Strategies used to increase food supply

Exam code: 2217

Written by: Ashika|Reviewed by: Caroline Carroll|Updated 2 July 2026

Specification link

This page covers section 10.2.3, 10.3.3 and 10.3.4 of the CIE O Level specification.

The artificial watering of crops to increase yields
The success of this is dependent on the type of irrigation
- Surface irrigation uses gravity to create water flow over the land
- Drip irrigation uses pipes which have holes in, this delivers water to near the plant roots

Advantages	Increases crop production/yields in areas with low rainfall
Disadvantages	Loss of water through evaporation Increased salinity of the soil affects crop growth Increases pressure on water resources

When the genetic material of a crop is altered to make them disease/pest resistant, have higher yield or be drought resistant

Advantages	Increases the yield of crops as they are not as susceptible to pests/disease May reduce use of pesticides and herbicides
Disadvantages	Concerns about the impacts on the environment

The development of high yield varieties of main food crops including wheat, maize and rice

Advantages	Increased yields Larger farm incomes increased
Disadvantages	Needed high inputs of fertilisers/pesticides Increased mechanisation leads to fewer jobs

Advantages	Increases yield as water infiltration improves and soil erosion decreases Low cost Increases farming knowledge

Advantages	Increases yields as more land can be cultivated More time efficient Less labour needed
Disadvantages	Reduces jobs in agriculture Machines can be expensive to buy and maintain

Food aid is mostly associated with LICs
- It involves providing and distributing food
Food aid as a strategy to improve food security can be:
- Short-term (after a disaster or in a crisis such as a drought or flood)
- Long-term (often given to the LIC government to distribute)
The aid is given by HICs and some MICs often through organisations such as the World Food Programme (WFP) as well as by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) such as Oxfam and Save The Children

Food aid can also be used as a strategy to improve food security in HICs
It is estimated that there are now almost 3,000 food banks in the UK
Food banks are community organisations that help people in crisis, with an emergency supply of food and essentials

Short-term food aid is effective in saving lives in the event of a disaster
- It provides people with the essential nutrition that they need
- This reduces deaths and future health issues
The effectiveness of long-term food aid is not as clear
In LICs the amount of long-term food aid provided has been reduced due to concerns that:
- When free food is provided it reduces the number of people buying food from local markets
  - This impacts local farmers and businesses
- Food aid is sometimes provided to governments to sell on local markets
  - This reduces food prices and undercuts local farmers
- Farmers will not be able to continue farming which further increases food insecurity
The type of long-term food aid provided now focusses on:
- Grants and loans to support farmers to produce food locally
- Education on sustainable farming methods
- Specific groups such as pregnant and breast-feeding mothers