VOA慢速英语--苗族农民改善明尼苏达粮食经济

Hmong Farmers Improve Minnesota Food Economy

In the American state of Minnesota, Hmong farmers are working together to grow their farming businesses.

The Hmong are an ethnic¹ group from East Asia. They have never had a country of their own. They moved to Vietnam and Laos from China in the 18th century.

After the Vietnam War ended, many Hmong settled in the United States. This has given the U.S. the largest Hmong population outside of Asia. The northern state of Minnesota is home to more than 60,000 members of the community.

The Hmong have worked in agriculture for hundreds of years. So when they reached Minnesota, they began farming there. By the late 1980s, they were helping² to re-energize local farmers markets, especially in the city of Saint³ Paul.

But the Hmong found that, as immigrant farmers, they faced barriers to buying land, getting financing⁴, getting access to markets and building family businesses. They were struggling.

Then, in 2011, a group of Hmong farmers launched the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA), a non-profit group.

Pakou Hang is one of the group’s founders⁵.

She said, “One of the reasons why HAFA was created was because the Hmong farmers were experiencing so much uncertainty⁶. They didn't always have access to land.”

She said that lacking guarantees on land use makes it difficult to invest in things that bring higher profits, such as organic fruits and vegetables.

At the center of the HAFA is a 63-hectare farm outside of St. Paul. There, member farmers can use two to four hectares of land for long periods to grow vegetables and flowers.

How HAFA helps

On a recent Friday, Mao Moua and her husband were harvesting vegetables on their plot of land for a farmers market.

The Mouas were among the large number of Hmong people who fled Laos for Thailand and eventually the U.S. in the 1970s. Since their arrival, they have been farming in Minnesota and, in recent years, on the HAFA membership⁷ farm.

Mao Moua says she enjoys working with the other farmers.

“I like farming on the HAFA farm because this is a Hmong association,” she said. “There are Hmong workers who help us. They are like our hands, eyes and ears. I like there is also water, electricity and the Food Hub."

The Food Hub is the name for HAFA’s alternative markets program. It gives local businesses the chance to buy produce directly from HAFA farmers.

Kou Yang is the Food Hub’s operations manager. He said the hub sells fruits and vegetables to schools, restaurants and other businesses. They also have a community supported agriculture program with around 350 members. Each member receives a weekly supply of produce.

And if the farmers need small loans to buy farming equipment, HAFA’s business development programs are there to help. Pakou Hang said they are interested in creating wealth for the current Hmong community and for future generations.

Community wealth

Today, Hmong American farmers make up more than 50 percent of all produce growers selling at farmers markets in the St. Paul area.

David Kotsonas is a director with the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association. He said the Hmong have brought a lot of life to local farmers markets.

The Hmong are also at the center of a local foods economy that has changed the way Minnesotans eat.

Hang said Hmong farmers are a major part not just of the local food economy, but the state’s overall economy.

“Studies have shown that they produced over $250 million in sales,” she said.

Hang was born in a refugee⁸ camp in Thailand and came to the U.S. with her parents in 1976.

But when the Vietnam War ended and the communists took power in Laos, they began targeting Hmong soldiers, she said.

Hang has big dreams for the HAFA farm. In addition to helping farmers, the association does agricultural research and builds ties with the local community.

I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

migrate⁹ – v. to move from one place to another, often for work or other economic reasons

access – n. permission or ability to enter something or communicate with someone

uncertainty – n. something that is unknown

organic – adj. relating to the production of food or plants without the use of chemically based fertilizers, antibiotic¹⁰ drugs or pesticide¹¹ products.

plot – n. a small piece of land or planted ground

hub – n. center

produce – n. fruits and vegetables

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

4 financing   

n.筹措资金

参考例句：

• The main source of our outside financing is bank loan. 我们向外筹措资金的主要渠道是银行贷款。
• They live in a symbiosis with governments that they are financing. 他们与他们服务的政府互利共存。

5 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

6 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

7 membership   

n.成员资格，会员全体，从属关系

参考例句：

• I must renew my membership of the sailing club.我必须延续我的航海俱乐部会员的资格。
• He made up his mind to apply for membership in the Party.他决心申请入党。

8 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

9 migrate   

vi.（候鸟等）迁徙，移居（国外），迁移

参考例句：

• Many birds migrate south for the winter.冬天时，许多鸟类迁徙南方。
• The rich people often migrate in winter to Florida.有钱的人常在冬季搬迁到佛罗里达州去。

10 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

11 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。