F.2 Food systems and the spread of disease

The question asks which option is an input to a food production system. Inputs are resources that exist before farming activity begins — they are assembled before any process (planting, weeding, harvesting, distribution) takes place.

Inputs include land, water, seeds/planting stock, labor, machinery, and fertilizers — these are the resources. Processes are the actions performed using those inputs: planting, irrigation, weeding, harvesting, and distribution.

'Transplanting cassava cuttings' is a planting process; 'moving cassava to market by cart' is a distribution process; 'hand-weeding' is a cultivation process. Only farmyard manure is a resource (organic fertilizer) assembled before any of these activities begin.

Farmyard manure is an organic fertilizer input — it is a resource added to the soil to boost productivity, not an action performed by the farmer. This matches the definition of an input in the systems framework.

The question asks for the component that qualifies as an input, not a process. We must eliminate the three options that describe actions (processes) rather than resources.

'Transplanting cassava cuttings into prepared ridges' describes the act of planting — this is a process (specifically, the planting process), not a resource. Eliminate this option.

Carrying the crop to a market is a distribution process — it is an action performed after harvesting, not a resource. Eliminate this option.

Hand-weeding is a cultivation process — it is something the farmer does during the growing season. It is not a resource assembled before farming begins. Eliminate this option.

'Farmyard manure from household goats mixed into the soil' is the only option that describes a resource (organic fertilizer) added to the system before crop growth begins, making it an input. This is the correct answer.

From the table: maize has a water footprint of 1,200 litres per kg, and pork has a water footprint of 6,000 litres per kg. We need to divide pork's footprint by maize's footprint to find the ratio.

$\text{Ratio}=\frac{6,000}{1,200}=5$

Pork requires exactly 5 times more water per kilogram than maize.

Pigs must be fed grain (such as maize) throughout their lives before slaughter. The water used to grow all that feed accumulates in the animal's total water footprint, so the feed-to-body-mass conversion inefficiency multiplies the underlying crop water footprint through the livestock system.

The calculated ratio of 5 matches the option 'approximately 5 times more water', making this the correct answer.

The question asks for the ratio of pork's water footprint to maize's water footprint. We can eliminate options by checking which ratios are inconsistent with the table values.

$\frac{6,000}{1,200}=5$, not 2.5. A ratio of 2.5 would correspond to a value of about 3,000 litres per kg, which matches neither pork nor any other item in the table. Eliminate this option.

3.5 × 1,200 = 4,200, which is close to chicken's footprint (4,300 L/kg), not pork's (6,000 L/kg). This option confuses pork with chicken data. Eliminate this option.

12 × 1,200 = 14,400, which is close to beef's footprint (15,000 L/kg), not pork's. This option applies the beef ratio rather than the pork ratio. Eliminate this option.

Only 'approximately 5 times' is consistent with the calculation $\frac{6,000}{1,200}=5$. This is the correct answer.