Who this is for: Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) students who cannot explain how humans increase food production, confuse the benefits and drawbacks of pesticides, or forget the role of selective breeding in farming.
What query it owns: how to understand and revise food supply in Cambridge IGCSE Biology.
Why this is safe: this page owns the food-supply revision-guide angle, while Tutopiya’s Food Supply subtopic page owns the learning resource and the free Food Supply quiz owns the practice.

Humans use intensive farming, fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and selective breeding to increase food yield for a growing population. Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) tests whether you can describe each method, state advantages and disadvantages, and evaluate the environmental impact. This guide covers the syllabus definitions, compare questions, and the question types that appear every year.

Key takeaways

• Intensive farming maximises yield per unit area — more animals/plants in less space.
• Fertilisers add minerals (especially nitrates) to soil → increased plant growth.
• Pesticides kill pests; herbicides kill weeds — both can harm non-target species.
• Selective breeding chooses organisms with desired traits for breeding.
• Modern methods must be balanced against environmental damage and eutrophication.

What is food supply in Cambridge IGCSE Biology?

Food supply covers the ways humans increase agricultural and livestock production to feed a growing world population. Methods include using fertilisers to replace soil minerals, pesticides to reduce crop damage, and selective breeding to improve yield, disease resistance and growth rate. You can read the full explanation, worked examples and notes on Tutopiya’s Food Supply subtopic page before you attempt questions.

The core ideas you must master

Idea	What it means	How the exam uses it
Intensive farming	High yield per area; confined conditions	”Describe intensive farming”
Fertiliser	Adds nitrates/phosphates to soil	”Explain how fertilisers increase yield”
Pesticide	Chemical that kills pests	”State advantages and disadvantages”
Selective breeding	Breeding best individuals for desired traits	”Describe selective breeding in cattle”
Eutrophication	Excess nitrates → algal bloom → oxygen depletion	”Explain effect of fertiliser run-off”

Methods to increase food production — summary

Method	How it works	Advantage	Disadvantage
Fertilisers	Replace minerals in soil	Faster plant growth; higher yield	Run-off causes eutrophication
Pesticides	Kill insect pests	Protects crops; less disease	May kill beneficial insects; bioaccumulation
Herbicides	Kill competing weeds	More resources for crop	May harm other plants
Selective breeding	Breed best yield/disease-resistant stock	Improved traits over generations	Slow; reduces genetic variation
Intensive farming	High stocking density; controlled conditions	More food per hectare	Disease spread; animal welfare concerns

Food supply in past-paper wording: command words that matter

Command word / phrase	What the question wants	Typical food-supply stem
Describe	What the method involves	”Describe how selective breeding is used in farming.”
Explain	Cause and effect	”Explain how fertilisers increase crop yield.”
State	Short factual answer	”State one disadvantage of pesticides.”
Suggest	Apply to scenario	”Suggest why a farmer uses herbicides.”
Discuss	Advantages and disadvantages	”Discuss the use of pesticides in agriculture.”

Worked exam-style stems (how to answer the wording)

1. “Explain how the use of fertilisers can lead to eutrophication in a lake.” Fertiliser run-off → excess nitrates in water → algal bloom → algae block light → submerged plants die → decomposers multiply → oxygen used up → fish die. Mark-scheme reward: linked chain from fertiliser to oxygen depletion.
2. “Describe selective breeding in dairy cattle.” Select cows with highest milk yield → breed them together → repeat over generations → offspring have higher yield. Reward: selection criterion + breeding + repetition.
3. “State two advantages and two disadvantages of using pesticides.” Advantages: increased crop yield; reduced disease. Disadvantages: kills beneficial insects; bioaccumulation in food chains. Reward: balanced answer.

When you can recognise the wording instantly, work the Food Supply quiz and link to Pollution for eutrophication context.

How food supply connects to the rest of the syllabus

Food supply links to Nutrient Cycles (nitrogen in fertilisers), Selection (selective breeding) and Pollution (eutrophication). The Cambridge IGCSE Biology resource hub links every Human Influences on Ecosystems subtopic.

Common mistakes students make

• Describing pesticides without mentioning non-target species or bioaccumulation.
• Confusing selective breeding with genetic modification (GM is beyond core syllabus scope in many contexts).
• Explaining eutrophication without the oxygen depletion step.
• Giving only advantages when asked to discuss (need disadvantages too).
• Forgetting legumes and nitrogen-fixing bacteria as a natural alternative to fertilisers.

When you need more support

If food-supply evaluate questions keep costing marks — especially eutrophication chains — work through the Food Supply quiz and Pollution notes, then get focused help from a Cambridge IGCSE Biology tutor.

Frequently asked questions

Is food supply hard in Cambridge IGCSE Biology? The methods are straightforward, but marks are lost on incomplete eutrophication chains and unbalanced discuss answers.

What is the difference between pesticides and herbicides? Pesticides kill animal pests (insects); herbicides kill unwanted plants (weeds).

How does selective breeding increase food production? Farmers breed organisms with desirable traits (high yield, fast growth, disease resistance) over many generations.

How do I revise food supply effectively? Learn each method with advantages and disadvantages, practise eutrophication explain chains, then take the Food Supply quiz.

Ready to master Cambridge IGCSE Biology food supply?

Start with the Food Supply subtopic page, then book a free trial with a Cambridge IGCSE Biology specialist to turn food-production questions into guaranteed marks.

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