EJC H2 ECONS P1 QP

© EJC 2018 9757/01 [Turn over EUNOIA JUNIOR COLLEGE JC2 Preliminary Examination 2018 General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Higher 2 Economics Paper 1 Case Studies 9757/01 11 September 2018 2 hours 15 minutes Additional Materials: Answer Paper READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name, civics group and question number on the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. Begin your answer to each question on a fresh sheet of paper. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid. Answer all questions. At the end of the examination, fasten your answers to Question 1 and Question 2 separately. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. Please note that Paper 1 takes up 40% of the total score. This document consists of 7 printed pages and 1 blank page

© EJC 2018 9757/01 [Turn over Question 1: Prosperous Phosphorous Table 1: World and regional growth in fertiliser demand, 2014 to 2018 Region Nitrogen Phosphate World 1.4% 2.2% Africa 3.2% 2.7% Americas 1.6% 2.4% Asia 1.3% 2.2% Europe 1.1% 1.1% Oceania 1.2% 1.2% Source: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, accessed 14.08.18 Extract 1: The essential element The term phosphate rock is used to denote any rock with high phosphorus content. Some phosphate rock is used to make calcium phosphate nutritional supplements for animals. Pure phosphorus is used to make chemicals for use in industry. The most important use of phosphate rock, though, is in the production of phosphate fertilisers for agriculture. Virtually all common fertilisers comprise nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, NPK for short. Without phosphorus, we cannot produce food. As an essential nutrient in fertilisers for food production, phosphorus has no substitute. Phosphorus ensures soil fertility and high crop yields, supports farmer livelihoods and ultimately food security of the global population. Yet the world’s farmers depend on phosphorus sourced from finite phosphate rock, wh ich is becoming more scarce, expensive and is concentrated in only a few countries: Morocco alone controls three-quarters of the world’s remaining high-quality phosphate reserves. At the same time, inefficient use of phosphorus throughout the food systems is polluting our rivers and oceans causing toxic algal blooms. Adapted from Minerals Education Coalition & Phosphorus Futures, accessed 20.06.18 Extract 2: What’s shaping the future of phosphorus? Numerous global trends have caused the demand for phosphorus to increase at an unsustainable rate. Especially in developing regions, rapid population growth has led to increased phosphorus demand, with the rate of NPK fertiliser increasing by over 600 percent from 1950 to 2000. In developed regions, on the other hand, the shift towards a diet of meat and cheese has also increased phosphorus demand, since meat and dairy contain a significant proportion of phosphorus. As a result, countries everywhere face rising demands for phosphorus, which has led to precarious markets. In 2008, the price of phosphate fertiliser almost doubled because of increased demand for fertiliser (due to more meat consumption) and biofuels, and a short-term lack of availability of phosphate rock. The U.S., which has 25 years of phosphate rock reserves left, imports a substantial amount of phosphate rock from Morocco, which controls up to 85 percent of the remaining phosphate rock reserves. Despite the prevalence of phosphorus on earth, only a small percentage of it can be mined because of physical, economic, energy or legal constraints. Fellow associate at McGill School of Environment, Dr Elena Bennett is concerned that major phosphorus-producing countries could drive up its price if they wanted to.

3 © EJC 2018 9757/01 [Turn over "One thing that worries me is the concentration of phosphorus in just a handful of countries,” says Bennett. "OPEC has many more countries than those that currently produce the majority of phosphorus, and yet effectively controls the price of oil worldwide.” "If these suppliers decided to form an “OPEC for phosphorus”, they could significantly and suddenly increase the price of food." Adapted from Mining Technology 2016 and Earth Institute 2016, accessed 24.06.18 Extract 3: Morocco’s Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP) to build $230 million fertiliser plant in India Morocco’s national phosphate company and the Indian firm Kribhco announced the construction of a new $230 million fertiliser plant in Andhra Pradesh. The 50/50 venture will be located in the city of Krishnapatnam and have the capacity to process up to 1.2 million tons of NPK fertiliser. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been encouraging the “Made in India” movement, pushing for new employment opportunities in the manufacturing sector, since he came to power in 2014. The fertiliser sector is one of 25 identified by the Modi administration as exhibiting high potential for profitable growth in India. “OCP has always been, and remains fully committed to contribute to India’s agricultural development,” Chairman Mostafa Terrab said in a statement announcing the venture. “As one of the major cooperatives in India, Kribhco is an excellent partner to develop a farmer-oriented agricultural input joint-venture. This partnership is designed to be truly a win-win project for all the stakeholders involved but foremost for India’s agriculture and particularly for Indian farmers.” Adapted from Morocco World News, accessed 24.06.18 Extract 4: The shortage of phosphorous resource One area that should be prioritised in reducing phosphorus is the smarter use of fertiliser. In most cases, farmers are unaware of how much fertiliser they need. For good reason - the amount of fertiliser a farmer may need is highly dependent on environmental conditions such as soil, temperature, and weather patterns. As a result, many farmers in developing countries are not able to accurately gauge their fertiliser requirements, leading to much waste. Thus, a valuable resource is wasted and becomes an environmental risk to water supplies, just because some people were never educated. To combat this lack of information, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation is putting together a task force to work together with local and state governments. It hopes to provide accessible information to farmers, emphasising ideals of conservation and long-term sustainability of phosphorus. This task force is not unprecedented and draws inspiration from past successful initiatives. The University of Wisconsin, in concert with the Wisconsin government, put together a program called the Wisconsin Phosphorus Index, which helps farmers accurately predict how much phosphorus that they will need. By promoting past sustainable practices t hat have a track record of success, organisations like the United Nations will hopefully be able to increase awareness amongst local communities. Another area that can be examined to increase phosphorus supply is recycling waste. In the past, farmers were able to sustain the quality of their soil largely through household waste. Even though animal manure is still widely used, human waste is also a valuable source of phosphorus. Instead of disposing of it as sewage, human waste has potent ial as an alternative fertiliser. Moreover, many countries across the world are undergoing intensive re search to find innovative ways to efficiently recycle waste. It is important that the international scientific community communicates their findings to one another to promote the best long-term phosphorus recycling methods. Additionally, areas that might not be able to afford such advanced levels of technology need to receive assista