6.2.3

Food Supply & Food Insecurity

Test yourself

Factors Affecting Food Supply

A country has food security if they consume more food than they need (effectively has a food surplus). This can be caused by:

Illustrative background for ClimateIllustrative background for Climate ?? "content

Climate

  • Parts of the DRC and Chad are vulnerable to droughts, as well as floods. This makes it hard to grow enough food to feed people at home. The DRC has bad infrastructure and bad trading relationships, so it is difficult for the DRC to import food.
  • If a country is prone to drought, floods, has steep relief or bad soil erosion, then it may struggle to produce enough food to feed its population.
  • This could move it into food deficit and food insecurity.
Illustrative background for PovertyIllustrative background for Poverty ?? "content

Poverty

  • When people live in poverty and are malnourished, people have low energy, have a less effective immune system, can do less manual labour, and can do less thinking.
  • Poverty can stop people from being able to work on a farm because of lack of energy.
  • Furthermore, people who are subsistence farmers (farm their own land), living in poverty, may not be able to afford pesticides and fertilisers, which would help increase the amount that they have to eat.
Illustrative background for Water stressIllustrative background for Water stress ?? "content

Water stress

  • Environments without enough water because of water pollution, bacterial contamination or drought will not be able to find enough water to feed livestock, water crops and help humans survive.
  • Humans can only survive 3-4 days without water.
Illustrative background for Pests and diseasesIllustrative background for Pests and diseases ?? "content

Pests and diseases

  • Pests eat or damage crops, reducing crop yields and the amount that can be eaten by a population.
  • Livestock can also be affected by diseases. Cattle can get Mad Cow Disease and in 2001, thousands of livestock were killed because of an outbreak of 'Foot and Mouth disease'.
Illustrative background for TechnologyIllustrative background for Technology ?? "content

Technology

  • Pesticides, fertilisers, and vertical farming can help to increase crop yields, even if conditions are not perfect for farming.
  • Automation and mechanisation mean that farming is more efficient, and produces more food. However, there are fewer jobs working on farms available.
  • Genetic modification can create more nutritious foods, like the White Russet potato, or it can create 'strains' of crops that are more resistant to pests and diseases.
Illustrative background for ConflictIllustrative background for Conflict ?? "content

Conflict

  • People can starve to death during wars because armies block supply chains and destroy infrastructure.
  • In the civil war in the Congo between 1997 and 1999, thousands of people died from starvation or famine as the fighting went on.

Jump to other topics

1The Challenge of Natural Hazards

1.1Natural Hazards

1.2Tectonic Hazards

1.3Weather Hazards

1.4Climate Change

2The Living World

3Physical Landscapes in the UK

3.1The UK Physical Landscape

3.2Coastal Landscapes in the UK

3.3River Landscapes in the UK

3.4Glacial Landscapes in the UK

4Urban Issues & Challenges

5The Changing Economic World

6The Challenge of Resource Management

6.1Resource Management

6.2Food

6.3Water

6.4Energy

Go student ad image

Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring

  • Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home

  • Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs

  • 30+ school subjects covered

Book a free trial lesson