Challenges Affecting Agriculture (cont’d)

1. Environmental issues
 Environmental degradation-refers to the environment being damaged
in some way.

 Pollution: atmospheric pollution, water pollution, land pollution

 Global warming: the earth is surrounded by the atmosphere, which is

a blanket of air made up of many gases. Two of these gases, carbon
dioxide and methane, are called greenhouses gases. Carbon dioxide
and methane in the atmosphere act rather like a greenhouse,
producing what is known as the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect and Global warming

Global warming can produce these effects:

 A rise in sea level, causing loss of coastal land areas and affecting
agriculture, fishing and community life
 Increased temperatures, which help some crops to grow but prevent
optimum growth in other crops
 More frequent droughts, affecting water availability for both
domestic and agricultural use
 More powerful storms, hurricanes, which can ruin crops and livestock
and destroy habitats and biodiversity
 Coral reef destruction
 Deforestation
 Natural disasters/natural hazards: such as tropical storms, hurricanes,
flooding, heavy rainfall, tidal waves, droughts, volcanic eruption,
earthquake

2. Food safety- refers to routines in the preparation, handling

and storage of food meant to prevent foodborne illness and injury.

3. Availability of labour: these are affected by certain factors:

 Movement away from rural areas

 Ageing farming population
 Limited participation of youth