VOA新闻杂志2024--Insect Hurts Tunisia's Prickly Pear Industry

 

Insect Hurts Tunisia's Prickly Pear Industry

A small insect is hurting Tunisia's prickly pears, an important source of money for the North African country's economy.

Bassem Sahnoun, a farmer struggling to deal with the insect problem, used the term "insomnia¹," meaning an inability to sleep, to describe the issue.

"Our biggest fear, which has caused me insomnia, is the fear of the cochineal insect that threatens our harvest," he said.

The insect is known to some as the prickly pear cochineal. Farmers and experts say it has damaged large areas and caused concerns about its economic effects since it was first discovered in the country in 2021.

The bug² gets the sap from cactus³ pads, causing yellowing and eventual⁴ death of the plants.

Agricultural expert Faouzi Zayani inspected dying prickly pear trees. He said, "The cochineal insect affects the prickly pear tree. As you can see, the trees are dying, and consequently, we are losing the essence of things, which is the cultivation⁵ of prickly pears."

Zayani said the insect was first discovered in Mexico. "It was present there, and they treated it and had prevention methods," he added. "Then it spread to Morocco in 2015. This insect also came to Tunisia in October 2021 in the city of Mahdia."

Zayani estimates that prickly pears represent about 12 percent of Tunisia's agricultural land, making it second only to olive trees in agricultural wealth.

The pears cover approximately 600,000 hectares and are an important source of money for thousands of people, particularly women who harvest and sell the fruit.

Sahnoun told Reuters, "This is our livelihood⁶, it requires a lot of labor⁷, and it's not just the farmer who benefits from it."

The Tunisian government and international organizations are now taking steps to try to help deal with the insect's effects.

The Food and Agriculture Organization started a $500,000 emergency project to introduce biological control methods such as ladybugs, which are hunters of the insect.

The Tunisian Ministry⁸ of Agriculture is promoting sustainable control measures, including changes in agricultural methods, pruning⁹, and cleaning in production areas.

"We must have a sustainable solution for the cochineal insect. This situation should not continue in this way," said Naima Mahfoudhi, an official at the ministry of agriculture.

At his farm, Sahnoun takes measures to clean and protect his healthy prickly pear trees. But it will be a difficult job if the crisis continues and keeps drying up prickly pear trees.

"It starts at the bottom of the tree," he said.

Selma Jridi, who owns prickly pear trees, says the problem is out of her control. She said, "God's will prevails, this is God's judgment¹⁰... "

Words in This Story

sap - n. the fluid part of a plant

essence - n. the individual, real, or ultimate nature of a thing

cultivation- n. the act of preparing for the raising of crops; the act of helping¹¹ plants grow

benefit - v. to receive help or an advantage

sustainable -- adj. Of or relating to a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not permanently¹² damaged

prune¹³ - v. to cut off or cut back parts of a plant

prevail -- v. to be or continue in use; to gain ascendancy through strength

1 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。

2 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

3 cactus   

n.仙人掌

参考例句：

• It was the first year that the cactus had produced flowers.这是这棵仙人掌第一年开花。
• The giant cactus is the vegetable skycraper.高大的仙人掌是植物界巨人。

4 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

5 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

6 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 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。

9 pruning   

n.修枝，剪枝，修剪v.修剪（树木等）( prune的现在分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分

参考例句：

• In writing an essay one must do a lot of pruning. 写文章要下一番剪裁的工夫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A sapling needs pruning, a child discipline. 小树要砍，小孩要管。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

11 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。

12 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

13 prune   

n.酶干；vt.修剪，砍掉，削减；vi.删除

参考例句：

• Will you prune away the unnecessary adjectives in the passage?把这段文字中不必要的形容词删去好吗？
• It is our job to prune the side branches of these trees.我们的工作就是修剪这些树的侧枝。