VOA慢速英语2012 AGRICULTURE REPORT - Demand for Wheat Growing in Sub-Saharan Africa

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Demand for Wheat Growing in Sub-Saharan Africa

农业报道 - 撒哈拉以南非洲地区小麦需求猛涨

From VOA Learning English, this is the AGRICULTURE REPORT in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

Agricultural experts met in Ethiopia last week to discuss ways to help sub-Saharan Africa become a major producer of wheat. The area traditionally produced little wheat.

农业专家上周在埃塞俄比亚会面，讨论如何帮助撒哈拉以南非洲地区成为小麦的主要生产国。该地区传统上生产小麦不多。

Currently, maize 1 -- or corn -- is the top cereal crop in countries south of the Sahara. In North Africa, wheat is the most important crop. Wheat production fell sharply in sub-Saharan countries during the nineteen eighties. 

目前，玉米是撒哈拉以南地区的主要谷类作物。在北非，小麦是最重要的作物。上世纪80年代期间，撒哈拉以南非洲国家的小麦产量大幅下跌。

Hans Joachim Braun is director of the Global Wheat Program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.

汉斯·约阿希姆·布劳恩（Hans Joachim Braun）是国际玉米和小麦改良中心全球小麦项目的负责人。

“Wheat was always a commodity crop in North Africa. North Africa was the grain basket for the Roman Empire. And wheat production and domestication 2 started in North Africa, Turkey, Iraq. So for traditional reasons, wheat was always there.”

“小麦一直是北非的一种商品类作物。北非是罗马帝国的粮食基地。小麦的生产和驯化始于北非、土耳其和伊拉克。因为这一传统原因，小麦一直在这里生长。”

In the nineteen sixties, attempts were made to grow wheat in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa and Zimbabwe. But those countries found it was less costly 3 to import wheat from Europe and the United States.

上世纪60年代，人们试图在撒哈拉以南非洲，包括南非和津巴布韦种植小麦。但这些国家发现从欧洲和美国进口小麦成本更低。

Another problem is that Africa’s wheat farms were often far from population centers. There also were transportation issues. And some lowlands were not a good place to grow wheat.

另一个原因是非洲的小麦农场通常远离人口中心。此外还有运输问题。同时一些低地不是种植小麦的好地方。

Hans Joachim Braun says now is a good time to increase wheat production. 

布劳恩表示，现在是提高小麦产量的一个好时机。

“In the last four years we have seen three major price hikes, where the wheat price and other staple 4 process exploded. And that puts a big, big bill on countries which are depending on wheat imports, and Africa is the biggest wheat importer.”

“在过去四年里，我们看到三种主要商品价格猛涨，小麦价格和其它大宗商品加工爆发。这给依赖小麦进口的国家压上了沉重的账单，非洲是最大的小麦进口国。”

He also says demand for wheat in sub-Saharan Africa is growing faster than for any other crop. There are two main reasons for that.

他还表示，撒哈拉以南非洲地区小麦需求的增长速度远远超出其它任何作物。这主要有两个原因。

“With higher income people would like to have more diversified 5 food. But that is possible not the most important one. The most important one is that there is a tremendous migration 6 of in particular male labor 7 to the cities. And wheat products are convenient food because you can easily buy it. It’s easy to process and you also can store it for a few days, which is different from some of the maize and rice products.”

“收入较高者想要有更多元化的食品。但这可能不是最重要的原因。最重要的原因是人口，特别是男性劳动力向城市的巨大迁移。而小麦产品是方便食品，因为你可以轻易买到。它很容易加工，你也可以将它保存多日，这和一些玉米和水稻产品是不同的。”

There are three possible challenges for growing more wheat in Africa: climate change, disease and pests, like insects. Mr. Braun says rising temperatures should not have a major effect on wheat. In fact, he says, it could help wheat grow in areas with high rainfall totals. As for fighting disease and pests, experts suggest growing more resistant 8 crops.

在非洲种植小麦存在三种可能的挑战：气候变化，疾病和昆虫一类的害虫。布劳恩先生表示，不断上升的气温对小麦应该不会有重大影响。事实上，它可以帮助小麦在多降雨地区生长。为防止病虫害，专家建议种植高抗作物。

In addition, railroads and roads would have to be improved so large amounts of wheat could be moved to large markets.

此外，铁路和公路还得加以改善，这样大量小麦才能运输到大型市场。

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center estimates that sub-Saharan Africa will import forty million tons of wheat this year. Those imports are expected to cost eighteen billion dollars.

国际玉米和小麦改良中心估计，撒哈拉以南非洲地区今年将进口4千万吨小麦，预计耗资180亿美元。