VOA新闻杂志2024--Bamboo Sees Growing Interest in Uganda

　　Bamboo farming is on the rise in Uganda. The strong and fast-growing crop is seen by the East African government as having real growth possibility.

　　Along a 3-kilometer stretch of the river Rwizi, environment protection officers recently planted new bamboo seedlings² and cleared room for last year's survivors³ to grow.

　　The river Rwizi is the most important river in western Uganda that includes the major city of Mbarara. A successful bamboo forest would protect the river against sand miners, farmers and others whose activities have long threatened it.

　　The National Environment Management Authority estimates that the Rwizi has lost 60 percent of its water collection area over many years. In some areas the river runs as narrow as a stream.

　　"Once bamboo is established, it is almost like a net," said Jeconious Musingwire. He is an environment officer who was the project's technical advisor⁴. "The roots trap everything, including the surface runoff, and stabilize⁵ the weaknesses of the banks."

　　In Uganda, bamboo can be burned for fuel in rural communities, taking pressure off shrinking forests of eucalyptus⁶ and other natural resources. It is a strong plant that can grow almost anywhere. And businesses can turn it into products ranging from furniture to toothpicks.

　　Some of the bamboo species⁷ grown in Uganda are imported from Asia. But many grow wild. One kind has shoots that are smoked and then boiled to make a popular traditional meal in eastern Uganda.

　　The Ugandan government has set a 10-year policy that calls for planting 300,000 hectares of bamboo. Most of it will be grown on private land by 2029 as part of wider reforestation efforts.

　　That is a high target. The Uganda Bamboo Association, the largest such group with 340 members, has planted only 500 hectares. Even with growing interest in bamboo farming, officials will have to push more farmers in rural parts of Uganda to plant large areas of land with bamboo.

　　A single bamboo pole brings in a little less than a dollar, so farmers need to grow a lot to earn enough. Bamboo promoters are urging them to see a bamboo plantation⁸ as the same kind of money-making crop as coffee or tea. Banks are offering bamboo "plantation capital" loans that promise ownership of large forests of bamboo.

　　Bamboo plants are normally ready for harvesting in three to five years. A well-maintained plantation can be useful for at least 50 years, said Jacob Ogola, a crop production expert working with the large Kitara Farm. He said bamboo is easy to manage, and usually does not need spraying for pests.

　　Still, Uganda's bamboo plantations⁹ are not growing fast enough to build an industry around the plant.

　　Steve Tusiime owns a bamboo nursery. It has sold fewer than 10,000 seedlings in the past two years. But, Tusiime said, "Bamboo is going to be a game changer in Africa. You can eat bamboo, you can use it to build, you can create an industry for bamboo, you can feed it to your animals, and it can take care of your land."

　　Words in This Story

　　seedling¹ — n. a young plant that is grown from seed

　　stream — n. a natural flow of water that is smaller than a rive

　　stabilize — v. to make something steady

　　species — n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

　　capital — n. money, property, etc., that is used to start or operate a business

　　pest — n. an animal or insect that causes problems for people especially by damaging crops

　　game changer — n. something such as a product or event that affects a situation or area of business very much

1 seedling   

n.秧苗，树苗

参考例句：

• She cut down the seedling with one chop.她一刀就把小苗砍倒了。
• The seedling are coming up full and green.苗长得茁壮碧绿。

2 seedlings   

n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

4 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

5 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

6 eucalyptus   

n.桉树，桉属植物

参考例句：

• Eucalyptus oil is good for easing muscular aches and pains.桉树油可以很好地缓解肌肉的疼痛。
• The birds rustled in the eucalyptus trees.鸟在桉树弄出沙沙的响声。

7 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

8 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

9 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句