Ghana, Brazil Leaders Share World Food Prize

     The world's top honor in food and agriculture this year goes to two former presidents who led dramatic reductions in hunger and poverty in their countries in the past decade.

    Ghana's President John Agyekum Kufuor and Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva have received the World Food Prize for what the prize citation¹ called "visionary leadership" in reducing poverty and malnutrition².

    At a ceremony at the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development chief Rajiv Shah said they demonstrate an important fact about fighting hunger.

    "As much as the scientists need to work at it, and as much as we need support from so many agricultural experts, at the end of the day political leadership at the highest levels makes the biggest difference," Shah said.

    During Mr. Kufuor's eight-year term, Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to cut the percentage of hungry people by more than half from 1990 levels. Economic reforms targeting the agricultural sector³ helped boost the country's economy substantially. And a successful school meal program reaches more than a million primary school children in a country of about nine million kids.

    President da Silva made breakfast, lunch and dinner for all Brazilians a central goal of his administration. World Food Prize President Kenneth Quinn said his "Zero Hunger" policy strengthened family farms, cut poverty, and reduced child malnutrition by about 60 percent.

    "President Kufuor and President Lula da Silva have set an incredibly powerful example for other political leaders in the world," Quinn said.

    Quinn noted⁴ that this is the first time in the 25-year history of the World Food Prize that it has been awarded  to heads of government.

    The two presidents will share the $250,000 prize, which will be awarded at a ceremony in October in the U.S. state of Iowa.

    The World Food Prize was established by plant breeder and Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug. Borlaug is considered the father of the Green Revolution, which greatly increased rice and wheat yields and averted⁵ famine in Asia in the 1960s.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 citation   

n.引用，引证，引用文；传票

参考例句：

• He had to sign the proposition for the citation.他只好在受奖申请书上签了字。
• The court could issue a citation and fine Ms. Robbins.法庭可能会发传票，对罗宾斯女士处以罚款。

2 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 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。

5 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。