VOA慢速英語:One Quarter of Africa's Population Sleeps Hungry

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語農(nóng)業(yè)報道。

The United Nations Environment Program(UNEP) says 200 million Africans go to sleep hungry, that number represents 23 percent of the population on the continent. A new UN study shows that eight out of 10 countries facing the worst food shortage are in Africa.

聯(lián)合國環(huán)境計劃署(簡稱UNEP)表示2億非洲人餓著肚子睡覺，這一數(shù)字占到了非洲大陸人口的23%。聯(lián)合國一項新的研究顯示，10個面臨嚴重糧食短缺的國家有8個位于非洲。

Recently African experts, farmers and others gathered in Kenya for two days of discussion. They debated ways to feed the growing human population in Africa and deal with rising temperatures on earth surface.

最近非洲專家、農(nóng)民和其他人士齊聚肯尼亞，進行了為期兩天的討論。他們討論了養(yǎng)活非洲不斷增長人口和應(yīng)對地球表面溫度上升的辦法。

The U.N. Climate Change Coordinator for Africa, Richard Munang was one of the speakers. He noted a need to increase food production to feed the population, but he said this must be done without putting more pressure on the environment. He said it is important to find ways to feed people without destroying forests, rivers and seas that provide food.

聯(lián)合國氣候變化非洲協(xié)調(diào)員Richard Munang是發(fā)言者之一。他指出了提高糧食產(chǎn)量養(yǎng)活人口的必要性，但他表示這樣做不能對環(huán)境造成壓力。他說，最重要的是找到辦法養(yǎng)活人口而不破壞森林、河流和海洋。

At the meetings, Emmanuel Dlamini served as a negotiator for One Africa. In his opinion, climate change is here to stay, he says African government and farmers have to look for ways to deal with the changes.

在會議上，伊曼紐爾·德拉米尼(Emmanuel Dlamini)是“同一個非洲”組織的談判代表。在他看來，氣候變化會一直存在，非洲各國政府和農(nóng)民們必須尋求辦法來應(yīng)對氣候變化。

"In the negotiation, we trying to make sure such eco-base systems for food security there are available means for the countries to adopt."

他說，“在談判中，我們努力確保糧食安全的這類生態(tài)基礎(chǔ)是被各國有效接納。”

Most of the African countries depend on rain to prepare their farmland and to start growing crops. For the past few years, a lack of rainfall has affected several countries, making their populations depended on food aid.

大多數(shù)非洲國家依賴雨水備耕備種。在過去幾年里，降水不足已經(jīng)對數(shù)個國家產(chǎn)生了影響，使得這些國家的人口依賴糧食援助。

African farmers say that a combination of unpredictable rain and rising temperatures creates an environment for crop diseases that affects production.

非洲農(nóng)民說，降雨不可預知和氣溫上升相結(jié)合，形成了影響產(chǎn)量的作物病害環(huán)境。

The conference also heard from a representative of Nestle, one of world's largest food companies. Nestle Africa's Hans Johr says farmers need assistance from food processing companies and non-governmental organizations to deal with challenges.

會議還聽取了全球最大食品公司之一的雀巢公司代表的意見。雀巢非洲公司的Hans Johr表示，農(nóng)民們需要得到食品加工企業(yè)以及非政府機構(gòu)的幫助以應(yīng)對挑戰(zhàn)。

"There is this challenge of climate change, and that is just now adding up a new dimension to the way we are interacting with our suppliers, but once again talking our suppliers these are farmers, these are mid-size farmers, but a lot of small holders they need to be trained to really understand and to cope up with these changes."

他說，“這是氣候變化的挑戰(zhàn)，這些挑戰(zhàn)在我們影響供應(yīng)的方式上增加了新的維度。但再次談到我們的供應(yīng)，有很多中小規(guī)模的農(nóng)民，以及很多小農(nóng)場主需要經(jīng)過培訓，來真正了解和應(yīng)對這些變化。”

The conference organizers and delegates have called for joint efforts from farmers, governments and the international community to increase food production. They are also seeking ways to combine food security and sustainable agriculture with continental and international policies.

會議組織者和與會代表紛紛呼吁農(nóng)民、政府和國際社會共同努力增加糧食生產(chǎn)。他們也在尋找途徑，將糧食安全和農(nóng)業(yè)可持續(xù)發(fā)展，同各大洲政策以及國際政策結(jié)合起來。