VOA常速英语:2017 World Food Prize

On October 20th, Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina of Nigeria became the 2017 recipient of the prestigious World Food Prize.
10月20日，尼日利亚阿金武米·阿德希纳（Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina）博士成为著名的世界粮食奖2017年获得者。

The World Food Prize, known as the “Nobel Prize for Agriculture and Nutrition”, is the foremost international honor recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.It was established in 1986 by Norman Borlaug, an agronomist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate who is widely recognized as the “father of the Green Revolution”.
世界粮食奖被誉为“诺贝尔农业与营养学奖”是一种最高国际荣誉，授予以提高全球粮食质量、数量或可获得性来促进人类发展的个人成就。该奖项由诺曼·布劳格于1986年设立，他是一位农业家、诺贝尔和平奖获得者，被公认为“绿色革命之父”。

Over the past two decades, Dr. Adesina, formerly Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and now the President of the African Development Bank,has worked tirelessly to expand Nigeria’s agricultural production, thwart corruption and increase the availability of credit to smallholder farmers across Africa.As Minister of Agriculture, he introduced E-Wallet, a system of electronic vouchers which allows farmers to by-pass corrupt elements that had controlled the fertilizer distribution system for 40 years.
过去的20年里，曾任尼日利亚农业部部长、现任非洲发展银行行长的阿德希纳博士，不遗余力地致力于扩大尼日利亚的农业生产、打击腐败并增加向非洲小农提供的信贷。作为农业部长，他推出了“电子钱包（E-Wallet）”，这是一种电子券制度，可以使农民绕过那些控制肥料分配系统长达40年的腐败分子。

As a direct consequence of the E-Wallet system, the production of cassava, rice, sorghum, maize and cotton rose dramatically,resulting in a significant increase in farmers’ income and significant improvement of food security for 40 million people in rural farm households.
在电子钱包体系的直接影响下，木薯、大米、高亮、玉米、棉花的产量大幅度增加，为农村4000万农户大幅创收，同时也大幅提升了粮食安全。

“It makes no sense, you have a continent with 65 percent of all the world’s uncultivated, arable land not being able to feed itself,” said Dr. Adesina. “We have to unlock the full potential of Africa’s agriculture, and turn agriculture from something that’s used for managing poverty to something that’s used for creating wealth.”
“然而这是没用的，非洲这片大陆拥有世界上65%的未开垦耕地，却无法实现自给自足，”阿德希纳说，“我们必须充分发掘非洲的农业潜力，将农业的作用从应付贫穷转变为创造财富。

Dr. Adesina pledged to use the 250,000 dollar award that comes with the World Food Prize,to provide fellowships and grants to young Africans dedicated to making a living through agriculture.
阿德希纳承诺，将用世界粮食奖的25万美元奖金设置一笔奖学金，用于资助那些致力于从事农业的非洲年轻人。

“Congratulations on winning the 2017 World Food Prize. Your Devotion to the cause of fighting hunger is admirable and deeply needed,” said Vice President Mike Pence in a statement read at the award ceremony by USAID Administrator Mark Green.“As our global food system is stretched, and the need to feed more people grows, agricultural transformation will require persistence from leaders like you in driving change and capitalizing on public and private sector expertise.”
“恭喜您荣获2017年世界粮食奖。您对对抗饥饿事业的贡献是令人钦佩的，也是人类非常需要的，”美国副总统迈克·彭斯在一份由美国国际开发署署长马克·格林于颁奖典礼上宣读的声明中如是写道，“随着全球粮食体系的日益紧张，养活更多人的需求也在不断增长，农业转型将需要像您这样的领导者，用坚持推动变革，充分利用公共与私人领域的专业知识。