Food supply Revision Notes

Machinery such as tractors and combine harvesters enable farmers to cultivate larger areas more efficiently.

Using machinery saves time and labor, allowing faster planting, maintenance, and harvesting.

This increases the total amount of food produced by expanding the cultivated area and improving operational speed.

• Enables cultivation of larger land areas.
• Increases efficiency by reducing manual labor.
• Speeds up farming tasks like plowing and harvesting.

Chemical fertilizers supply essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to crops.

These nutrients promote better plant growth and higher yields.

Applying fertilizers replenishes soil nutrients that crops consume, supporting sustained production.

• Provide vital nutrients to crops.
• Boost plant growth and crop yields.
• Help maintain soil fertility.

Insecticides protect crops by killing or repelling harmful insects, reducing damage and improving quality and yield.

Herbicides control weeds that compete with crops for water, nutrients, and light.

By reducing pest and weed competition, these chemicals help crops grow healthier and produce more food.

• Insecticides reduce insect damage to crops.
• Herbicides minimize weed competition.
• Both improve crop quality and yield.

Selective breeding involves choosing plants or animals with desirable traits to produce offspring with improved characteristics.

This method enhances traits such as higher yield, disease resistance, or better quality in crops and livestock.

Over generations, selective breeding increases food production efficiency and product quality.

• Selects organisms with favorable traits.
• Improves production traits in crops and livestock.
• Increases yield, quality, and disease resistance.

Monoculture involves growing one crop species over a large area.

It simplifies farming operations, making planting, maintenance, and harvesting more efficient.

Specialized machinery and bulk purchasing reduce costs and increase productivity.

This can lead to higher overall crop yields and economic benefits for farmers.

• Simplifies farming processes.
• Increases efficiency and productivity.
• Reduces costs through specialization and economies of scale.

Repeated cultivation of the same crop depletes specific soil nutrients, reducing soil fertility over time.

Monocultures are more vulnerable to pests and diseases that can spread rapidly without crop diversity.

This often leads to increased pesticide use, which can harm the environment.

Monoculture reduces biodiversity, negatively impacting ecosystem stability and resilience.

• Causes soil nutrient depletion.
• Increases risk of pest and disease outbreaks.
• Leads to higher pesticide use and environmental harm.
• Reduces biodiversity and ecosystem health.

Farmers must weigh the efficiency and economic gains against environmental sustainability.

Practices such as crop rotation can help mitigate some disadvantages of monoculture.

Understanding these factors is important for sustainable agricultural management.

• Efficiency vs. environmental impact must be balanced.
• Crop rotation can reduce soil depletion and pest problems.
• Sustainable practices improve long-term productivity.

Intensive livestock farming raises many animals in confined spaces to maximize production.

This method produces large amounts of meat, milk, and eggs efficiently to meet growing food demands.

It allows better control over feeding and health management, potentially reducing disease spread.

• Increases food supply efficiently.
• Enables close monitoring and disease control.
• Maximizes output per unit area.

Animals are kept in crowded conditions, which can cause stress and poor living conditions.

Limited space restricts natural behaviors, leading to health and welfare issues.

Overcrowding can increase the risk of disease transmission among animals.

• Poor welfare due to overcrowding.
• Stress and limited natural behavior.
• Higher disease risk in confined spaces.

Large amounts of animal waste can pollute soil and water sources.

Intensive farming consumes high levels of water, feed, and energy resources.

Frequent use of antibiotics to prevent disease can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

• Pollution from animal waste.
• High resource consumption.
• Risk of antibiotic resistance development.