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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Gilbert Da Costa
Abuja
11 June 2006
An elderly woman carries part of the food ration1 she received from the World Food Program in the drought-stricken southern Somali town of Wajid (file)
African leaders, farmers and international agriculture experts are meeting in Nigeria to come up with solutions to soil degradation2 and food shortages on the world's poorest continent.
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The so-called African fertilizer summit hopes to adopt strategies that could boost food production on the continent.
Some 200 million people in Africa are said to suffer from hunger, partly due to low soil fertility.
Experts say increased use of fertilizer is very important to achieving the green revolution Africa desperately3 needs.
"Clearly, African farmers need to replenish4 the soil nutrients5. That means using chemical fertilizer and organic methods, both," said Jeffrey Sachs, a professor of sustainable development at Columbia University in New York. "This is critical, because we know that when farmers can use these better inputs6, their food outputs can be doubled or tripled, or even quadrupled in some cases. Africa is a hungry continent, in part, because the soils are depleted7 of nutrients."
Farmers in Africa use an average of eight kilograms of fertilizer per hectare yearly, as opposed to between 100- and 200-kilograms in other regions.
Average farm yields have continue to decline, leading to hunger and malnutrition8.
Professor Sachs says rich countries have a responsibility to help Africa reverse the trend.
"The key, however, is not only what to do, but how to get it done, because Africa's poor farmers are too poor to buy the chemical and organic soil nutrients that they need," he added. "So, the rich world, instead of shipping9 food aid, should be helping10 small-holder African farmers get the inputs of fertilizer, improved seeds and organic methods, so that the farmers can grow more food on their own, and feed the African continent."
More than 500 delegates, including donor11 agencies, African agriculture ministers, farmers and international agriculture experts are attending technical sessions that opened in Abuja on Saturday.
Several African leaders and heads of international development agencies are expected in the Nigerian capital on Tuesday to endorse a framework for agricultural growth, food security and rural development
1 ration | |
n.定量(pl.)给养,口粮;vt.定量供应 | |
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2 degradation | |
n.降级;低落;退化;陵削;降解;衰变 | |
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3 desperately | |
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地 | |
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4 replenish | |
vt.补充;(把…)装满;(再)填满 | |
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5 nutrients | |
n.(食品或化学品)营养物,营养品( nutrient的名词复数 ) | |
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6 inputs | |
n.输入( input的名词复数 );投入;输入端;输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 ) | |
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7 depleted | |
adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词 | |
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8 malnutrition | |
n.营养不良 | |
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9 shipping | |
n.船运(发货,运输,乘船) | |
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10 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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11 donor | |
n.捐献者;赠送人;(组织、器官等的)供体 | |
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