VOA标准英语2010年-Sahel Food Security Depends on Reinves

Women wait to receive baby food in southern Niger, during the launch of a UN-backed feeding operation aimed at fighting malnutrition¹ among young children, (File)

Ending the cycle of hunger in Africa's Sahelian region means reinvesting in local agriculture.  VOA reports from Niger, where another year of poor rains has left 60 percent of the population facing severe food shortages.

 At the edge of the Sahara desert, Niger has cycles of drought, locust² infestations³, and sudden floods that have caused food insecurity and malnutrition throughout the years - in the early 1970's, the mid⁴ 1980's, 2005, and today.

Rain-fed agriculture and livestock⁵ production make up nearly half the country's economy. So when rains fail and cereal production falls, few families have enough food to last between harvests.

This year, the government says more than seven million people do not have enough food. The United Nations World Food Program is targeting more than 1.5 million people for general food distribution and 500,000 children under the age of six for specialized⁶ therapeutic⁷ feeding.

But getting to the root of the problem and ending the cycle of hunger by boosting agricultural production is far more difficult than handing out rice and beans.

"When there is an emergency, usually the flow of contributions is more quick, Richard Verbeeck, head of World Food Program operations in Niger said. "The level is different.  Now if we turn to longer-term development activities, it is sad to say that the interest is going down, and the investments in longer-term activities is not the same or what should be expected.  And I must say that within the U.N. system in Niger, that is one of the strong messages that we gave to the donors⁸."

Boubacar Bello is president of Niger's national Chamber⁹ of Agriculture.  He says people are grateful for outside assistance but realize it does not make them any more food secure.

Bello says food assistance is medicine for the disease.  It does not cure the disease itself.  To truly cure the disease and have food security, he says there must be more water and planting methods better adapted to the country's climate as well as the distribution of fertilizers to small-scale farmers who account for the bulk of the country's agriculture.

Bello says each year there is less and less rain.  Niger has groundwater, but it can be 100 meters or 120 meters below the surface, and that cannot be reached by traditional methods.  Bello says there should be the teaching of more modern, organic methods of livestock production.  Medicine alone is not enough to cure the disease.  It must be attacked at the source.

Ibro Adamou, director of soil restoration at Niger's Ministry¹⁰ Against Desertification says the government is trying to use simple, appropriate technology to rehabilitate¹¹ degraded soil and enrich the top soil for cultivation¹². There are also projects to prevent the desert from encroaching on lands already being used for agriculture.

Adamou says there are also agro-forestry programs in Niger to combat desertification which help local farmers improve the fertility of their soil and boost food security by filling stockpiles of grain used to guard against shortages, while generating local revenue for people to use to carry their families over through the lean seasons.

World Food Program's Verbeeck says he has no doubt where development assistance can be best spent to stop this cycle of hunger. "Agriculture.  Agriculture, livelihoods¹³, something sustainable that can address the root problems in Niger.  And it is about time there is a coalition¹⁴ to do that," he said.

The military government that took power here in February says it is determined¹⁵ to improve agricultural production.  Towards that end, it is sending a delegation¹⁶ to Brussels next week to ask the European Union to renew $450 million of development assistance that was frozen during the previous government of President Mamdou Tandja.
 

1 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

2 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。

3 infestations   

n.（害虫、盗贼等）群袭，出没，横行( infestation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The arrival of warm weather raises the specter of disease and increased rat infestations caused by rotting garbage. 天气转暖使人们担心垃圾腐烂会引起疾病传播和鼠群猖獗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Piperazine citrate is the drug of choice in the treatment of Ascaris infestations. 枸橼酸哌嗪治疗蛔虫感染是最好的药物。 来自辞典例句

4 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

5 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

6 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

7 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

8 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

12 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

13 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。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

16 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。