Systems Approach (SL IB Geography)

• The systems approach looks at all components, relationships and feedback effects within a process
• The approach is useful for showing whether the impacts in one area of the system have consequences on another 
• Food production is a system:
  • Inputs - things that enter the system
    • Human inputs like labour, money, and technology
    • Physical inputs like land, soil, seeds and water 
  • Transfers/processes/stores - the operations that occur during food production, turning inputs into outputs
    • Weeding, ploughing, sowing, milking, rearing, shearing etc.
    • Decision-making by states and farmers 
    • Changes and patterns in land use
  • Outputs - the products (the end of the system)
    • Positive outputs - crops, milk, eggs, animal fodder, profits/wealth
    • Negative outputs - waste, air/water/land pollution, soil erosion 

• The system may also have feedback effects:
• Positive feedback - imbalanced equilibrium with stagnation, decline or complete loss of the system
• Natural disasters may also impact positive feedback
• Negative feedback - return to equilibrium with increased reinvestment and innovation

The systems approach to food production

• Food systems can be intensive or extensive
  • Intensive systems: 
    • Capital intensive - high capital and low labour inputs 
    • Labour intensive - low capital and high labour inputs 
    • Profit oriented 
    • The land is relatively small
    • Output is high
  • Extensive systems:
    • Small labour and capital inputs
    • Rely on natural characteristics e.g. rainfall and soil quality
    • The land is larger
    • Fewer agricultural technologies 
    • Output is low
    • Subsistence oriented 

Advantages of the systems approach 

• The systems approach can compare energy efficiency and the water footprint within food production systems
• There are many different types of farms/food production systems
• Each food production system will have different energy efficiency and water footprints 

Types of food production systems 

Energy efficiency

• Modern food systems require man-made technologies and resources to function 
  • These may need large energy inputs to operate 
• The Energy Efficiency Ratio measures the energy efficiency of a system 
• It is calculated by:
  • Total outputs ÷ total inputs
• Inputs can be:
  • Direct e.g. fuel, labour, machinery, planting
  • Indirect e.g. irrigation, electricity, fertilisers and pesticides

Energy inputs and outputs in a food production system 

• Energy efficiency can be affected by:
  • Climate 
    • Warmer climates are more efficient. Crops will need fewer energy resources (they can use the sun)
    • Wetter climates are more efficient as they need less irrigation
  • Soil type 
    • Some soils are not fertile and require more fertilisers 
  • Crop type
    • Certain crop types need more energy 
  • Topography 
    • Flatter topographies use less energy as there is lower water/nutrient runoff
  • Farming type 
    • Certain farming types may be less energy-efficient than others 
  • Use of technology
    • Greenhouses use more energy than cultivating open land
• The energy efficiency ratio is useful for showing the efficiency of different food production systems
• However, it ignores energy use in other areas of production e.g. packaging, processing, distribution and consumer preparation before consumption

Water footprint 

• All food systems require embedded water to operate
• Agriculture uses roughly 85% of global water consumption 
• The water footprint can be calculated by summing up all the water used in the system
• It includes the consumption and pollution of freshwater (inputs and outputs)
• Water is separated into 3 categories: 
  • Green - water from rainfall that is evaporated, transpired or stored in the soil or used by crops
  • Blue - water from surface/groundwater sources that evaporates, is used for a product or is returned to another source e.g. for irrigation 
  • Grey - sources of water pollution into freshwater through pipes or from indirect leaching/runoff 
• Factors affecting the water footprint include: 
  • Climate
    • Wetter climates require less irrigation 
  • Topography
    • Fewer pollutants from runoff on flatter land
  • Type of food production system
    • Meat production requires more water than vegetable growth 
    • Pastoral farming has a higher water footprint than arable farming
    • Certain crops may need more fertiliser or pesticides (this may cause more pollution)
• The water footprint is useful for showing the sustainability of different food production methods 
• It can be used to assess and produce more sustainable methods of water use

Litres of water needed to produce food products

• Food production is negatively affecting our environment
  • Agrochemicals cause pollution of land and water
  • Farming contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, e.g. methane
  • Deforestation and wetland clearing damages ecosystems and habitats
• Sustainable agriculture is a method of food production, which will sustain current and future generations, without damaging the environment 
• It maintains agricultural productivity, reduces environmental damage and maintains resources for the future 
• The systems approach is useful for showing the relative sustainability of food production in different areas and each part of the system 
• Many ‘sustainable’ solutions focus on parts of systems, instead of the system as a whole
  • Agricultural policies are in place to support farmers in adopting environmentally friendly techniques 
  • These mainly focus on protecting biodiversity, whilst ignoring issues like pollution, soil degradation and lower yields 
  • This means the whole system isn’t taken into account
•  Using a systems approach means that sustainable solutions can benefit all parts of the system
  • This means considering the economy and the environment in inputs, processes and outputs