VOA标准英语2010年-Global Agricultural Conference Hears C

Joe DeCapua 29 March 2010

“Rural agri-business can drive economic growth. Rural agri-businesses can provide a career opportunity for youth. And rural agri-businesses can mean a pathway out of poverty.”

The first Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development continues today in Montpellier, France. About one thousand participants are meeting to find ways of ensuring food security for a rapidly growing world population.

 

The conference, also known as GCARD, follows the twin crises of soaring food prices in poor countries and the global recession.  It aims to come up with concrete action plans to present to the G8 that would boost agricultural investment on many levels.

Action, not words

GCARD is first hearing from senior policymakers from governments, international aid agencies and others on the scale of agricultural investment needed.  Among them is Kanayo Nwanze, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, or IFAD.

“Let me say at the outset that I firmly believe that results and impact are what count.  I have said it on previous occasions and I will say it again today.  Declarations, commitments and speeches don’t feed hungry people,” he says.

He says the scale of the challenge is “significant.”

 

gcard 2010

“There are more than one billion poor and hungry people in the world today.  That’s about one in six people of today’s population compared with a marginally better one in seven 10 years ago.  Transforming the bleak¹ future of these poor women and men is no mean feat².  Indeed, volatile³ food prices, population growth, low agricultural productivity and the potentially devastating⁴ effects of climate change make it a particularly daunting⁵ challenge.”

Why agriculture suffered

The IFAD president says over the past 30 years, agricultural productivity in developing countries has been “stagnant or in decline.”  He blames it on years of under-investment.

“We all know that overseas development assistance allocated⁶ to agriculture dropped from 18 percent in 1978 to just over four percent in 2008,” he says.

 

gcard 2010
Kanqayo Nwanzi, IFAD

The amount of money spent by developing countries on agriculture during that same period also dropped sharply.  Nwanze says the decline was as much as a third in Africa and two-thirds in Asia and Latin America.  But nature plays a role as well.

“As for climate change, severe water shortages are predicted to affect between 75 and 250 million people by 2020.  And Africa, where approximately 95 percent of agriculture depends on rainfall, is particularly vulnerable,” he says.

Climate change can be reversed, in part, he says, through reforestation programs, better land management and the rehabilitation⁷ of degraded crop and pasture land.  But he says agricultural research is fundamental to meeting these challenges.

“Agricultural research can ensure that a smallholder, the fisher person, the pastoralists, the forest dweller⁸ and the herder are provided with the means to adapt to climate change.  It can ensure that poor, rural people, whose lives and livelihoods⁹, depend on the earth’s productive capacity, have the means to produce more and to produce it better,” he says.

Agricultural and rural development key to fighting poverty

Nwanze says, “GDP growth generated by agriculture has been shown to be at least twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors¹⁰.”

In recent years, more attention is being paid to the importance of smallholder farms.  IFAD estimates 500 million smallholder farms worldwide are supporting two billion people -- one third of the world’s population. 

Nwanze says with more support, smallholder farmers can increase their productivity to produce a food surplus.  He says smallholders can become big business.

“Rural agri-business can drive economic growth.  Rural agri-businesses can provide a career opportunity for youth.  And rural agri-businesses can mean a pathway out of poverty,” he says.

There has been much controversy¹¹ and opposition¹² over the use of genetically¹³ modified crops as a means of boosting productivity.  Earlier this year, in Mexico, an international conference noted¹⁴ the importance of bio-technology.  But it also recognized the potential risks to nutrition and biodiversity.

The IFAD leader says 2010 has been deemed the International Year of Biodiversity.

“So this is a timely opportunity to remind the world how agricultural biodiversity can improve productivity and nutrition, enhance livelihoods, respond to environmental challenges and deliver food security,” he says.

Last July, the G8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy, issued a statement saying, “There is an urgent need for decisive action to free humankind from hunger and poverty.  Food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture must remain a priority issue on the political agenda.” 

The Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development runs through March 31st.

 

1 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

2 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

3 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

4 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。

5 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

6 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

7 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

8 dweller   

n.居住者，住客

参考例句：

• Both city and town dweller should pay tax.城镇居民都需要纳税。
• The city dweller never experiences anxieties of this sort.城市居民从未经历过这种担忧。

9 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。

10 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

14 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。