Question on Agriculture of Food : Drought, Starvation and Green Revloution

1(a) Fig. 1 is an extract from a news article of Los Angeles Times on hunger in Ethiopia, Africa.

By Edmund Sanders, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 5, 2008

JEE, ETHIOPIA -- They call it the green hunger.Four-foot cornstalks sprout from rain-soaked earth, and wind billows fields of teff, the staple Ethiopian grain. Goats and cattle are getting fat on lush grasses -- but the children are still dying.

"It's strange to see hunger and starvation when everything is so green," said Wariso Shete, 26, a southern Ethiopia farmer who recently buried his 3-year-old son. "But there is no food. The boy just starved."

Once again, images of emaciated children are emerging from this Horn of Africa nation, rekindling memories of the 1984 famine that killed nearly 1 million people. This time Ethiopia has been grappling with a double whammy: drought in its traditional breadbasket and a global food crisis that has pushed prices sky high.

Green hungers are just one oddity of Ethiopia's long struggle to feed itself. The country, considered the water tower of East Africa because its highlands are the primary source of the Nile, suffers chronic drought. It is Africa's second-largest corn producer, but requires hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid every year.An exploding population is one cause.

Ethiopia, with an estimated 80 million people, has doubled in size since the mid-1980s.Others point to a socialist-leaning government that's been slow to embrace market-based policies. And everyone agrees that international donors spend too little -- less than 5% of all aid -- on long-term development, such as irrigation.

Simply put, the nation, in which 85% of people toil as small farmers, has reached a point where it can't easily grow enough food to meet its needs. Although agricultural production has increased overall, it has declined per capita, according to the World Bank.



(i) Explain what is meant by ‘drought’ and ‘starvation’. [2]

(ii) Fig. 1 made mention of Ethiopia receiving aid from international donors for
the development of the country. Explain why foreign aid is not a long-term solution for the receiving country to rely on to eradicate starvationand poverty, and improve the living conditions of its people. [4]

(iii) Describe more effective solutions to eradicate starvation and poverty, and improve the living conditions of people in the less-developed countrie.(LDCs). [5]


(b) Use Fig. 2 to help outline the benefits and drawbacks of the Green Revolution in agriculture. [6]

Fig 2

Excerpts of articles on the Green Revolution in Agriculture

HYVs raises farm yields
With faster-growing varieties and irrigation, farmers grew more crops on their land each year. It more than doubled cereal production in Asia between 1970 and 1995. Instead of widespread famine, cereal and calorie availability per person increased by nearly 30 per cent, and wheat and rice become cheaper.

Richer Farmers
The Green Revolution raised farmers’ incomes. With greater income to spend, new needs for farm inputs, and milling and marketing services, farm families led a general increase in demand for goods and services. This stimulated the rural non-farm economy, which in turn generated significant new income and employment of its own.

Is a Green Revolution Finally Blooming in Africa?
According to the World Bank's World Development Report 2007, "agricultural growth in sub-Saharan Africa has accelerated from 2.3 percent per year in the 1980s to 3.3 percent in the 1990s." As a result, the report stated, "rural poverty has also started to decline in 10 of 13 countries analyzed. Also, countries, like Malawi, have gone from net food importers to net food exporters."


Green Revolution – Not Benefiting All
The Green Revolution spread only in irrigated and high-potential rainfed areas, and any villages or regions without access to sufficient water were left out. The benefits were rarely sufficient to prevent further widening of income gaps. In India, for example, poverty in many low-potential rainfed areas has improved little even while irrigated and high-potential rainfed areas have progressed.

Greater Environmental Damage
Excessive and inappropriate use of fertilizers and pesticides has polluted waterways, poisoned agricultural workers, and killed beneficial insects and other
wildlife. Irrigation practices have led to salt build-up and eventual abandonment of some of the best farming lands. And heavy dependence on a few major cereal varieties has led to loss of biodiversity on farms.

(c) Genetic Modification is another way to increase crop yields. However,
some people in developed countries oppose its use. Do you think genetic

modification should be used in the production of food crops? Give

reasonsfor your answer. [8]


Do the above questions first before you study the answers below.


1 a. (i) Explain what is meant by ‘drought’ and ‘starvation’.

starvation : a state of extreme hunger resulting from lack of essential nutrients over a prolonged period

drought: A long period of abnormally low rainfall, especially one that adversely affects growing or living conditions.



Fig. 4 made mention of Ethiopia receiving aid from international donors for the development of the country. Explain why foreign aid is not a long-term solution for the receiving country to rely on to eradicate starvation and poverty, and improve the living conditions of its people.

• becomes dependent on aid



• not able to grow future food supplies



• limited to a certain area / can be disrupted



• food types supplied are not traditional ones



• aid may not reach the people who really need it



• a significant amount of aid was given as the form of loans which have to be repaid with interest, and these will accumulate as debts that the recipient countries repay out of their future earnings



• most aid end up in the hands of corrupt government officials or be invested in military equipment because of ongoing civil war



• often, aid enables the rich to get richer while the poor remain poor



• e.g. in 2003, the per capital income of Ethiopia was only US$94 despite having received over US$1 billion in aid between 1982 and 1985 as the government spent about 90% of the aid on military development.

(iii) Describe more effective solutions to eradicate starvation and poverty, and improve the living conditions of people in the less-developed countries (LDCs).

• laws passed in countries affected to have locally processed foods fortified with iron and vitamin A



• intensive publicity campaigns to educate the public on the need for measures to improve nutrients of their local processed foods



• modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fishery practices



• help farmers improve their cultivation methods in order to increase the productivity of their farms e.g. use of modern farming technology and scientific research to develop new high-yield seedlings, improvements in irrigation and an increased use of chemicals fertilizers, e.g. India, Indonesia and Philippines during the ‘Green Revolution



• setting up agricultural training colleges for new farmers, forming advisory groups to deal with problems such as soil erosion



• financing and building infrastructure such as dams for irrigation, draining of wetlands to create new farmland and constructing roads and ports to transport surplus produce to the markets for sale, e.g. Ethiopia



• provide or improve the basic infrastructure essential for industrial development such as reliable water and power supplies, efficient transportation and communication networks and good port facilities, e.g. South Korea



• overcome problems caused by rapid population growth by reducing population growth through family planning or educating couples on the benefits of having fewer children, forced sterilizations performed on women, financial incentives given to those who voluntarily undergo abortions, e.g. India



• implement social strategies like improving availability of clean water, sanitation, housing standard, access of healthcare services and educational opportunities, e.g. Singapore and South Korea.
  
  Allow development of points

(b)Use Fig. 5 to help outline the benefits and drawbacks of the Green Revolution in agriculture.

• Benefits:



• increase in food production



• increase in national income



• self-sufficiency in food supplies



• decrease in famines



• greater prosperity for many farmers



• surplus food available for export

• Drawbacks:



• Requires expensive inputs (eg. chemical fertilizers and pesticides



• Benefits mainly the richer and more educated famers



• Increased environmental damage e.g. water pollution



• Increasing resistance of pests to pesticides



• Increase in rural unemployment
  
  Perfect balance not needed but max 3 if only benefits/drawbacks. Allow 1 mark per point and up to 2 further marks for development.

Genetic Modification is another way to increase crop yields. However, some people in developed countries oppose its use. Do you think genetic modification should be used in the production of food crops? Give reasons for your answer.

Candidates may include the following material:

Pros:

• Some people support the growth of GM crops because they can produce higher crop yields/ increase the productivity of farms. Many are genetically engineered to grow faster with less water and fertilizers .



• This can solve the problem of food shortage in the developing countries which are experiencing rapid population growth



• There can also be quality alteration to improve crop adaptability to harsh weather conditions/ ability to resist pests and diseases

Cons:

• Many concerns:- GM varieties of grains and their accompanying farming practices will lead to loss plant diversity, and also loss to resistance to disease attack.



• There is a lack of scientific evidence from both independent research and the companies producing such foods to prove that GM food is safe for consumption.



• GM food may contain food substances that may harm people with food allergy. For eg. People who are allergic to nuts may have adverse reactions after eating GM food that contain traces of nuts, as labels might not fully reveal the exact contents of the food.



• There are religious concerns over GM food, as some may contain substances that are originally found in those food not permissible for people of a certain religion to eat.



• GM opponents fear that GM crops may indirectly contaminate non-GM crops through wind or insect pollination.



• It can also be expected that innovations resulting from a biotechnology focus will lead to an increase in food production, causing prices to fall drastically.



• This may drive small-scale farmers out of business, hence more gets trap in the poverty cycle which was already exacerbated by green revolution.



• There may be potential environmental and health hazards eg the growth of super weeds and health risks, though not conclusively proven so.
  
  
  A full answer does not need to include all the above points.
  
  Candidates at each level will show the following characteristics:
  



• Level 1 (0 – 3 marks)
  



• One or two general comments on pros/cons of GM, e.g. increased yields, do not know how they affect health
  



• No presentation of other view
  
  

• Level 2 (4 – 6 marks)
  



• More detailed development of the comments, e.g. increased yields therefore increased profit, helps reduce food shortage and famine/death
  



• Some indication of awareness of other view
  
  

• Level 3 (7 – 8 marks)
  



• Details on the pros and cons
  



• Examples may be used to illustrate points, e.g. GM rice in China or BT – corn and the effect they have had on crop yields
  



• Clear indication of awareness of other views