VOA慢速英语--太平洋岛民在疫情期间开始园艺种植

Islands in the Pacific Ocean have few coronavirus cases. But the pandemic has caused problems by interfering¹ with supplies, causing price increases and a loss of business from foreign visitors.

Many governments have started community projects to help their citizens with food shortages. They are extending fishing seasons, expanding food gathering² training and supporting seed programs. These programs are helping³ residents to become more self-reliant.

"We initially⁴ started with 5,000 seeds and thought we would finish them in nine months' time. But there was a very big response, and we finished distributing the seeds in one week," said Vinesh Kumar, head of operation for Fiji's Agriculture Ministry⁵.

The project provides people with vegetable seeds, small trees and basic farming equipment to help them grow their own home gardens.

Elisabeta Waqa is a Fiji resident. She said she had thought about starting a garden before the global COVID-19 pandemic. But with no job, extra time at home and seeds from the ministry and friends, she finally took action.

Looking to have "zero financial investment," Waqa collected whatever containers she could find to raise plants in. Soon her land had several containers with green beans, cucumber and cabbage growing in them.

"When I started harvesting about two, three weeks later, that's when I realized: My gosh, this is a hobby people have had for so long. I thought about just how much money I could save by doing this," Waqa said.

In many Pacific island countries and territories, people have moved from traditional agricultural work to the tourism industry. As a result, island people have become used to eating processed, imported food instead of the traditional locally grown foods like yams and taro⁶.

Eriko Hibi is the director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Liaison⁷ Office in Japan. She called the change a "triple burden" of health issues: undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity⁸.

When the pandemic started, many countries closed their borders. This affected⁹ supply lines for important products, including fertilizer and food. Shortages then caused prices to rise. In Suva, Fiji, the cost of some fresh fruits and vegetables rose by up to 75 percent during the first weeks of the pandemic.

At the same time, tourism stopped. Hibi said tourism makes up to 70 percent of some countries' economies. Thousands were left unemployed¹⁰. Hibi added that not only are there fewer products available, but people can buy less with the money they have.

In Tuvalu, the government started teaching young people indigenous¹¹ food production methods, such as taro planting and sap collection from coconut¹² trees. In Fiji, the government extended the fishing season of coral trout¹³ and grouper that could be sold for income or used as food. Other governments want residents to move back to rural areas that had stronger independent food resources.

Elisabeta Waqa has started to work at her job again. But she has taught her older children how to take care of the garden and harvest vegetables while she is at work.

"Now I save money on food, know where my food is coming from and just feel more secure about having food," she said. "I don't want to go back to the way things were before."

Words in This Story

initially –adv. taking place at the beginning

distribute –v. to give out

resident –n. a person who lives in a particular place

realize –v. to understand, to become aware of something

tourism –n. the industry of providing services to people who visit a place for pleasure

burden –n. something that is difficult to deal with

deficiency –n. a lack of something that is needed

obesity –n. a state of being overweight in an unhealthy way

indigenous –adj. produced in or existing naturally in an area

sap –n. the watery juice inside a plant

1 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

7 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

8 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

9 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。

10 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

11 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

12 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

13 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。