Tropical Africa: Food Production And The Inquiry Model Essay, Research Paper

Tropical Africa: Food Production and the Inquiry Model

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 varieties 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: 1.a region of persistent rain

at and near the Equator 2.a region on each side of this of summer rain and

winter drought, and 3.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

is 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.