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.
Understanding Agricultural Sustainability Challenges
The question asks for the reason why agricultural advancements made during the twentieth century do not appear to be sustainable, based on the provided text passage. It requires careful reading of the passage to identify the specific cause mentioned.
Analyzing Sustainability Factors from the Passage
The passage discusses the long-term viability of agricultural productivity. It notes that while advancements occurred in the twentieth century, certain factors make them difficult to sustain.
Identifying the Reason for Unsustainable Advances
The passage directly addresses the sustainability of twentieth-century advances. It states:
"Since twentieth century advances, given increasing costs, do not seem sustainable, further increases in output will not be achieved easily."
This sentence clearly indicates that the core issue making these advancements unsustainable is the rise in their associated costs. The increasing expenses make it difficult to achieve further output increases, thus rendering the approach unsustainable in the long run.
Evaluating the Provided Options
Based on the passage's statement, the most fitting reason is related to the cost:
- Option 1: They do not meet the human needs - The passage doesn't explicitly state that the advances fail to meet human needs, but rather questions their long-term viability due to other factors.
- Option 2: Due to the increased cost of agricultural production - This aligns perfectly with the passage's mention of "increasing costs" as a reason why advances "do not seem sustainable".
- Option 3: Because they are outdated for the current times - The passage does not suggest the advancements are outdated, but rather economically difficult to maintain.
- Option 4: They are useful, but intensive - While the advances might be intensive, the passage pinpoints costs, not intensity itself, as the driver of unsustainability.
Therefore, the increased cost is the specific reason highlighted in the text for the unsustainability of twentieth-century agricultural progress.
Important Questions from Reading Comprehension
Why, according to the writer can't people be motivated to use a resource prudently?
1. They feel that others may overuse the resource
2. It is possible to substitute the resource
3. Abundance of the resource availability
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
When do people use resources exhaustively?
The self-interest of people affects the use of renewable resources
People rooted in a locality
Which among the following is closest in meaning with the word 'deplete'?
