VOA标准英语2010年-Hunger Looms as Support for Haiti's Fa

With the planting season approaching, farmers lack funds for seeds, labor¹

Steve Baragona | Washington, DC 22 February 2010

A farmer in Vaudreuil, Haiti, works in a cornfield (File)

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UN Food and Agriculture Organization
CARE
ActionAid

With Haiti's March planting season approaching, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is warning that international support for the nation's farmers is falling short after last month's devastating² earthquake.

More than 60 percent of Haiti's annual food crop is planted in the season that begins in March, according to the FAO. To support this critical activity and help restore the island's quake-damaged food economy, the United Nations has requested member states to contribute $70 million to a special fund. But at a news conference earlier this week, FAO Director General Jacques Diouf said only a small fraction of that money has been pledged.

"At a time when Haiti is facing a major food crisis, we are alarmed by the lack of support for the agricultural sector³ component," he says. "With this level of support, the revival⁴ of the country's agricultural-base livelihoods⁵ cannot be ensured."

Rural demands

Demands on the country's agricultural base have increased sharply since mid-January because an estimated half-million people fled the ruined capital of Port-au-Prince for the countryside. Myra De Bruijn, with the charity group ActionAid, says Haitians were already having problems producing enough food before the quake.

"What is different now," says De Bruijn, "is that the population in some areas is five times more than the normal population. How can they cope with this pressure with the extra amount of people needing food?"

De Bruijn says people's immediate⁶ need for food also threatens longer-term food supplies. Hungry people will likely eat seeds they would normally plant for the next crop. And money spent buying food today means less available to buy seeds for the March planting season.

Cash for work

Sabine Wilke with the aid group CARE notes that farmers need more than just seeds. "For the harvest and for planting, they also need local labor," she says. "And since they do not have enough money to hire people, the work will simply not be done."

She says crops won't get planted and workers won't earn money, quickening the downward spiral of hunger and poverty.

CARE and the FAO are running a small cash-for-work program in the town of Leogane which is at the epicenter of the earthquake. The program will employ about 4,000 people who will clear debris⁷ from essential roads and irrigation canals, putting cash in some people's pockets while restoring essential farming infrastructure⁸.

A number of groups are working with local organizations to distribute seeds and tools to needy⁹ farmers. But the needs are tremendous in a country where more than half the people were malnourished even before the earthquake.
 

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

5 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。