Two weeks after Haiti's earthquake, the international community is beginning to focus on long-term aid for the devastated nation. International donors are meeting in Montreal, Monday. A United Nations agency is calling on international donors to focus on rebuilding Haiti's agriculture.
海地地震两个星期之后，国际社会开始集中关注如何为海地提供长期援助。国际捐助者星期一为此在蒙特利尔召开会议。联合国一个机构呼吁国际捐助者集中关注海地的农业重建问题。
Relief efforts continue in Haiti, as food aid, rescuers and medical teams still flood into the devastated island nation. But the focus is shifting to how to rebuild the impoverished country.
海地地震救灾努力继续进行，粮食援助、救援人员和医疗小组不断抵达受灾严重的海地。但是国际社会的注意力开始转向海地这个贫困国家的重建问题上面。
According to the Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development, agriculture needs to be on top of this agenda. That is the message IFAD President Kanayo Nwanze plans to take to top business leaders and politicians meeting in Davos, Switzerland, later this week.
总部设在罗马的国际农业发展基金会(International Fund for Agricultural Development)认为，需要首先解决海地的农业问题。国际农业发展基金会总裁卡纳犹·那万泽(Kanayo F. Nwanze)计划本星期晚些时候出席瑞士达沃斯世界经济论坛时，呼吁与会商界巨头和政治家们关注海地的农业问题。
"Haiti's agriculture, which sustains the majority of the population, is crucial for the long-term development of the country," he stressed. "Assistance to Haiti for long-term development will provide the opportunities for them to grow their own food, as much as possible, and not be too dependent on imported food," he said.
那万泽说：“海地大部分人口靠农业为生，农业是海地长期发展的关键。向海地提供长期的发展援助，就是要让海地人民有机会自己生产尽可能多的粮食，避免过多依赖进口粮食。”
Speaking by Internet link, Nwanze told reporters that focusing on Haiti's agricultural production is particularly critical now, as Haitians flee the quake-hit capital Port-au-Prince for the countryside.
那万泽通过网络对记者说，集中关注海地的农业生产，眼下尤其重要，因为海地人纷纷逃离受灾的首都太子港，前往乡下地区。
Nwanze says, the United States -- one of the main donor countries -- is already beginning to shift its focus to rural development.
那万泽说，主要援助国美国已经开始将关注的重点转向农业开发。
"The U.S. has certainly made it known that it is committed to both the reconstruction and long-term rehabilitation of Haiti," said Nwanze. "I believe one of those [efforts] would be assisting the Haitians, themselves, to be able to grow enough food and be able to reduce their dependency on imports," he said.
那万泽说：“美国当然已经明确表示，决心帮助海地的灾后重建与长期复苏。我相信，这包括帮助海地民众自己种植足够的粮食，减少对进口的依赖。”
But the track record has not been good. The share of foreign aid earmarked for agriculture in Haiti dropped from 18 percent in the 1980's to less than four percent in 2007. Only recently has it rebounded, after the spike in world food prices. But even before the quake, 80 percent of Haiti's food was imported.
但是对海地农业提供援助存在很多问题。在海地获得的外国援助中，农业援助所占的比例已经从1980年代的18%下降到2007年的4%以下，只是近期国际粮食价格开始上升后，这个比例才开始增加。可就在地震发生之前，海地80%的粮食依然靠进口。
Nwanze says that IFAD and two other U.N. agencies -- the World Food Program and the Food and Agricultural Organization -- will begin this week to assess the impact of Haiti's earthquake on rural areas, as a first step to a longer-term development strategy.
那万泽说，国际农业发展基金会、世界粮食计划署(World Food Program)和世界粮农组织(Food and Agricultural Organization)这三个联合国机构本星期将开始评估地震对海地农业地区造成的影响，开始制订海地的长期发展战略。 |