US rose to AUD35.49 per pound
Pests
such as insects, moles, damage food crops
in liberia, emergency declared in 2009 when Ms of caterpillars invaded. FAO: caterpillars ate all crops & plants in their path, affecting 46 villages & worsening threat to food security
Economic
Rising Demands for Meat & Dairy
LDCs dev. economies @ fast rates -> contribute to global economy esp. BRIC: brazil, russia, india, china
higher disposable income-> higher demands for food esp. meat & dairy
sustained growth in food demands-> depleting global food inventories, esp. grains as growing middle class pop. w/ more purchasing power & changing preferences-> food shortage in poorer countries
Soaring Cost of Fertilisers & Transport
price of fertilizers increase, cost of food prod. increase, price of food increase
fuel cost increase, transport & operation costs increase, food price increase, as modern agriculture uses petroleum to fuel machinery & transport farm produce within farm & to consumers
march 2011: world crude oil prices increased 10.3% so kazakhstan had to increase wheat prices exported to neighboring countries.
increased food prices transferred to consumers so for the poor, large portion of income on food so any increase-> unable to afford food to meet basic nutritional needs
Conversion of Farmland to Industrial Crop Production
convert as more profitable
biofuels are fuels that derive energy from biological carbons instead of fossil fuels
biofuel crops: corn, sugar cane, palm oil
US Department of Agriculture 2009 report: 25% of food crops (95M tonnes) became fuel for vehicles instead of food enough for 330M people for 1 year -> less food, food price increase (by 30% from 2006-2007)
Political
Poor Governance
governance is exercise of economic & political authority to manage a country's affairs
corruption, policy errors, inability to implement policy
threatens food security when prioritise other developmental needs-> farmers smaller farmland (competing land use)-> smaller crop yield
e.g. in madhya pradesh 2010, 40,000 villages deprived of land for farming due to dev. of mining, steel plant & port. cannot produce food, had limited income to buy food.
Civil Strife
a situation in which a country faces major int. conflicts, including riots, unrest or civil war
lead to disputes over control of resources that affect food prod.
resources may be destroyed-> hinder food prod. e.g. land mines on farmland
lack of food could be source of conflict-> cycle of civil strife, food shortage
Social
Inaccessibility
refers to how easily residents can reach food that is available
transport facilities must be made avail. so ppl who live far away from shops can obtain them
may depend on no. & location of food outlets
in LDCs, outlets may be few & far apart-> locals cannot get fresh produce, have smaller food intake
Inadequate Logistics of Food Distribution & Storage
food distribution: movement of food from farms to retail outlets
depends on good transport network
affected by physical barriers: mountains or landslides-> affecting food supply stability
significant when imports are necessary e.g. 1/3 of timor-leste pop. exp.s food shortages in btw. harvests, worsened by lack of storage facilities, difficulty in accessing remote communities
Rapid Population Growth
high BR, high pop. growth-> insufficient food to meet demands
FAO: world's pop. 10B by 2050
estimated that by 2025, 75% of sub-saharan africa will have to rely on food aid. small land suitable for farming declining due to rising temp.s, worsened by high pop. growth in urban+rural areas