Countries Should Produce Enough Food For Their Own Population And Import As Little As Possible
Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Band 9 IELTS essay sample
Some people insist that every nation should grow enough food for their people and limit the amount of food they import. I agree with this view to a great extent.
There are several benefits to being self sufficient in food production. First, when a nation produces enough food for its people, they are insulated from massive fluctuations in price. A lot of factors affect the price of imported food. If enough food is produced domestically, governments have better control over the prices and thus they can ensure that every segment of the population has access to food. For example, the Russia- Ukraine war seriously affected the production of wheat. Consequently, wheat prices rose significantly in Europe which mainly depends on wheat imports from Ukraine. At the same time, nations like India that produce enough wheat domestically were not affected by this price hike. Locally grown food also tends to be healthier. Since it does not have to travel thousands of miles to reach the end-user, these foods are less likely to contain high levels of preservatives. Local cultivation of food is beneficial for the environment too because it eliminates the need to transport food over long distances.
However, sometimes local cultivation is not possible. Some countries, for instance, do not have good soil or adequate water resources for cultivating food. These countries have to depend on imports. There are also some foods that can only be grown in certain climates. For example, apples grow in countries with cold winters. If they are not imported, people living in the tropics cannot eat them. Sometimes, importing is essential to control prices in the domestic market. For example, sometimes certain food items are cheaper in the international market than in the local market. In this case, by simply importing these cheap foods, the government can control its price in the domestic market too.
In short, locally produced food is healthier and cheaper. Domestic cultivation of foods is beneficial for the environment too. Hence, I believe that nations should strive to produce enough food for their people. However, sometimes, importing is essential to ensure availability and affordability.
