AGRICULTURE REPORT - Locust Swarms in North Africa Ease, but

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Locust¹ Swarms² in North Africa Ease, but Mauritania Faces a Food Shortage
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, January 25, 2005

I'm Bob Doughty³ with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

The Food and Agriculture Organization says the locust situation in Northwest Africa is improving. The United Nations agency reported last week that Morocco had reduced its control operations by about fifty percent. Algeria, also invaded by desert locusts⁴, reduced its treatments by twenty percent.

The F.A.O. said locust control operations ended in Mauritania. But now that country faces a food shortage. The U.N. World Food Program says locusts invaded one hundred percent of the agricultural production area of Mauritania.

The insects have destroyed not only cereal grains but also vegetables. Not enough rain last year has made the situation worse. Grasslands⁵ for cattle have also been damaged.

The World Food Program appealed last week for thirty-one million dollars to provide food aid for Mauritania. Agency officials say four hundred thousand people are in urgent need of assistance through two thousand seven. Mauritania has a population of almost three million.

The country is estimated to need one hundred eighty-seven thousand metric tons of food to feed its population.

The worst damage is in southern Mauritania, home to one-fourth of the population. A U.N. study says sixty percent of families there will not have enough to eat in the coming year.

The locust invasions in the Sahel area of West Africa have been described as the worst in fifteen years. Aircraft have spread poisons over millions of hectares of land to kill the insects.

The Food and Agriculture Organization said last week that limited control operations continued in parts of Gambia and southern Senegal. Guinea Bissau and northwest Guinea were organizing operations to treat small groups of locusts too young to reproduce.

Locust migrations⁶ begin when young locusts leave their native territory to search for new places to mate and lay eggs.

One locust weighs only about two grams. But swarms can involve thousands of millions. One ton of locusts can eat about as much food as two thousand five hundred people. Experts say locust migrations last for several years.

The current invasions began last June. By last week, the F.A.O. had received sixty-four million dollars to assist the countries affected⁷. At least nine million dollars more is expected.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Bob Doughty.

1 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

2 swarms   

蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。
• On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。

3 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

4 locusts   

n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树

参考例句：

• a swarm of locusts 一大群蝗虫
• In no time the locusts came down and started eating everything. 很快蝗虫就飞落下来开始吃东西，什么都吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 migrations   

n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It foundered during the turmoils accompanying the Great Migrations. 它在随着民族大迁徙而出现的混乱中崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Birds also have built-in timepieces which send them off on fall and spring migrations. 鸟类也有天生的时间感应器指导它们秋春迁移。 来自互联网

7 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。