EEM 260: WORLD FOOD, POPULATION & POVERTY- Fall 2020 (3 credits)
This part of your assignment is based on your assigned country (Benin) and products (Maize or Rice) for EEM 260 for the Fall, 2020 semester. Using the data provided, answer the following questions.
You should briefly introduce the country context, but the material is not to exceed 100 words. The 100 words should include country location, population and anything interesting you note about the country as you explore the data or search it up. (4 points)
(a) The United Nations reports the Human Development index for United Nations member states.(30 points, 5 points each)
The Human Development index
The country’s rank
Life expectancy at birth (years)
Expected years of schooling (years)
GNI per capita (PPP $)
Gender development index (find this by clicking on the (+) sign by the gender tab for your country once you get to your country from the link above)
Find the same information for the USA (6 points, 1 point each)
The Human Development index
The country’s rank
Life expectancy at birth (years)
Expected years of schooling (years)
GNI per capita (PPP $)
Gender development index
(c). Name and discuss 3 similarities and/or differences you note between Benin and the US in terms of the HDI index and or elements explored in part (a) and (b) (30 points)
If the goal of Benin was to improve human development and drawing from class discussions and the statistics above, what three things would you advise the government to focus on and why? (30 points)
a. With appropriate justification (from available data and well cited documents), what are 2 main challenges that farmers in Benin face in producing Maize OR Rice (Choose One)? You should do a search in google scholar and or a reputable source (I suggest The Economist magazine and BBC News, but you can explore other reputable sources and cite them).
(40 points)
2) b. Name and explain at least one key reason you found for each challenge. ( 60 points)
