VOA慢速英语-Agriculture Report - Reports of Gains Bring Attentio

Supporters say the System of Rice Intensification¹ can double productivity of irrigated² rice. But others say there is no proof that S.R.I. is better than the best of conventional methods. Transcript³ of radio broadcast:
07 July 2008

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Some farmers of irrigated rice in Asia, Africa and the Americas are using a production method called S.R.I.

S.R.I. is short for the System of Rice Intensification. It does not require new seeds. It only requires changes in the ways that rice farmers manage plants, soil, water and nutrients⁴.

With S.R.I, farmers use fewer seeds and transplant them earlier than usual. Leaving more room between plants lets the roots and leaves spread more. Farmers also use less water. They keep the fields moist but do not continuously flood them. The use of chemical fertilizer is also reduced or even eliminated.

Norman Uphoff is a big supporter of the System of Rice Intensification. He was a professor of government and international agriculture at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He retired⁵ but still works from an office there to bring attention to the system.

A French priest, Father Henri de Laulanie, developed S.R.I. in Madagascar in the nineteen eighties. Norman Uphoff learned about it fifteen years ago while working there. He led field trials for the system for three years.

He says it usually doubles productivity. But during that time in Madagascar, it produced an average of eight tons per hectare. That was four times the usual average. In the late nineteen nineties, Professor Uphoff began trying to spread the word about S.R.I.

Supporters say there have been reports from many areas of large increases in productivity and profits. But not everyone is persuaded.

Kenneth Cassman is an agricultural expert at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. In his words, "There is no strong evidence that the S.R.I. is more effective than the best of conventional rice-growing methods."

Kenneth Cassman notes that productivity in irrigated rice fields has been slowing, or stagnating⁶, for years. He says there should be more research into the problems and how to solve them.

But Norman Uphoff says he looks forward to more field trials next year which he believes will confirm the effectiveness of S.R.I.

The World Bank says farmers using the system in India's Tamil Nadu State are harvesting forty to eighty percent more rice than before. They report using eighty-five percent less seed and saving thirty-two percent on water usage.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For a link to the S.R.I. home page at Cornell, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 intensification   

n.激烈化，增强明暗度；加厚

参考例句：

• The intensification of the immunological response represents the body's natural defense. 增强免疫反应代表身体的自然保卫。 来自辞典例句
• Agriculture in the developing nations is not irreversibly committed, to a particular pattern of intensification. 发展中国家的农业并没有完全为某种集约化形式所束缚。 来自辞典例句

2 irrigated   

[医]冲洗的

参考例句：

• They irrigated their crops with water from this river. 他们用这条小河里的水浇庄稼。
• A crop can be sown, weeded, irrigated, and fertilized uniformly. 一种作物可以均匀一致地进行播种，除草，灌溉和施肥。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 stagnating   

v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I feel I'm stagnating in this job. 我觉得，干这份工作我没有长进。
• ITT was stagnating when Geneen became the chief executive officer in 1959. 1959年吉宁出任行政总负责人时，国际电话电报公司正处于不景气时期。 来自辞典例句