Can agricultural productivity meet human needs in the long run ? Since twentieth century advances, given increasing costs, do not seem sustainable, further increases in output will not be achieved easily. Global population growth, while showing signs of slowing down, has pushed farmers and herders into areas unsuited to intensive agriculture, accelerating worldwide ecological disruptions. Reserves of arable land and fresh water have diminished alarmingly. Chemical runoffs have compounded pollution problems. Invasion of natural habitats have hastened species extinction. Desertification has been severe in the last hundred years, especially in North Africa, southern portions of Africa, Australia, northern Mexico, and the American Southwest. Tropical forests have shrunk by one-half since World War II, with agricultural pressures causing three-quarters of that loss. Government inter-vention has produced its share of catastrophes, ranging from a terrible famine in China between 1958-1961 that may have killed 30 million people and destroyed the Aral Sea. Taking everything into consideration, we may remain hopeful about humankind's agricultural prospects, but we can scarcely look forward optimistically at the end of the first quarter of the twenty-first century.
Analyzing Agricultural Challenges and Population Growth
The question asks to identify the factor that compels farmers to cultivate land unsuitable for agriculture. The provided passage offers insights into the challenges facing agricultural productivity and its sustainability.
Identifying the Driving Force
The passage specifically addresses the reasons behind the expansion of farming into less suitable areas. It states:
- "Global population growth, while showing signs of slowing down, has pushed farmers and herders into areas unsuited to intensive agriculture..."
This sentence clearly indicates that the increase in the world's population is the direct cause pushing farmers into environments not ideal for farming.
Evaluating the Options Provided
Let's examine each option based on the information given in the passage:
- Population growth: The passage directly mentions this as the factor responsible for pushing farmers into unsuited areas.
- Industrialisation: The passage does not cite industrialization as the reason for farmers expanding into unsuitable agricultural land.
- Water scarcity: While the passage notes that fresh water reserves have diminished, it frames population growth as the force *pushing* farmers into unsuitable areas, rather than water scarcity being that direct push factor. Diminished water is a related challenge, not the stated cause of this specific expansion.
- Desertification: The passage mentions desertification as a severe issue linked to agricultural pressures. However, it is presented more as a consequence or a concurrent problem resulting from farming practices, not the initial cause that forces farmers onto unsuitable land.
Conclusion from the Passage
Based strictly on the text, the primary driver forcing farmers and herders into locations ill-suited for farming is the pressure exerted by global population growth.
Similar Questions
- Why do twentieth century advances not seem sustainable ?
- Which one of the following is NOT true, according to the passage, for ecological degradation ?
- What is the conclusion of the author in the passage about the prospects of agriculture in the world?
- Which one of the following words means 'incursion'?
Which one of the following is NOT the reason for the difficulty in estimating the number of languages of the world?
Which one of the following is a way to establish the discovery of a new language?
Which one of the following statements is correct?
“The people may be known, but the identity of their language may not be”, means:
Which one of the following words from the passage means “come to be known”?
- What according to the passage is the 'unwelcome form of the globalization'?
1. Globalization of the diseases
2. Elusive goal of globalization
3. History of fatal diseases
4. Selective use of antibiotics
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Important Questions from Reading Comprehension
What is the meaning of ‘intrigued’?
What are ice shelves?
What are icebergs?
When the iceberg turns upside down, it appears ________.
The use of science in its simple form has helped man to ____________
