14. Causes of food shortage

Research on causes of food shortage:

Physical

    • Extreme weather

    • climate change

    • pest

Extreme weather such as drought can result in food shortage

Droughts resulted in water crisis and affected crop production in Thailand and South Africa.

When did the drought occur?

Where did the drought occur?

Who do the drought affect?

What is the cause of the drought?

Why does the drought threaten water security?

How does the drought affect crop production?

Climate change can cause food shortage

Watch the video below:

How climate change affects food production in Thailand

Read more at

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/thailand-drought-monsoon-rains-agriculture-11848900?cid=facebook_comment_video_11052018_cna

Pest resulting in food shortage

It is the worst outbreak of desert locusts in Kenya with hundreds of millions of the bugs swarm into the East African nation from Somalia and Ethiopia eating up corn, sorghum and cowpeas. The locust destroyed farmland and threatened an already vulnerable region with devastating hunger.

Locust invasion is the biggest in Ethiopia and Somalia in 25 years, and the biggest in Kenya in 70 years. Climate change has contributed to ‘exceptional’ breeding conditions for the locust.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3047674/skies-go-black-africas-worst-locust-swarm-attack-decades

Where are the areas affected by the locusts?

Who are affected by the invasion of the locusts?

Why does the locust threaten food security?

What other factors cause food shortage in Uganda and East Africa?

Political

    • civil strife

    • poor governance

The Saudi led war in Yemen causing food shortage and starvation

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/my-children-are-dying-before-my-eyes-the-tragedy-of-saudi-arabias-war-in-yemen?utm_medium=Social&xtor=CS1-10&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1540639285

Economic

    • rising demand for meat and diary products from emerging economies,

    • soaring cost of fertilisers and transport,

    • conversion of farmland to industrial crop production

Rising demand for meat in China

Many farmers are growing cash crops instead of food crops due to the higher profits from the growing of cash crops.

Watch the video below in the case of Zimbabwe.

https://youtu.be/ExH6kSwoFBw

Food price riots http://blogs.worldbank.org/category/tags/food-crisis

Wheat crisis due a combination of physical, economic and political factors.

Social

    • lack of accessibility,

    • inadequate logistics of food distributions and storage,

    • rapid population growth