AGRICULTURE REPORT - Tsetse Fly Threat to Agriculture

AGRICULTURE REPORT
–
June 4, 2002: Tsetse Fly Threat to Agriculture

By George Grow

(Picture -FAO)
This is the VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT.

The tsetse (TSEET-see) fly is a serious problem in many parts of Africa. Tsetse flies cause problems in an area of
almost ten-million square kilometers. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says some of this
area is fertile land that could be used for agriculture. F-A-O officials say stopping the insect would help African
farmers reclaim¹ land and increase food production.

Tsetse flies feed on the blood of humans and animals. The fly carries a parasite² that
attacks the blood and nervous system of its victims. This organism causes
trypanosomiasis (tri-PAN-oh-so-MY-ah-sis), a disease known as nagana (nah-GAHnah)
in farm animals. In humans, the disease is called sleeping sickness.

Trypanosimiasis kills eighty percent of infected victims. The disease affects an
estimated five-hundred-thousand people. It kills three-million farm animals each
year.

Thirty-seven countries in Africa are affected³ by tsetse flies. Thirty-two of these countries are among the poorest
in the world. Each year, it costs at least six-hundred-million dollars to attempts to control the disease and in direct
losses of meat and milk production.

Jorge Hendrichs is an insect control expert with the F-A-O. He says the tsetse fly keeps people poor by
preventing them from producing the food they need to survive. The tsetse fly and trypanosimiasis have slowed
the development of agriculture in Africa. One-hundred-fifty-five -million cattle are being raised in tsetse-free
areas south of the Sahara Desert. The area of land that is tsetse-free is small. It is being overused by both cattle
and people.

One method that has proved successful in fighting the tsetse is the sterile⁴ insect treatment. Male flies treated with
radiation become sterile, or unable to reproduce. The insects then are released into areas with other flies. After
mating, the eggs of the wild females do not develop.

The F-A-O says the sterile insect treatment has been used with traps and other methods to end the tsetse fly
problem on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. Mister Hendrichs says these efforts have no long-lasting side
effects on the environment.

Use of these methods may seem costly⁵, especially in some parts of Africa. Yet, Mister Hendrichs says the
question is not how much such methods cost, but how much living with the tsetse costs.

This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by George Grow.

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1 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

2 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。