Increasing Food Supply

• What is aeroponics?

  Aeroponics is a method where mist is used to give plants nutrients instead of soil.
• What is hydroponics?

  Hydroponics is a method where a water solvent mixture is used to give plants nutrients instead of soil.
• How do plants absorb nutrients in aeroponics and hydroponics?

  The roots absorb the water for the plant in both aeroponics and hydroponics.
• What type of farming system usually uses hydroponics?

  Vertical farms usually use hydroponics.
• What is a disadvantage of vertical farms and hydroponics?

  The infrastructure for vertical farms and hydroponics is generally high.
• Why must vertical farms operate on a large scale to be cost-effective?

  They are likely to have to operate on a large scale to be cost-effective due to high infrastructure costs.
• What is the lowest-hanging fruit to improve food production?

  Using irrigation and good farming techniques that avoid soil erosion.
• What could be the most effective intervention for improving food production?

  Watering plants correctly and helping farmers to do this could be the most effective intervention.
• What is irrigation?

  Irrigation is basically watering plants.
• How can irrigation increase crop growth?

  By adding water to the right parts of plants at the right time.
• How much can doubling the amount of water increase cereal production?

  It can increase cereal production from $1,000 \text{ kg/hectare}$ to $7,000 \text{ kg/hectare}$.
• What percentage of the world's farmland was irrigated in 1998?

  20% of the world's farmland was irrigated in 1998.
• What percentage of all crops did irrigated land produce in 1998?

  Irrigated land produced 40% of all crops in 1998.
• What could just irrigating land and watering crops properly achieve?

  It could massively increase food supply.
• What does biotechnology focus on?

  Biotechnology focuses on editing genes or cells.
• What does genetic modification in food production aim to achieve?

  It aims to change crops' DNA to make them more resistant to disease, more productive, more nutritious, or better tasting.
• What is an example of a GM strain of crop developed in 2018?

  A new GM potato designed to resist potato blight.
• How could the new GM potato affect chemical fungicide use?

  It could reduce the use of chemical fungicides by over 90%.
• What is Golden Rice genetically engineered to contain?

  Golden Rice is genetically engineered to contain Vitamin A.
• What was the new green revolution?

  The new green revolution happened in the 1960s and created new strains of crops with higher yields.
• What impact did genetic modification have on farm productivity?

  The productivity of farms using new crops jumped straight away.
• What changes occurred in agribusiness during the new green revolution?

  Agribusiness began to grow, with farmers using machines, growing their farm size, and using methods like crop rotation.