VOA新闻杂志2022--联合国：粮食短缺可能影响非洲大部分地区

UN: Grain Shortage¹ Could Affect Much of Africa

A leader of the United Nations Food and Agriculture program (FAO) said an already existing food crisis² in Africa is getting worse.

Abebe Haile-Gabriel is assistant director of the program. He said the war in Ukraine is to blame.

"We have a very grim³ outlook going forward," he said of the food supplies in some African countries. He noted⁴ that about half of the continent's 54 countries depend on Russia and Ukraine for wheat. And over 11 of the countries import fertilizer from Russia.

Even before the war in Eastern Europe started in February, food prices in Africa were rising. The FAO said the cost of food staples⁶ rose 23 percent last year. That is faster than any year of the last 10.

Many African nations depend on supplies from the World Food Program. Tomson Phiri of the WFP said the costs for the program are rising as more people need aid.

The cost of grain in North Africa is increasing because those nations import a lot from Ukraine and Russia. In other parts of Africa, people can no longer easily buy cooking oils made from soy, corn and sunflower seeds.

For Edwin Dapi of Zimbabwe, it is getting hard to feed his wife and four children.

Dapi looked for vegetable oil at a food store in Harare. The 2-liter bottle costs about $2.76. His job pays him about $50 per month.

A 2-kilogram bag of flour costs more than $1, Reuters reported.

As he looked at the prices, Dapi said "I keep hearing it's because of Ukraine but I don't know what that has to do with us."

Existing food crisis

Africa already has a food shortage, experts say, because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, military conflicts and bad growing conditions because of climate change.

Zimbabwe is one of the African nations having trouble feeding its people, along with East African countries Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan. In West Africa, military conflicts in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria have created a food crisis. The western nations are also dealing⁷ with floods and droughts.

For a short time, Kenya felt safe from rising prices because it made food deals with several countries last year. Kenya made the change when Russia increased export taxes. Kennedy Nyaga of Kenya's United Grain Miller⁸'s Association said Kenya should have enough wheat to last until September. But it already ran out of maize⁹, also called corn.

The association is asking the Kenyan government for permission to import 360,000 tons of maize without paying import taxes, or duty. The group said the price of maize went up about 60 percent since December.

Zimbabwe up close

A closer look at Zimbabwe shows the potential for a long-term food crisis, as it is not as well prepared as Kenya. Food production has gone down over the last 20 years due to changes in farm ownership, economic problems such as inflation¹⁰ and drought.

The people there are already poor, as the country's National Statistics¹¹ Agency says about half of its 15 million survive on less than $2 per day. They are struggling even more since March when the country's grain millers¹² raised prices for wheat flour and maize by 15 percent, noting increased food prices because of the war in Ukraine.

The FAO said Zimbabwe receives about 20 percent of its wheat supply from Russia and Ukraine.

While the government says there is enough maize and wheat for this year, the miller's association approved another price increase in April. The group said it is looking for more grain so there can be enough until the harvest in October.

The increase in grain and fuel prices is being passed on to regular people in Zimbabwe who see it as inflation.

During the growing season, Zimbabwe's farmers depend on fertilizer for a healthy crop. But the price of fertilizer is about 30 percent higher than last year.

The World Food Program's Maria Gallar Sanchez said if fertilizer costs remain high it will reduce production in Zimbabwe this year.

A company that sells fertilizer throughout Africa said its costs have increased between 200 and 400 percent since January 2021.

Boniface Mutize is a farmer near Harare. He said many farmers are trying to make their own fertilizer using animal waste. But it does not work as well as chemical fertilizers.

He said many small farms will not be able to grow their own food next year.

Words in This Story

grim – adj. causing feelings of sadness or worry

staple⁵ –n. an important food that is eaten widely

drought – n. extremely dry conditions affecting an area

miller – n. a person or company that makes flour from grain

1 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

2 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

3 grim   

adj.严酷的，令人害怕的，不愉快的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• I've had a grim day.我过了不愉快的一天。
• His expression was grim when he told them they had lost their jobs.当他告诉他们说他们已被解雇时，他的表情十分冷酷。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

6 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

9 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

10 inflation   

n.胀大，夸张，通货膨胀

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• The inflation of the airbed took several minutes.给空气床垫充气花了几分钟时间。

11 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

12 millers   

n.（尤指面粉厂的）厂主( miller的名词复数 )；磨房主；碾磨工；铣工

参考例句：

• Millers and bakers sought low grain prices. 磨粉厂主和面包师寻求低廉的谷物价格。 来自辞典例句
• He told me he already been acquainted with the Millers. 他跟我说他同米勒一家已经很熟。 来自互联网