VOA标准英语2010年-Mobile Phones Help Farmers Feed Their

Researchers in the Philippines will soon use mobile phones to help farmers use just the right amount of fertilizer, maximizing their harvests, saving them money and protecting the environment.

It's a novel way to deliver important information to remote farmers who don't otherwise have access to expert advice.

For farmers looking to get the most out of their fields, fertilizer is an essential but expensive ingredient.

"Fertilizers represent about 20 percent of the input¹ costs in rice production for farmers," says soil scientist Roland Buresh at the International Rice Research Institute. "So it's really quite important."

Getting it just right

Buresh has spent years researching optimal² fertilizer conditions. Too little means lower yields and lower profits. Too much wastes money and causes pollution. But because every farmer's field is different, figuring out exactly how much to use is complicated.

VOA - S. Baragona
What farmers do with rice straw after harvest -- burn it or return it to the field -- affects how much fertilizer to use.

Buresh and his colleagues have come up with a set of key questions that will help farmers make that decision.

"The unique thing about some of these decision tools is really how simple they are," he says. "The questions we're asking are really readily answerable."

Dial 'M' for manure³

And to make it even simpler, farmers will soon be able to answer those questions using their mobile phones.

When the program launches in the Philippines in a few weeks, a farmer can call a toll-free number and hear a recording⁴ in his or her language that will ask questions about the size of the field, how much rice it produced last season, sources of natural fertilizers such as rice straw or sediment⁵ from river flooding, and so on.

The farmer answers the questions using the keypad on their mobile phones. A computer does the calculations and sends a text message with the amount and type of fertilizer to apply.

International Rice Research Institute
Farmers apply fertilizer to an experimental rice field.

Making money, protecting the environment

Buresh says the impact on farmers' incomes could be substantial.

"Just a back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that in the Philippines, if we in a year can be reaching just five thousand farmers and their fields can be increasing the yield by half a ton per hectare, we could be looking at profitabilities for those farmers in the range of half a million dollars."

In addition to the financial benefits, it could also help farmers reduce fertilizer pollution.

"In the Philippines and all over Asia, fertilizer has been overused and misused⁶ because no one explains to them how much they need or how to use it," says Danielle Nierenberg, a senior researcher with the environmental research organization the Worldwatch Institute.

Nearly everyone has one

Nierenberg says the potential for the technology goes far beyond Asia. She's been traveling across sub-Saharan Africa for the last eight months, and everywhere she goes, from remote villages in Uganda to poor farmers in Niger, nearly everyone has a mobile phone.

"Because it's easy and cheap and every farmer can basically get their own [mobile] phone or borrow someone's down the road, I think it's increasingly a way for them to gain access to things they didn't have before," she says.

In Zambia, for example, farmers without bank accounts can use their cell phones to buy seeds and fertilizers. They can also find out how much their crop is selling for in the city markets.

"They can decide whether they want to travel all the way from their village to the city," she adds, "because sometimes farmers get there and prices are too low." Their mobile phones could save them a trip.

So, while it may not be good for plowing⁷ a field or harvesting vegetables, the mobile phone is becoming one of a farmer's most valuable tools.
 

1 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

2 optimal   

adj.最适宜的；最理想的；最令人满意的

参考例句：

• What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么？
• Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

3 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

4 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

5 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

6 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句