VOA慢速英语--阿根廷农民遭受严重的干旱

Argentina’s Farmers, Economy Hit Hard by Drought

Jorge Josifovich is a farmer and agricultural engineer in Argentina.

He is concerned because his crop is suffering from a severe lack of rain.

The drought began in November and has caused big financial losses. The drought also has reduced expectations of economic growth and raised concerns among farmers and government officials.

Argentina is the world’s third largest exporter of soybean and corn.

Josifovich said, “Not only is there the physical loss of grain yield, but there’s also the loss of quality, which lowers the product’s final price.”

Agriculture is very important to Argentina’s economy. However, soy and other crops can either help or interfere¹ with government development plans.

President Mauricio Macri hoped economic growth would increase to 3.5 percent this year.

But, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange estimates that, as a result of the drought, the value of grain exports this year could fall by up to $3.4billion, hurting the economy.

Argentina’s meat and dairy industries depend on corn and soymeal for animal feed. The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange says that, because of the drought, those industries are facing more than $600 million in losses.

The drought also is hurting the poultry² and pork industries and also the storage, transportation and shipping³ companies.

Argentina has been hit by severe droughts in the past. The last one, in 2007, killed thousands of cows and cut grain production. Also, farmers were angry about what they called harmful government policies and a lack of aid for their industry.

During the current drought, Macri has announced that his government will provide debt relief to the farmers.

He has said he would increase the time for agricultural loans to be paid back. He also has announced extending credit to farmers so they can continue buying tools and other equipment.

Still, many growers say the government needs to do more.

The estimate for the soy harvest has dropped by 31 percent from the 2016-17 growing season. The corn crop is expected to drop by 22 percent from expectations earlier in the season.

Many farmers are demanding insurance that can protect them financially from the effects of the weather.

“We have a business that is out in the open air and we depend on weather,” Josifovich said. “Sometimes, our complaints are justified⁴.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

yield – n. the full amount of an agricultural or industrial product

poultry – n. domesticated⁵ birds kept for eggs or meat

shipping – n. passage on a ship

relief – n. removal or lightening of something oppressive, painful, or distressing⁶

insurance – n. a means of guaranteeing protection or safety

1 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

2 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

3 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

4 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

5 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。