Date | November 2020 | Marks available | 2 | Reference code | 20N.1.bp.11 |
Level | SL and HL | Paper | 1 | Time zone | |
Command term | Estimate | Question number | 11 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The map shows selected African countries suffering from severe food insecurity in 2017.
[Source: Courtesy Africa Center for Strategic Studies.]
Estimate the area of the country of Nigeria, in km2. Show your working.
Outline one of the main components of the food security index.
Explain two human factors that may have led to high food insecurity in countries such as those shown.
Markscheme
Award [1] for correct answer.
Award [1] for evidence of some valid working / data extraction (even if with incorrect answer).
Accept answers between 800,000 and 1,000,000.
Looking for evidence of use of scale eg: 1000 x 1000 m = 1,000,000 km2 (units not required for full marks).
Award [1] for stating a correct component and [1] for valid outlining or further understanding of what the food index is measuring.
For example: Affordability [1] measures the ability of people to purchase food [1].
The three other components are:
- access to food
- nutritional quality/diet
- safety.
In each case, award [1] for a relevant human factor and up to [2] for development/explanation/exemplification.
For example: High incidence of disease (HIV/AIDS, malaria, etc) [1] means fewer people available to work the land sufficiently [1], leading to a lack of food for their families [1].
Other possible factors include:
- poor farming techniques
- political instability
- cost of seeds/ fertilizers / foodstuffs
- corruption
- poor transport links
- poor storage
- population increases
- lack of aid due to militia etc
- inability to trade in world markets.
Examiners report
Most knew that to calculate area you had to multiply width times height. However the calculations were often incorrect, or the conversions from the scale wrong.
Most could easily name a component of the food security index however there were obviously some for whom this was a new concept.
Most concentrated on human factors, there were a few who gave physical factors. War, poverty, corruption, cash crops for export were the most frequent answers.