VOA慢速英语2014 印度农民改良农作物种植方式

 

India's Farmers Changing What and How They Grow 印度农民改良农作物种植方式

Scientists have long warned¹ that rising temperatures, also known² as climate change, can affect agriculture around the world. Some scientists are now teaching³ farmers about new technologies to change the way they farm. At one “climate smart” village in India, farmers are changing their farming⁴ methods to meet the problem of new weather patterns.

Harpreet Singh is a farmer in Taraori village in the northern Indian state of Haryana. He says recent years of hot, dry weather have damaged the rice and wheat crops on his 30-hectare farm.

But unlike⁵ other farmers, the weak rainy season rains this year did not worry him.

New way of growing crops

Mr. Singh has changed the way he grows rice. The old method was to grow small rice saplings and move these plants to the rice paddy. Now he plants “direct-seeded rice,” which means⁶ seeds are put directly⁷ in the paddy. This method uses much less water than the old one.

Mr. Singh smiles as he looks on his rich rice crop, and tells about another new farming method. He uses a laser⁸ light to make sure his fields are level, or flat. He says this helps him save 25 to 30 percent more water. The high-tech⁹ method helps water stay in the field longer, so it does not quickly flow away from it.

Haryana State produces a large amount of grain. The area is now home to 26 “climate smart villages.” They are all part of an effort led by a research group called Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security¹⁰ in India.

India presently¹¹ grows enough food to meet the needs of its 1.2 billion people. Yet scientists say unusual weather conditions, including floods, dry periods, and extreme¹² weather events, could be a danger to food security.

Agricultural¹³ economist¹⁴ Surabhi Mittal has been involved in the “climate smart project”. She says teaching farmers how to become strong in the face of climate change is important. She explains that farmers are not getting as much food as they used to from their crops. They cannot make good decisions because they do not know how the weather will be in the future. 

Farmers agree. In Haryana's Anjanthali village, Vinod Kumar used to grow rice and wheat using traditional methods on his farm. But in recent years, he says, there are new diseases¹⁵ attacking crops such as wheat. Even the leaders of his village do not understand these new diseases. Scientists think they are caused by temperature changes.

Mr. Kumar says the new techniques have helped protect his crops and his pay. They have even increased the food he can grow in his fields. Each year he leaves part of the crop on his fields as food for his crop next year. As a result, he does not need to buy fertilizer¹⁶ for his plants. This is better for the soil, too.

Using too much fertilizer is a common problem in India. It not only ruins soil health, but adds to greenhouse¹⁷ gases – pollution linked to climate change. For that reason, farmers are being taught to use a tool that helps them decide how much fertilizer they need to use.

Changing crops to fit soil condition

Another major effort is to persuade farmers to change what they grow. In areas where there is little water in the ground, farmers are asked to grow corn instead of rice.

In Anjanthali, 34-year-old Vikas Chaudhury says his corn crop is now ready for harvesting in 90 days instead of the 120 days it takes to grow rice. He says the change also requires less water and gives him enough time to prepare his soil for the next crop.

But many farmers do not want to change from growing rice to growing corn because they say rice is a more profitable¹⁸ crop.

M.L. Jat is a leader of the climate change project. He says that falling water levels could make it difficult to keep growing rice in paddies. He thinks that it is important for communities to work together to survive climate change in general.

Many scientists agree that change will come slowly. In the “climate smart villages” some farmers have not yet made any changes. They are waiting to see if the farmers who are using the new methods will succeed.

1 warned   

v.警告( warn的过去式和过去分词 )；提醒；告诫；预先通知

参考例句：

• Motorists have been warned to beware of icy roads. 已经提醒开车的人当心冰封的路面。
• I've warned her countless times. 我警告过她无数次了。

2 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

3 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

4 farming   

n.农事；耕作

参考例句：

• He lives by farming.他靠务农过活。
• He is farming in Africa.他在非洲经营农场。

5 unlike   

adj.不同的，不相似的；prep.不像，和...不同

参考例句：

• She's very unlike her mother.她一点也不像她母亲。
• It's unlike him to be late;he's usually on time.他不是会迟到的那种人，他通常很准时。

6 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

7 directly   

adv.直接地，径直地；马上，立即

参考例句：

• I will telephone you directly I hear the news.我一听到消息，马上打电话给你。
• She answered me very directly and openly.她非常坦率地、开门见山地答复了我。

8 laser   

n.激光

参考例句：

• We keep a laser record.我们保存激光唱片。
• Laser beams are also used in surgery.激光束还可用于外科手术。

9 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

10 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

11 presently   

adv.不久，一会儿；现在，目前

参考例句：

• I'll go to see your uncle presently.我一会儿就去看望你叔叔。
• He is presently living in New York.他目前住在纽约。

12 extreme   

adj.末端的，尽头的；极度的，极端的；n.极度，最大程度

参考例句：

• She lived on the extreme edge of the forest.她住在森林的最边缘。
• His views are rather extreme.他的见解相当偏激。

13 agricultural   

adj.农业的；农艺的

参考例句：

• He was trained for gardening at the Agricultural College.他在农业大学学园艺。
• France once was an agricultural country.法国曾是个农业国。

14 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

15 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

16 fertilizer   

n.肥料，化肥

参考例句：

• Fertilizer enriches the soil.肥料使土壤肥沃。
• Get some more fertilizer for the garden.给花园再多施些肥料。

17 greenhouse   

n.花房，温室，玻璃暖房

参考例句：

• Behind the green house was a greenhouse.在那所绿房子后面是一个花房。
• The tomatoes were grown in the greenhouse.这些西红柿是在温室栽培的。

18 profitable   

adj.有益的，能带来利益的，有利可图的

参考例句：

• That business became profitable last year.那项生意去年变得很赚钱。
• The convention business is very profitable for the hotel industry.承办会议业务能给旅馆业带来很高的利润。