Question

What are the causes behind less food production and increase in food production

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

Improvements are needed in balancing the problems associated with population growth and food production. A review of the problems of rapid population growth and declining food production and suggestions for resolution are given. World population has increased over the past 10 years by 760 million, which is equal to adding the combined population of Africa and South America. Future increases are expected to bring total population to 6.1 billion by the year 2000 and 8.2 billion in 2025 (exponential increases). Food production/capita has declined since 1971 in the world and in Nigeria, particularly in the recent past. The food production problem is technical, environmental, social, political, and economic. Various scientific and technological methods for increasing food production are identified: mechanization, irrigation, use of fertilizers, control of weeds and insects, new varieties of farm animals or high-yielding strains of grain, land reclamation, soil conservation, river basin development, adequate storage facilities, infrastructure development, and birth control. Economic and social approaches involve short-term and long-term strategies in social readjustment and institutional change. For instance, large scale farmers should become contract growers for certain firms. Bureaucratic red tape should be eliminated in institutions which provide agricultural services. Environmental problems need urgent attention. Some of these problems are soil erosion from mechanization, water salinization from irrigation, accumulation of DDT in food and water and animal life from pesticide use, and water pollution from chemical fertilizers. Food production can be increased with more ecologically sound practices. Information about weather and weather forecasting allows for more suitable land management. The influence of rainfall (the amount and distribution) in Nigeria is greater than any other climatic factor. Solar radiation is a significant feature in production of dry matter and yield. Shifting cultivation and land tenure systems should involve conservation farming techniques. organic manures and appropriate use of chemical fertilizers can raise soil fertility. Other problems are identified as the spread of bilharzia and the settlement of nomadic tribes.

Answer 2

The causes behind less food production and an increase in food production are:

Causes behind less food production

• If the technology and farming practices are not upgraded with time, it will affect productivity.
• Over-exploitation of a piece of land will exhaust all of its nutrients and minerals and this will make the land unsuitable for cultivation.
• Frequent natural calamities cause huge destruction and losses and affect the production process.

Causes behind an increase in food production

• Increased use of fertilizers made it possible to use the same pieces of land over and over for cultivation.
• Selecting good seeds and high-yielding plant varieties ensured maximum productivity from a single harvest.
• The use of weedicides, pesticides, fungicides, etc. made it possible to protect the plants from many types of diseases and agents of destruction thus ensuring maximum productivity.