AGRICULTURE REPORT - Locusts in North Africa

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Locusts² in North Africa
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, August 03, 2004

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

 
Crop damage in Mauritania.
An invasion of locusts from Northwest Africa continues to affect several countries. The United Nations said the number of insects invading crop areas in Mali, Mauritania and Senegal increased in the past two weeks. Locusts have also entered Niger. And the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned last week that locusts could reach Burkina Faso as well.

But the F.A.O. said there were signs of improvement in other areas. Intensive operations to control the locusts began in Northwest Africa in February.

The huge movement of locusts started in Algeria and Morocco. Young locusts began to leave their native territory to search for new places to mate and lay eggs. This migration³ can cover hundreds or even thousands of kilometers.

Winds can help the flying insects travel long distances. In July, some desert locusts from North Africa arrived on the Cape⁴ Verde Islands. The islands are five hundred kilometers from the coast of Africa.

During migrations⁵, locusts eat huge amounts of food. The Food and Agriculture Organization says locusts eat their own weight in food every day. One locust¹ weighs only about two grams. But one ton of locusts can eat about as much food as two thousand five hundred people.

Several countries have asked for aid to control the locusts. So far, there have been international promises of nine million dollars in emergency assistance. Officials from nine countries organized a meeting last week in Algiers to discuss ways to deal with the crisis⁶.

Algeria and Morocco have used chemical poisons. The two countries have treated more than one million five hundred thousand hectares. But good weather conditions have helped the spread of locusts to the south.

Chemicals can be used to kill existing groups of insects. But most of these insecticides are very poisonous and should be kept away from places were farm animals may feed.

By the middle of July, there was a decrease reported in the number of hectares treated in Morocco and Libya. The F.A.O. said this suggests that the situation should become calm in the area in the next few weeks.

Experts say it is important to treat a locust outbreak quickly. After an outbreak, farmers can turn the soil in their fields in late autumn. This can help to destroy some locust eggs.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Steve Ember.

1 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

2 locusts   

n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树

参考例句：

• a swarm of locusts 一大群蝗虫
• In no time the locusts came down and started eating everything. 很快蝗虫就飞落下来开始吃东西，什么都吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

5 migrations   

n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It foundered during the turmoils accompanying the Great Migrations. 它在随着民族大迁徙而出现的混乱中崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Birds also have built-in timepieces which send them off on fall and spring migrations. 鸟类也有天生的时间感应器指导它们秋春迁移。 来自互联网

6 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。