VOA新闻杂志--昔日“尼日利亚的食物篮”如今也面临粮食危机

Hunger Hits a Nigerian State Once Known for Crops

The United Nations' World Food Program (WFP) is trying to prevent a food crisis¹ in Africa's most populous² country, Nigeria.

A conflict between farmers and herders, who raise animals, has resulted in deaths, fires and a lack of food in recent years.

In the north-central Benue state, farmers once grew so much rice, yams, and soybeans that the area became known as "the food basket of Nigeria."

Now, farmers like Ibrahim Mohammed are having trouble. He once produced 10 bags of rice from his land each year. But he only harvests three now. Attackers burned his land and home a few years ago.

Mohammed's family includes his wife, Hannah, and three children, including an 18-month-old daughter. They do not know whether they will have enough to eat from day to day.

In the early afternoon recently, Hannah asked Mohammed if she could take her first rest from working so she could feed the baby.

Because he cannot produce enough rice to sell, Mohammed cannot buy small plants to grow new crops. He wants to grow yams, soybeans and sorghum⁴.

"Sometimes we manage to eat once (per day)," he said. He thanked God for helping⁵ his family stay alive.

More than 1 million farmers like Mohammed have been pushed from their land because of fighting.

Samuel Ortom is the governor of Benue state. He said: "We are heading to a food crisis."

The WFP said at least 13 million people in Nigeria are facing hunger after a season that produced less food than usual. Violence has slowed production and made it difficult to send food around the country. Rice production has dropped and prices have increased sharply⁶.

At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it hard for the U.N. to get food to the people who need it.

The conflict in Nigeria is between farming communities and cattle herders who are fighting over access to water and land. The farmers say the herders are illegally using their land. The herders, who mostly belong to the Fulani ethnic⁷ group, say the farmers are using their traditional land once used by their animals.

The Nigerian government is trying to solve the problem. But until a solution is reached, people are running away from the fighting and having trouble finding food.

About 3,000 people now live in a camp in the Guma government area. Mtonga Iliamgee worries each day if she will be able to feed her 10-person family. "We don't know what tomorrow will bring," she said while preparing the day's only meal.

Felix Agune works to educate the children in the camp. He said sometimes children come to school and say they did not eat the first meal of the day.

Rex Elanu works with a program called One to One Healthcare Initiative⁸. He said small organizations are trying to feed people. But the problem is spread across the Benue state.

Nigeria's government said it is trying to help the herders change their way of life so they do not need as much land. The government is also trying to give the farmers fertilizer and seeds so they can produce more food and make farming more appealing to young people.

Theodore Ogaziechi works with Nigeria's agriculture ministry⁹. He said small farmers are important to the survival¹⁰ of the nation and they are trying to do their best to produce food.

But Ortom, the governor of Benue, said the farmers are afraid. Some who have tried to go back to their land have been killed.

Ortom said things must get better than they are now for farmers to get back to work.

"If there is security for these farmers, we'll continue to retain our position as the food basket of the nation," he said.

Words in This Story

herder –n. a person who keeps a herd³ of animals though usually not on a farm or in a set place

basket– n. a simple container usually made by weaving materials together

access –n. the ability to get something, enter a place or meet someone

fertilizer – n. material that is added to soil to help the growth of plants

retain –v. to keep

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

3 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

4 sorghum   

n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西

参考例句：

• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
• They made sorghum into pig feed.他们把高粱做成了猪饲料。

5 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。

6 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

7 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。

8 initiative   

n.主动性，首创精神，主动权（的行动），倡议

参考例句：

• He went to see the headmaster on his own initiative.他主动去看望校长。
• His employer had described him as lacking in initiative and drive.雇主说他缺乏进取心和干劲。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。