Problems In Africa Essay, Research Paper

Hunger is the result of disasters such as drought, floods, the

changing of the jet stream patterns and other natural disasters.

They are beyond our control. It has been estimated that one third of the land in Tropical

Africa is potentially cultivable, though only about 6% of it is

currently cultivated. However, to change farming from a low input,

low yield pattern to a high input, high yield pattern necessitates

the use of more fertilizer and the planting of high yielding

Variety of crops. There are a number of environmental factors, related mostly to

climate, soils and health, resisting easy developmental solutions.

Rainfall reliability is closely connected to rainfall quantity.

The rainfall in the equatorial heart is very plentiful and

reliable. However, there is much less rainfall towards the outer

edges of the rain belt. Periodic and unpredictable droughts are a

characteristic feature of these border zones.There are three climatic zones in Tropical Africa:a region of persistent rain at and near the Equator,

a region on each side of this of summer rain and winter

drought, and.a region at the northern and southern edges afflicted by

drought.All the climates listed in the previous paragraph are modified in the eastern parts of Tropical Africa by the mountains and

monsoons. The soils of Tropical Africa pose another problem. They are

unlike the soils of temperate areas. Soils are largely products of

their climates, and tropical soils are different from temperate

soils because the climate is different. Because of the great heat

of the tropics tends to bake the soils, while on the other hand,

the rainfall leaches them. The combined heat and moisture tend to

produce very deep soils because the surface rock is rapidly broken

down by chemical weathering. All this causes the food’s rate of

growth to slow down or maybe even stop and as a result food

production won’t even come close in catching up to the rate of

population increase; therefore starvation and hunger are present. In the process of a flood and drought, the roots of trees are

shallow and virtually no nutrients are obtained from the soil. The

vegetation survives on its own humus waste, which is plentiful. If

the vegetation is cleared, then the source of humus is removed and

the natural infertility of the soils becomes obvious. As being

another factor, this will cause the soil to produce wasteful and

useless products which in turn will decrease the production. To conclude this essay, the climates in Tropical Africa take

a big role as being factors that could endanger or destroy the

process of plantation. On the other hand, it could also bring good

fortune if climatic regions are fairly good.