Year 10 Geography

What is ‘Food Security’?

Explain the indicators of food security?

Who has food security? What countries?

What is ‘Food Insecurity’?

Who is at risk of food insecurity? What countries?

Explain the relationship between the level of a countries development and the level of food security.

African and third world (developing) countries have the highest growth rate in the world.

This puts them at risk of food insecurity

E.g. Niger’s population increased from 2.5 million to 15 million between 1950 and 2010.

Africa will produce enough food for only about a quarter population by 2025

Means more

mouths to feed!

International aid for countries at risk of food insecurity has always been sent by other countries

However, international aid often doesn’t reach the most vulnerable populations

This is because of a high level of corruption and political instability in many third world countries

Many third world governments encourage production of so-called ‘cash crops’

The income made from cash crops is used to import food

As a result, countries which depend on cash crops are at high risk of food crisis because they do not produce enough food to feed their population

Many failed harvests in Africa and other third world countries have been caused by pests such as desert locusts.

Cattle diseases affect a regions ability to produce food

Other agricultural issues such as soil infertility and soil erosion also play a part in food insecurity.

Wars and military conflicts worsen food insecurity in third world countries

They may not be directly responsible for food crises but they worsen scarcity of food and often present the aid workers from reaching the most affected people

This disease is a serious public health concern in third world countries and worsens food insecurity in two (2) ways.

1) reduces the available workforce

2) puts extra burden on poor households

Some experts suggest that drought and extreme weather in regions affected by food crises

For example, west and east Africa have many problems with recurrent extreme droughts which puts them at extreme risk of food insecurity

Natural disasters which are becoming more frequent due to climate change also cause food insecurity