VOA慢速英语:Demand for Wheat Growing in Sub-Saharan Africa

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。该地区传统生产的小麦并不多。

Currently, maize -- 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，小麦是最重要的农作物。19世纪80年代，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.
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 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作物。北非是罗马帝国的粮食篮子。小麦的生产和驯化始于北非、土耳其和伊拉克。因此，出于这一传统原因，小麦一直存在于那里。”

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 to import wheat from Europe and the United States.
20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。但是，这些国家发现从欧洲和美国进口小麦的成本更低。

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.
另一个问题是，非洲的小麦农场离人口中心很远。而且还有运输问题。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.
Hans Joachim Braun称，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 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，我们已经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。这让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过任何其它作物。这有两个主要原因。

“With higher income people would like to have more diversified food. But that is possible not the most important one. The most important one is that there is a tremendous migration of in particular male labor 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物。但是，这可能不是最重要的。其中最重要的原因是人口，尤其是男性劳动力向城市的巨大迁移。而小麦产品是方便食品，因为你可以方便买到。它很容易加工，你也可以将它储存多天，这与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 crops.
在非洲种植更多的小麦存在三种可能的挑战：气候变化，疾病和像昆虫类的害虫。Braun先生称，不断升高的气温对小麦应该不会有重大影响。他说，事实上，它可以帮助小麦在高降雨地区生长。为防止疾病与虫害，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进，可以使大量小麦转移到大型市场。

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4000万吨小麦，这些预计将耗资180亿美元。