1. Alleviating Food Shortages
IB Geography II

2. Objective
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to evaluate the relative importance of technological and socio-economic solutions to alleviating food shortages.

3. Startling Statistics
In 2009, the number of chronically hungry had surpassed 1 billion for the first time in history.
This statistic shows that the world is very far from achieving the Millennium Development Goal for reducing malnourishment.

5. Food as proportion of household budget
While Australian households spend only 17% of their budget on food, Nigerian families spend 73% of their budgets to eat, Vietnamese 65%, Indonesians half. - NY Times
In Bangladesh, food consumes more than half most people’s earnings and rent takes up almost all the rest. -UK Guardian

7. Solutions to Food Security
Technological Solutions
GM Crops
Expanding Irrigation
Seeds and Fertilizer
Sustainable Practices
Socioeconomic Solutions
Agricultural Investment
Food Aid
Improved Infrastructure
Trade Reform
Fair Trade

8. As we go through the following solutions to food insecurity make a table in your notebook like this:
Positive Impacts
Potential Drawbacks
GM Crops
Expanding Irrigation
Seeds and Fertilizers
Sustainable Practices
Agricultural Investment
Food Aid
Improved Infrastructure
Trade Reform
Fair Trade

9. Technological Solutions

10. GM Crops
Agriculture experts at the UN and in LEDCs do not expect GM crops on their own to radically improve yields.
GM Crops have mostly been devoted to richer countries.

11. Expanding Irrigation
Perennial irrigation systems: water is supplied all year in accordance with the crop requirement.

12. Seeds and Fertilizers
Rural poor need help planting next season’s crops
Millions have been forced to eat next season’s seeds to survive
Price of fertilizer have increased (largely dependent on oil)

13. Sustainable Practices
Using local knowledge and appropriate technology, and avoiding pollution will help conserve resources (soil and biodiversity) for future generations.

14. Socioeconomic Solutions

15. Agricultural Investment
Experts believe yields in Africa can be increased with help.
40% of Asian agriculture is irrigated, only 4% in Africa
Average Asian farmer uses 110 kgs of fertilizer a year. In Africa only 4 kgs.
At least 1/3 of crops in Africa are last after the harvest because farmers cannot get them to the markets in time.

16. Food Aid
The World Food Programme can only reach 80 million of the 800 million more chronically hungry people in the world.
Food Aid can alleviate emergency famine situations, but it is not a long-term solution: why?

17. Improved Infrastructure
Improving roads, railway, electricity, and water supply

18. Trade Reform
Free trade, lowering farm subsidies in the US and undoing protectionism (like CAP in the EU) could help poor farmers in the long term.

19. Fair Trade
Ethical trade is trade that attempts to be socially, economically, and environmentally responsible. It is trade where the company takes responsibility for the wider impact of their business. Fair trade helps farmers get fairer prices for their products as well.