AGRICULTURE REPORT - World Food Prize

AGRICULTURE REPORT –August 27, 2002: World Food Prize

By George Grow
(Photo -World Food
Prize)
This is the VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT.

Pedro Sanchez (PAY-dro SAHN-chez) of the United States has won the World Food
Prize for this year. The prize will be presented in October at Iowa State University.
Mister¹ Sanchez will receive the award and two-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars.

The World Food Prize honors² people who have improved the quality of world food
supplies. Mister Sanchez is chairman of the United Nations Task Force on World
Hunger. The award recognizes his years of work to improve soil productivity³ in South
America, Southeast Asia and Africa. The World Food Prize Foundation⁴ says his methods
have helped feed people in the developing world while protecting the environment.

Pedro Sanchez was born in Havana, Cuba, in nineteen-forty. His father was an
agricultural expert. As a boy, Pedro observed his father’s efforts to help farmers use
fertilizers⁶ more effectively. This influenced his decision to study agricultural science in Havana.

In nineteen -fifty-eight, Mister Sanchez came to the United States and continued his studies at Cornell University
in Ithaca, New York. In the nineteen-seventies, he led North Carolina State University’s Rice Research Program
in Peru. The World Food Prize Foundation says Mister Sanchez helped Peru increase its rice production. In just
three years, Peru was producing enough rice to feed its population.Mister Sanchez found that many people in
Peru’s Amazon River area had believed their soil was useless for agriculture.

Mister Sanchez then led an effort to develop a soil management program in a huge area of unproductive land in
Brazil. His team and Brazil ’s Agricultural Research Program developed methods to make the area productive⁷. As
a result of this work, thirty-million hectares were made productive. Average crop production increased by sixty
percent.

In nineteen-ninety-one, Mister Sanchez became head of the International Center for Research in Agroforestry in
Nairobi, Kenya. There, he developed a method to improve soil with nutrients⁸ from local rock phosphate and by
planting trees on farmland.

The World Food Prize Foundation says his methods have provided⁹ natural, low-cost ways for African farmers to
fertilize⁵ their soils. These methods have increased food production for many African farmers by as much as four-
hundred percent.

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

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1 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

2 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 productivity   

n.生产力，生产率，多产

参考例句：

• Farmers are introducing in novations which increase the productivity.农民们正引进提高生产力的新方法。
• The workers try to put up productivity.工人设法提高生产率。

4 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

5 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

6 fertilizers   

肥料，化肥( fertilizer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the long-term effects of fertilizers 肥料的长远影响
• Crushed bones make one of the best fertilizers. 骨粉是最佳肥料之一。

7 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。

8 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。