VOA标准英语2008年-Benin Project Finds Solar Energy May Ease Hunge

By Uma Ramiah
Dakar
21 May 2008

A year-old project in Benin has shown that harnessing the power of sunlight could provide long-term solutions to hunger in underdeveloped nations. A six-month dry season in the Kalale District of Benin used to wreak¹ havoc² on farming villages. Now, with solar technology, according to those working on the project, it brings flourishing crops. Uma Ramiah has more from our West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Moumouni Chabi Sika is happy to explain that today, in Kalale, people have vegetables all year round. Soon, he says, they will also have electricity for their schools and medical clinics.

Sika is a member of a local development group called by its French acronym³ ADESCKA. He says that before, people in the Kalale district were struggling to feed themselves during a long and hard dry season.

But now, they are talking about how their produce can help feed Benin, and eventually, even be exported to other West African countries.

In August of 2007, water pumps and drip irrigation systems were installed in two villages in the Kalale district of Benin. Powered by energy harnessed from the sun, the systems provide running water and irrigation for farming.

The project will eventually extend to 44 villages in the region.

The systems were installed by the Washington D.C. based non-profit group Solar Electric Light Fund, or SELF, in partnership⁴ with ADESCKA.

SELF director Robert Freling says that in time, the project will also provide electricity and wireless⁵ communications.

But for now, the main goal is food production.

"A centerpiece of the project will be focused on agriculture because from November to April every year, there is essentially⁶ no food production whatsoever," he explained. " It is a serious problem in Benin and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. And so we have decided⁷ to address this problem by providing solar water pumping and drip irrigation to help farmers grow food during the dry season."

According to SELF, 95 percent of the population in the Kalale district of Benin rely on subsistence farming to survive. During the dry season, people trying to grow food had to transport water manually from rivers and lakes.

Now, with the new solar irrigation systems, water moves through piping systems.

The project relies on photovoltaic technology, where sunlight is converted directly to electricity.

Freling says the project, not yet one year old, has already provided tangible⁸ benefits to the two villages.

"The fields, which were previously⁹ barren during this time of year, are now filled with all sorts of leafy green vegetables and fruits," Freling said. "We are expecting that maybe 20, 25 percent of the produce will be consumed locally by the people. So there has been a dramatic increase in the level of nutrition and food security for the people in these villages. The idea is that the excess will be sold to market."

According to the United Nations, one third of the worlds population lives without electricity.

Freling says that solar technology is a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution to that problem as well.

But he says the systems are an investment.

One challenge is finding ways to finance the projects.

"Photovoltaics is a very elegant solution but it has a high upfront capital cost," he noted¹⁰. "So the question is how you can enable families and communities to pay for these systems which are expensive initially¹¹ but over time in many cases actually cheaper than anything else available."

With projects in 15 countries across the world, the organization uses microcredit loans and community participation¹² to fund the projects and ensure local ownership.

But Freling says not many aid organizations are willing to invest in solar energy.

"It takes a longer term mindset. If you are looking short term for what is most affordable¹³ today, solar might appear to be too expensive. But if you take a longer term view, and consider life cycle costs, solar becomes very attractive compared to most of the other options available to rural villages that do not have access to grid¹⁴ electricity," he said.

West Africa has been especially hard hit by skyrocketing food prices across the world. Rioters have spilled onto the streets in Senegal, Burkina Faso and other West African countries, protesting the rising costs of living.

Freling says the United Nations and other international bodies should more seriously consider solar energy as a part of the solution.

"Looking at this food crisis right now clearly there are a number of things, it is a very complicated situation involving international trade, subsidies¹⁵, etc, but to the extent that we can help local farmers in a place like Benin grow their own food sustainably, we are helping¹⁶ provide a long term solution for this crisis," Freling said.

In Kalale, Sika says he met recently with a womens' organization using the irrigation systems for their own farming projects.

He asked if they were happy with the results.

The answer was yes, he said. The women told him the water was helping them not only feed their families, but also to gain extra income to send their children to school.

1 wreak   

v.发泄；报复

参考例句：

• She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
• Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。

2 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

3 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

12 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

13 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

14 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

15 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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。