2022 대구외고 1학년 2학기 중간시험 대비 (3)

4. 다음 글의 내용을 한 문장으로 요약하고자 한다. 빈칸 (A), (B)에 들어갈 말로 가장 적절한 것은?

What the FAO identifies is the combined effect of rising prices along with rising input costs. That includes the cost of energy to run farms, process food and transport it. At least as significant is the cost of fertilizer. The global market for nitrogen-based fertilizer has been dominated by Russia. The FAO highlights Russia’s choice to put limits on exports, so prices surged. Energy and fertilizer were the main drivers behind a 58% increase in the cost of internationally traded inputs to farming during last year – a rise on some very low energy prices in the first year of the pandemic. The FAO reports that import bill has risen a further 21% this year, to $348bn. In normal circumstances, a rise in price would be an incentive to farmers around the world to plant more, investing in higher yields, and the next harvest could be expected to bring down prices, as supply rebalances with demand. But the FAO report focuses attention on the real value of agricultural output to farmers around the world as they find their input costs rising. That gives them no incentive to plant more and re-balance the supply shortages that have driven up prices. Simple farm economics tells them to use less fertilizer, so their next crop will have a lower yield. Or they shift from crops that need a lot of fertilizer to those that need less. That explains why many US farms are switching from maize to soybeans.