2009.11.17--农业报道——旨在提升非洲食品安全的双重努力
AGRICULTURE REPORT - Two Efforts Seek to Increase Food Security in Africa
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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
这里是VOA特别英语农业报道。
For the past year, the World Food Program has operated a project to prevent hunger in twenty-one countries in Africa. In the project, the United Nations agency works with small farmers to grow more and better produce.
去年,世界食品计划运作了一个预防非洲21个国家饥饿的工程。在这个工程中,联合国组织和小农场主们进行合作以生产更多更好的(农)产品。
The World Food Program buys the produce through local cooperative associations. Then it distributes the products within the country or area. The project works mainly with women.
世界食品计划通过当地的协作单位购买这些产品。然后将产品在国内或地区内进行分配。这一计划主要由妇女参与。
Sheila Sisulu from the World Food Program says the project aims to break a cycle that keeps people hungry. The situation is when farmers have to sell their produce at low prices after harvest, when supplies are greatest. Then they have to pay high prices to buy food for themselves during the "lean season," when supplies are limited.
来自世界食品计划的Sheila Sisulu说,这一计划的主要目的是打破持续使人陷于饥饿的循环。那种情况就是,在供应充足时,农民们在丰收后不得不以低价售卖他们的产品。而后,当供应短缺时,他们不得不在歉收季节以高价去为他们自己购买食品。
But when farmers produce more food, they can sell more. And when they produce high-quality food, they can get higher prices. They can also store food for themselves, and have enough money to buy food if they need to during the lean season. Sheila Sisulu says the farmers are now starting to earn profits through the project.
不过,现在农民们生产更多的食物,就可以卖更多。并且,当他们生产出优质产品时,就能以更高价格卖出。他们也可以为自己进行储备,并且在歉收季节有足够的钱去购买他们需要的实物。Sheila Sisulu说,农民们现在正开始通过这一计划来挣钱。
The Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development help the farmers choose the best seeds and fertilizers. They also advise the farmers on the quality levels that the World Food Program requires to buy their produce.
食品和农业组织以及国际农业发展基金会帮助农民们选择最好的种子和肥料。他们还告诉农民符合世界食品计划需求的质量等级以便于去购买他们的产品。
Two other groups recently launched a separate effort to increase food security in Africa. The groups are the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and the New Partnership for Africa's Development.
另外有两个组织近期启动了一个独立的举措以增加非洲的食品安全。这两个组织是非洲绿色革命联盟和非洲发展新伙伴。
They say African governments have to increase their investment in agriculture in order to fight problems related to climate change. The groups want the governments to develop programs in seeds, soil health, policy and markets.
他们认为很多非洲政府部门应该增加他们在农业方面的投入以抗击气候变化带来的问题。这两个组织希望这些政府能够制定一些关于种子,土壤环境,政策和市场方面的计划。
Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan is the chairman of AGRA. The group's president, Namanga Ngongi, says many African governments are not meeting a target of spending ten percent of their national budgets on agriculture. But he says investment has risen from four percent of national budgets to probably five and a half percent today.
前联合国主席科菲.安南现在是非洲绿色革命联盟的主席。这一组织的主管人,Namanga Ngongi,说到,很多非洲政府都没有达到将国家预算的10%投放到农业上面这一目标。但是,他说,投入已经有所增长了,已经从国家预算的4%增长到了现在的大概5.5%。
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. Today's report was written by Jerilyn Watson, with Lisa Schlein in Geneva and Selah Hennessy in London. You can find transcripts, podcasts and archives of our reports at www.unsv.com. I'm Jim Tedder.
以上是VOA特别英语农业报道。今天的报道由Jerilyn Watson协同日内瓦的 Lisa Schlein 和伦敦的Selah Hennessy共同编写。你可以登录www.unsv.com获取关于我们报道的文本,录音和档案文件。我是Jim Tedder。