Farming around the world, and where food comes from

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The world's irrigated land by region, 2023

   Region	Share of the world's irrigated land
   Asia	71%
   the Americas	16%
   Europe	8%
   Africa and Oceania together	5%

   Note: FAO figures. Land equipped for irrigation reached 355 million hectares in 2023, up from 289 million in 2000; that is 23% of the world's cropland. On average, irrigated land yields 76% more than rain-fed land. Farming takes about 69% of the fresh water people withdraw. Subsistence farming grows crops on small holdings mainly for the family's own needs; commercial farming grows crops mainly for sale.

2. 1.

   Asia holds 71% of the world's irrigated land. What does Ari learn from that share?

   • About 71% of Asia's farmland is irrigated, because 71% is the share the chart gives for Asia
   • Asia has most of the world's irrigated land; the share cannot show how much of Asia's farmland is irrigated
   • Asia has more farmland than any other region, which is the reason its irrigated share is the largest in the world
   • Asia grows 71% of the world's crops, because irrigated land is where the world's crops grow
3. 2.

   Bo says Asia, with 71%, has over four times the irrigated land of the Americas, with 16%. Is that supported?

   • Yes: both shares are parts of the same world total, so 71% is more than four times 16%
   • No: a share is a percent, so just two counts of hectares can be compared this way
   • Yes, and so Asia irrigates over four times the share of its own cropland that the Americas do
   • Yes, and so Asia must also grow over four times as much food as the Americas do
4. 3.

   The last row reads "Africa and Oceania together, 5%". What is the fairest reading of that row for Esme?

   • Africa alone has the 5%, because Africa is the larger of the two regions on a map
   • The 5% covers both together, so each of the two has less than 5% of the world's irrigated land
   • Each of the two regions has 5%, so together they hold 10% of the world's irrigated land
   • Africa has more than 5% and Oceania less, since Africa has far more farmland than Oceania has in total
5. 4.

   Irrigated land grew from 289 million hectares in 2000 to 355 million in 2023. Jun wants a yearly average gain. Which is right, and what does it hide?

   • About 15 million hectares a year, the 2023 total shared out across the 23 years
   • About 3 million hectares a year; an average hides whether the gain came evenly from year to year
   • About 66 million hectares a year, the gap between the two totals, which holds for each year
   • About 3 million hectares a year, so the gain must have been the same size in each of the 23 years
6. 5.

   Irrigated land is 23% of the world's cropland. What does that tell Kira about the other 77%?

   • It yields 76% more than irrigated land, because rain-fed fields get water from the sky
   • It is unused, since cropland that is not irrigated cannot be farmed
   • It is 77% of the irrigated land, because the 23% leaves the rest of the 355 million hectares
   • It is not equipped for irrigation, so its crops depend on rain
7. 6.

   A company grows wheat on 3,000 irrigated hectares and sells all of it to mills. How should Noah classify this farm?

   • Subsistence farming, because irrigated fields are small holdings run for the family
   • Neither kind, since large irrigated farms run by companies form a third type of farming
   • Subsistence farming, because wheat is a food crop and irrigated land feeds the local people nearby
   • Commercial farming; the wheat is grown mainly for sale, and irrigation does not change that
8. 7.

   A coffee farmer sells the whole harvest to an exporter and buys the family's food at a market. What does this case show Pia?

   • It is subsistence farming, because a hill farm with one crop is a small holding
   • It is neither kind, since commercial farming needs irrigated land and a coffee farm may not have it
   • It is subsistence farming, because the family still eats food bought with the crop's income
   • It is commercial farming: the crop is grown for sale, and the family does not grow its own food
9. 8.

   Irrigated land yields 76% more per hectare, and farming takes about 69% of the fresh water people withdraw. What trade-off does Ren describe?

   • Irrigation raises yields per hectare, but it takes most of the fresh water that people withdraw
   • Irrigated land is 69% of cropland, because farming takes 69% of the fresh water
   • Irrigation raises yields, and that is the whole picture for farms, so its water use does not matter
   • Irrigation saves water, because its higher yields mean fewer hectares are needed
10. 9.

    Asia has 71% of the world's irrigated land. Which prediction about Asia's use of withdrawn fresh water does Tala find best supported?

    • It is small, because irrigated land in Asia yields more per hectare than land elsewhere
    • It is probably large, since farming takes most withdrawn water and Asia has most irrigated land
    • It is exactly 71%, because a region's water use follows its share of irrigated land
    • It is about the same as Europe's, since regions irrigate by much the same methods in the world today
11. 10.

    Zee wants to estimate the extra crop 66 million newly irrigated hectares might add. Which pair of facts from the chart's note is needed?

    • The 23% of cropland that is irrigated and the 69% of withdrawn fresh water that farming takes worldwide
    • The 289 million hectares in 2000 and the 69% of fresh water taken by farming
    • Asia's 71% of irrigated land and the 355 million hectares of irrigated land in total
    • The 66 million added hectares and the 76% higher yield of irrigated land over rain-fed land