VOA常速英语2018--联合国助力马拉维应对粮食危机（在线收听）

For the past three years, drought and El Nino winds destroyed the crops for many Malawian farmers and led to food shortages.

过去3年来，旱灾和厄尔尼诺引发的大风摧毁了许多庄稼，很多马拉维农民都遭遇了粮食短缺。

Pharmacist Fastone Mwale in a Kasungu district is struggling to feed his family of eight children. Income he earns from livestock, he says, is it too low compared to what he used to make from growing corn.

药剂师Fastone Mwale位于卡松古某区，他连家里的8个孩子都喂不饱。他表示，养牲畜获得的收入太低了，跟以前种玉米的收入没法比。

Over the years, the yields have been declining tremendously. This year, I have just harvested six bags, and I have even failed to send my child to college because I don’t have money to pay for it.

过去数年来，产量一直在急剧下滑。今年的收成只有6袋子，我都孩子上大学都供不起，因为我没钱。

But food insecurity default in Mwale family may be coming to an end after a United Nations project go with them to switch to irrigation farming. With a drone for cooperative project analyzes data collected by drones to determine the best crops suitable for certain areas and very quiet irrigation.

但Mwale一家遭遇的粮食短缺问题可能要结束了，因为联合国为他们准备了一个项目，让他们可以转向灌溉农业。合作社的项目里有了无人机后，就可以分析无人机收集的数据，然后可以判断出某片区域最适合种植的庄稼，并进行无声灌溉。

Now we’re able to plant three times a year while in the rain-fed agriculture, we were only able to plant and harvest once a year. Maria Jose de Torres is resident coordinator for the UN Development Program. What we are trying to do here is actually making data available real-time also to the farmer, so they can know whether or not they should be stopped in doing some of the practices, intervene with pesticide or the natural biological systems... see if they have to start preparing for the dry season and therefore changing the type of crops.

现在，我们每年能种三季，而如果仅靠雨水灌溉，每年只能种一季，收一季。玛利亚·约瑟是联合国发展计划署的驻地协调员。我们在这里的工作是：让农民可以实时获取数据，这样他们就能知道是否应该停下手里的活儿，是要用杀虫剂还是自然生物系统……还能看出他们是否必须要为旱季做准备，即改变作物品种。

The UN Children Fund set up an air corridor for drones in a Kasungu last year for use in humanitarian missions. It’s hoped they draw proper help. Drone project will help make Malawian farmers more resilient.

联合国儿童基金会成立了一个无人机空中走廊，这是去年在卡松古座的，以便人道主义任务期间使用。希望农民们能得到适当的援助。无人机项目将助力让马拉维农民有更好的耐抗性。