VOA标准英语2010年-US-Sponsored Fellowship Program Benefi

They were chosen from among 800 candidates to receive a special agricultural fellowship for African women. And among this year winners -- a plant pathologist, a catfish¹ breeder, a soybean specialist. They all hope to benefit from the two-year program sponsored by United States Agency for International Development and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Sixty women from a variety of agricultural science backgrounds were among receivers of this year's AWARD fellowship - the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development.

"All of our fellows are working on pro-poor research. From climate change to indigenous² vegetables to plant breeding to post harvest processing. And they share one passion: to change the face of agriculture in Africa," said Vicki Wilde, AWARD's executive director.

 

Wilde says the two-year fellowship helps top African female scientists strengthen their research and leaderships skills to alleviate³ poverty across the continent. Since  2008, 180 women have been chosen from among 1,500 applicants⁴. Ruth Amata, a senior research officer at the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) is one of this year's winners. "I am a plant pathologist. I am working on diseases affecting passion fruit, cassava, sweet potato, tomato and millets," she said.

Amata says her goal is to improve food security despite Kenya's often harsh weather conditions.

"Two-thirds of Kenya is semi-arid. This means, you cannot just grow anything & anywhere. I am working on crops like cassava and sweet potato. These are crops that can tolerate harsh climatic conditions. Coming up with varieties that would tolerate viruses will contribute toward higher yields," she said.

Amata says she also hopes to learn from other African women scientists. Mabel Mahasi, a soybean specialist, was fellow in 2008.

"What AWARD has done for me is to train and empower me to get out there and do a lot of mentorship, especially with young girls who are trying to get into science. I am also trying to tell the girls, don't avoid to take agricultural courses because the destiny of this country depends on agriculture, which actually contributes to about 26 percent of our GDP," she said.

Mahasi says her first mentors⁵ were her parents.  "I got interested because every time dad traveled, he brought a plant. For example we have a banana which still lives on at our farm that has long shelf life that was introduced to us from Uganda. We have yams that are from Eastern Kenya," she said.

Maryam Imbumi, a nutritionist from South Africa, was a fellow in 2009. She concentrates on malnutrition⁶ among children under five and women who breastfeed. "Protein energy malnutrition is one of the biggest problems in western Kenya. That goes together with iron deficiencies. Vitamin A deficiencies is also a big problem," she said.

Imbumi says it is important to solve the problem with a diverse approach. "I'll use all avenues. I'll use other traditional foods and vegetables because they grow easily. Farmers can grow them in their kitchen gardens. They don't need to pump chemicals into them...  So it's easy to motivate them to grow them and they also know how to cook them," she added.

AWARD Executive Director Vicki Wilde says the fellowship program's short-term impact is clear. "We are already seeing sharpened up scientific skills//ranging from fuel briquettes made out of waste in the slums to poultry⁷ breeding that may fight avian flu. Innovations that are relevant to Africa but also to the world," she said.

Female farmers play a big role in African agriculture. The Kenyan research firm ASTI says women make up 60 to 80 percent of the agricultural force in Africa. The 180 women who have received fellowships have come from 10 African countries.

 

1 catfish   

n.鲶鱼

参考例句：

• Huge catfish are skinned and dressed by hand.用手剥去巨鲇的皮并剖洗干净。
• We gigged for catfish off the pier.我们在码头以鱼叉叉鲶鱼。

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

4 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

5 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?