1. 1
   A country's population grew from 40 million to 52 million over 20 years. Government scientists say this rise is one of several pressures increasing the risk of food insecurity in the country.

   (a)

   Which of these is the best description of population growth as a factor in food security?

   [1 mark]

   • AA larger population requires more food to be produced, increasing demand on land, water and other agricultural resources
   • BA larger population automatically increases the amount of farmland available for food production
   • CA larger population reduces the demand for food because more people can grow their own crops
   • DA larger population has no effect on food security because food imports can always be increased

   (b)

   Over the same 20-year period, average meat and fish consumption per person in this country increased by 35%. Which statement best explains why rising meat and fish consumption puts additional pressure on food security compared with rising consumption of plant crops alone?

   [1 mark]

   • AAnimal farming reduces the human population, lowering overall food demand
   • BMeat and fish contain no nutritional value, so producing them wastes agricultural resources
   • CFarmed animals must be fed crops or other feed, so producing meat requires more land and resources than growing the same amount of plant food directly
   • DFish farming removes the need for any crop production, reducing pressure on farmland

   (c)

   Suggest two reasons why increasing human population combined with increasing meat and fish consumption together place greater strain on a country's food security than population growth alone.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 1: 4 marks

2. 2
   A wheat-growing region previously had no problems with a particular fungal pathogen. Following several unusually warm, humid growing seasons, the pathogen has spread into the region and reduced wheat yields by 18% in a single year.

   (a)

   Which statement best explains why the arrival of a new pathogen threatens food security?

   [1 mark]

   • AA new pathogen increases the population of the crop plant, making more food available
   • BA new pathogen can destroy or reduce crop yields, lowering the amount of food available from the same area of farmland
   • CA new pathogen only affects the appearance of crops and does not change the amount of food produced
   • DA new pathogen always improves soil fertility, which increases future yields

   (b)

   Scientists suggest that the warmer, more humid growing seasons are linked to environmental change caused by human activity. Which statement best describes how environmental change of this kind can affect food security?

   [1 mark]

   • AEnvironmental change only affects animal farming and never affects crops such as wheat
   • BEnvironmental change has no effect on which pests or pathogens can survive in a region
   • CWarmer, more humid conditions always kill all crop pathogens, so environmental change improves food security
   • DChanging temperature and humidity can alter which pests and pathogens can survive and spread in a region, changing the risks to crops grown there

   (c)

   Explain how the spread of a new pathogen into a farming region, together with environmental change caused by human activity, could reduce a country's food security.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 2: 4 marks

3. 3
   A farming company converts 500 hectares of land that previously grew wheat for human consumption into land used to grow maize for biofuel production. Local agricultural workers report that the cost of buying fertiliser and machinery fuel has also risen sharply in the same year.

   (a)

   Explain three ways in which converting farmland to biofuel production could reduce food security in the surrounding area.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Explain four ways in which a sharp rise in the cost of fertiliser and machinery fuel could further affect food security for farmers in this area, in addition to the loss of land to biofuel production.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 3: 7 marks

4. 4
   A government report identifies four pressures affecting food security in its country over the last 20 years: a growing human population, increasing meat and fish consumption, the arrival of new crop pests and pathogens linked to environmental change, and rising costs of agricultural inputs such as fertiliser and fuel that have led some farmers to convert land to biofuel crops.

   (a)

   Evaluate how these four factors, acting together, could threaten food security in the country, and discuss why addressing only one of these factors is unlikely to be sufficient to protect food security.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   Suggest and justify a set of measures the government could introduce to reduce the impact of these four pressures on food security, explaining why a combination of measures is likely to be more effective than relying on a single measure.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 4: 12 marks

End of questions