GCSE Revision

Sustainable food supply

Sustainable food supplies

A food supply meets people's needs today without harming the land, water or wildlife needed to grow food in the future.

  • no artificial fertilisers or pesticides, which protects soil and wildlife.
  • farming that copies natural ecosystems, mixing crops, trees and animals.
  • growing food in towns, on roofs, allotments and in community gardens, so food travels less far.
  • Sustainable fishing and meat: catching only as many fish as can be replaced, and eating less meat.
  • Seasonal food and less waste: buying food when it grows locally, and using what is bought.

Key terms

Sand dams in Makueni, Kenya

Makueni County, in south-east Kenya, is : rain falls in short rainy seasons, and rivers run dry for much of the year. Families, often women and girls, could spend hours a day fetching water.

A is a low concrete wall built across a seasonal river:

  1. In the rainy season, the river carries sand, which piles up behind the wall.
  2. Rainwater soaks into the sand and is stored between the grains.
  3. The sand protects the water from evaporation and keeps it cleaner.
  4. In the dry season, people draw water from wells or pipes in the sand.

Local self-help groups build them, with charities such as the Utooni Development Organisation.

Key terms

How sustainable are the sand dams?

By 2014, the Utooni Development Organisation had helped build more than 1,500 sand dams in Makueni and neighbouring counties, according to Japan's embassy in Kenya.

  • Water all year: families can grow vegetables in the dry season, improving their and income.
  • Time saved: people, especially women and girls, spend less time fetching water, and more at school or work.
  • Local: communities build and own them, with local materials and labour, so they are cheap and can be repaired locally.
  • Long-lasting: a well-built dam can work for many years.

Limits: they only work on rivers that carry sand, and building them takes a lot of hard work.

Judgement: a highly sustainable scheme, because it is cheap, local and works with nature.

Exam practice

Plan your own answer first, then open the model answers to see what each level looks like.

6 marks · about 6 minutes

Using an example, explain how a local scheme in an LIC or NEE can increase sustainable supplies of food.

Explain means: Give the reasons why something happens, developing each point with "because" or "so".

Link it

Use the facts from:

Level 1 (Basic)· 2/6 marks (band 1–2)
In Kenya, sand dams store water so people can grow food.

Why this level: A relevant idea, but no detail on how the scheme works or why it is sustainable. To reach Level 2: explain how the scheme works and how it increases food supply.

Level 2 (Clear)· 4/6 marks (band 3–4)
Makueni County, in Kenya, is semi-arid, and its rivers run dry. Sand dams are low concrete walls across seasonal rivers; sand builds up behind them and stores rainwater. Families can use the water to grow vegetables in the dry season, so they have more food.

Why this level: Clear explanation of how the scheme works and helps food supply. To reach Level 3: explain why it is sustainable, with evidence such as its scale, and its limits.

Level 3 (Detailed)· 6/6 marks (band 5–6)
Makueni County, in south-east Kenya, is semi-arid, with short rainy seasons and rivers that run dry for much of the year. Sand dams are low concrete walls built across seasonal rivers. Sand builds up behind them and stores rainwater, which is protected from evaporation and drawn from wells in the dry season. By 2014, more than 1,500 had been built with local self-help groups and the Utooni Development Organisation. Families can now grow vegetables in the dry season, and spend less time fetching water. The scheme is sustainable because it is cheap, uses local materials and labour, and can be repaired locally. However, it only works on rivers that carry sand.

Why this level: Detailed, accurate explanation of how the scheme works, why it is sustainable, its scale and a limit. This is Level 3.

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