Some people suggest that a country should try to produce all the food for its population and import as little food as possible. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Some individuals are of the opinion that a

country

should try to avoid importing its

food

but

instead

produce sufficiently to support its population. There are several factors that dictate whether a particular

food

product can be produced domestically or imported. In my opinion, if the factors are in favour of producing internally in one's own

country

then

that should be opted for. A group of people prefer to produce crops in their own

country

instead

of buying from other nations. The primary reason for

this

is to be self-sufficient. No

country

prefers to be at the goodwill of another.

While

importing an essential commodity from another

country

, we may fall prey to unfavourable trade rules.

For example

, Singapore realised that it was heavily dependent on Malaysia for its water supply, the most basic commodity for human survival. There were several instances in history where Malaysia threatened to restrict the water supply. In order to become self-reliant Singapore devised a system to recycle its wastewater and is now able to produce ninety per cent of its water requirement. Another group of people are willing to import

food

where necessary.

This

is particularly true for

countries

with harsh weather which might not favour the growth of most crops. Another reason can be the non-availability of land area for producing

the

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food

items. In these situations trying

to

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in-house production can prove to be more expensive and unsustainable.

Hence

in

the

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light of

such

limiting factors, the

countries

may prefer to import goods at a cheaper price from neighbouring

countries

.

For instance

, some

countries

in Asia, with a shortage of land-area to harvest rice, import it from Thailand at an affordable price.

To conclude

, importing comes with challenges of volatile supply subject to the importing

country

's discretion.

For

this

reason, if the land area and weather conditions support the production of

food

then

producing domestically is the preferred choice for any nation. In the event that producing is not viable, the

country

may resort to importing.