2.A - India CS - human and physical factors combined affect FS Flashcards
1
Q
India background
A
- 17M + people annually = 1.3B population
- 2nd largest producer of wheat and rice globally
- 1/3rd of world’s hungry
- imports vast quantities of grains to feed rapidly growing population
- recent decline in production is due to poor harvests
2
Q
physical challenges
A
water shortages
climate change
soil erosion
physical environment
3
Q
physical environment
A
- range = mountains, deserts, grasslands, tropical and temperate forests
- soil condition = baked, hard but fertile
- Punjab region = 2% of country snd provides 2/3rds of food grain
4
Q
what is the region called in India is called ‘the bread basket of India’?
A
Punjab Region
5
Q
Punjab region
A
- climate = semi-arid
- annual precipitation 630mm annually
- 21 degrees - optimum temp for wheat
- hot, rainy and cold seasons experienced
6
Q
water shortages
A
- unreliable monsoon rains = drought
- farmers have to draw more ground water to irrigate crops
- increases decline in water table
- 80% overexploited
- result: drill deeper wells = increase purchases on expensive equipment increasing farmer stress increasing suicide rates
7
Q
climate change
A
- rising temps and heatwaves = crops reached max heat tolerance = decreased yields
- floods and droughts = rapidly increasing the fall in the water table
8
Q
soil erosion - physical
A
- intense and heavy rain decreased infiltration
- increased overland flow = increased erosion
- 40% run off = loss of nutrients in soils
9
Q
human challenges
A
soil erosion green revolution government policy globalisation deforestation = overgrazing
10
Q
soil erosion - human
A
- inadequate water management
- added small dams to slow loss of water
11
Q
green revolution
A
- aim to make India self-sufficient and reduce imports
- new crops = more resistant to rainfall and wind damage
- increased employment in agro-chemical sector
BUT - HYVs dependent on irrigation and intensive use of chemicals fertilisers and pesticides, favouring wealthier farms = increased poverty gap
- agro-chemicals affected soil and water quality
- high costs of inputs = debt issues for farmers
12
Q
government policy
A
- national food security bill- focused on subsiding grain
- insufficient in practice as focus on symptom not the cause of issue
- issue = money not storage
- neglected: ineffective transport and storage infrastructure = food waste and - - high food prices and limited quality and quantity go food supply
13
Q
food waste
A
- transporting and storing issues
- harvest and labour doable but lack of infrastructure (no canning pr preserving - factories) = food waste
- in poor countries food waste = at farms themselves not consumer level
14
Q
globalisation
A
- increased global markets = negative impacts on India
- subsistence farmers unable to compete with intensive, large agribusinesses
- increase imports from Acs = short term solution
- subsistence farmers forced into high value crops = they’re food insecure because sceptical to physical geography drawbacks and cannot mitigate
- GM crops sold at high prices and aren’t sustainable - contain suicide gene
15
Q
GM crops suicide gene
A
- after one harvest this gene kills seedling = no fertilisation can take place
- companies increase prices but farmers are reliant on them = need to buy more
