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Read the passage below then answer the questions that follow AGRICULTURE’S VITAL ROLE IN MANAGING CRISES With increasing frequency and magnitude, disasters and conflicts are causing...

      

Read the passage below then answer the questions that follow
AGRICULTURE’S VITAL ROLE IN MANAGING CRISES
With increasing frequency and magnitude, disasters and conflicts are causing untold human suffering in many parts of the world. These are as diverse as Typhoon Haiyan, Ebola, civil war in Syria, to name but a few of the more recent ones.
We need more concerted efforts to end conflict, alleviate suffering, and reduce risk and vulnerability conditions facing millions of people, most of whom are poor and live in rural and marginalized areas of developing countries. This, essentially, was the aim of the World Humanitarian Summit, convened recently by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It sought to build on momentum of an extraordinary series of commitments by the international community.
The recent adoption of a sustainable development agenda to end hunger and poverty and to “leave no-one behind”, a universal climate agreement, and a new framework to reduce disaster risk and enhance resilience are important steps in the right direction. But we must go much further and radically transform how we perceive and implement humanitarian efforts. Crises are not only humanitarian emergencies. Many are also about neglect and lack of development and cannot be solved by humanitarian action alone.
In practical terms, it means moving beyond responding with short-term, relief measures and investing much more in tackling the root causes of crises. It means building resilience and strengthening the livelihoods of people in ways that not only drive recovery from war, disease, floods and other shocks, but also help to reduce the impact of these crises and, where possible, prevent them from taking place altogether.
Agriculture and rural development are key to strengthening the livelihoods of the most vulnerable, including hundreds of millions of small-scale family farmers who are responsible for producing an important share of the world’s food.
And it is they who are most at risk. The damage is there for all to see. Extreme weather events, such as those associated with El Nino, wreak havoc across wide swathes of the rural areas of the developing world, animal diseases disrupt food chains, and wars force millions to abandon their homes, fields and livestock and become migrants at a scale not seen since World War II.
The agricultural sector, which bears almost 22 per cent of the damages and losses caused by natural disasters and up to 85 per cent in case of drought, receives on average less than 4 per cent of humanitarian aid. This provides a stark measure of the widening chasm between needs and the magnitude of response. In this context it is crucial to stress that investing in livelihoods is not only the just thing to do, but it also makes sense from a cost – effectiveness point of view by helping to address the root causes of conflict, reduce the impact of future shocks, and prevent a deepening of vulnerabilities and the onset of a vicious circle. Expanding access to social protection systems is crucial to underpin resilience. In the case of natural hazards, it is four to seven times more cost-effective to invest in disaster risk reduction than to rely on emergency response. Moreover, in armed conflict and protracted crises, protecting, saving, and rebuilding agricultural livelihoods to save lives and create the conditions for longer-term resilience is a key step towards ensuring peace and stability. However, the role of the agriculture sector in crises is too often overlooked and the necessary investments are not made.
If we want to address growing humanitarian needs we need to manage crises differently. We need to acknowledge that interventions must have a long-term impact on the beneficiaries. It is the only way we can ensure that nobody is left behind.
(Source: DN 15th June 2016 page 15)

Questions
a) Why is agriculture’s role vital in crises management?
b) What is the main aim of the World Humanitarian Summit convened by the UN secretary General?

c) According to paragraph 3, what is the main cause of failure in disaster and conflict management?

d) What statistical evidence shows that agriculture has been neglected by governments?
e) In note form, how have governments failed in the management of crises?
f) Why are the agriculturalists the most vulnerable when conflict and disasters strike?
g) Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage.
i) Humanitarian
ii) vulnerable
iii) chasm
iv) resilience

  

Answers


Peter
a) Why is agriculture role vital in crisis management?
- Because the world is found with increased frequency and magnitude of disasters and conflicts which cause untold humans suffering
- Most of the disasters and conflicts victims are the poor who live in marginalized agricultural rural areas of developing countries
- Strengthens livelihood as contributes a share to the world’s food
b) What is the main aim of the world humanitarian summit convened by the UN secretary General?
- To come up with a development agenda to end hunger and poverty, make a universal agreement and from a frame work to reduce disaster and conflict risks.
c) According to paragraph 3 what is the main cause for failure in disaster and conflict management?
- How we perceive and implement humanitarian efforts as some crises are as a result of neglect and lack of development and cannot be solved by humanitarian action alone
d) What statistical evidence shows that agriculture has been neglected by governments?
- The agriculture sector which bears about 22% of the damage and losses caused by natural disaster and up to 35% in case of drought received less than 45 humanitarian supports.
e) In note form how have governments failed in the management of crises?
- By using short term measures to solve conflicts
- Overlooking the role of agriculture in disaster management
- Relying on emergency response to disaster instead of inventing in disaster risk reduction
- Failing to address the root cause of conflicts
- Negligence and lack of development in rural areas
- Government wrong perception on how to implement humanitarian efforts
- Failure to prevent recurrence of conflicts and disasters to take place
- Failure to reduce impacts for future shocks
f) Why are the agriculturalists the most vulnerable when conflict and disaster strike?
- Occupy the most neglected and underdeveloped areas of the country
- When decisions are made the agriculturalist are not involved “leave any one behind”
- They are poor / poverty
g) Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage
i) Humanitarian – assistance to human beings with the most basic of human needs e.gg. Clothes, food, shelter
ii) Vulnerable – defense / easily affected / susceptible to adhere effects
iii) Chasm – difference / rift between
iv) Resilience – strength or energy to deal with conflict, disaster without t being affected seriously
– Hardly to adhere conditions e.g. Conflicts

Musyoxx answered the question on March 1, 2018 at 18:20


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    Fair copy

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