VOA标准英语2014--国际农发基金呼吁更多投资

 

IFAD Head Calls for People Investment 国际农发基金呼吁更多投资

The head of the International Fund for Agricultural Development says Africa’s greatest resource is its people. He calls on leaders to heavily invest in their workforce¹ or risk continent-wide poverty by 2030.

Kanayo Nwanze’s comments come in an open letter to the 23rd AU Summit on Agriculture and Food Security. It’s being held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea through June 27.

He said, “Someone in my capacity, as an African as well, should be able to speak openly and frankly² with our heads of state. I think it’s a moral obligation. It’s a moral imperative³ because I believe that Africa again is at the crossroads.”

He said that people are Africa’s best resource, including the 200 million between the ages of 15 and 24.

“Now that’s a very powerful resource base. And when you also realize that that population of 200 million young people – often times unemployed⁴ – if we waste their future it’s going to be a great loss for the continent. These are the future leaders of Africa. We have to give them hope. We have to give them something to look forward to. I think if we don’t sew the seeds for that hope now, we’re going to have a very explosive situation in the next decade.”

He said if African leaders don’t act now the continent will account for 80 percent of the world’s poor by 2030. A figure, he said, is supported by data from the World Bank and U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

“Africa is the only region in the world where the numbers of the poor have increased,” he said.

Nwanze called on African leaders to deliver development now – with the priority on rural people.

“Food does not grow in cities,” he said, “Food grows in rural areas. If you do not invest in the youth, particularly in the rural areas – if you do not make agriculture attractive to them – to create jobs – to generate wealth – to give them some sense of dignity – what is going to happen? They will continue to migrate from the rural areas to the urban cities. You end up with what you call the urban bulge⁵.”

He warned that could lead to many disenchanted young people living in slums and susceptible⁶ to crime.

“When we talk about poverty, when we talk about inequality in Africa, it is basically an inequality between the rural and the urban space.”

More than 10 years ago, African leaders committed to the Maputo Declaration. It required that at least 10 percent of national budgets be devoted⁷ to agriculture and rural development. The IFAD president says only seven countries have fulfilled that commitment.

Nwanze said such investment is critical on a continent where “20 states are classified as fragile and 28 countries need food assistance.”

He had three recommendations for leaders at the AU Summit: Make investment in agriculture and rural development a priority, including infrastructure⁸, energy and roads; second, invest in education, particularly of women; and third, provide social services.

1 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

2 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

3 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

4 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

5 bulge   

n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀

参考例句：

• The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
• What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么？

6 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

7 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

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。