VOA常速英语2008年-Nigeria Approves Emergency Rice Import to Ease

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
30 April 2008

Nigeria, Africa's biggest importer of rice, plans to buy 500,000 tons of rice amid a global grain shortage.  Gilbert da Costa reports for VOA from Abuja the purchase was approved during a meeting of President Umaru YarAdua and the governors of Nigeria's 36 states.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says Nigeria will import 4.5 million tons of cereal, mostly wheat and rice, in 2008 to bridge the shortfall caused by poor harvests.

Producer prices of staples¹ such as millet², maize³ and sorghum⁴ have increased 100 to 200 percent during the past year.

After the meeting, the governor of southeastern Akwa-Ibom state, Godswill Akpabio, said the rice imports will ease the unprecedented⁵ rise in food prices.

"The rice will arrive at about 5,000 naira [about $41] per bag or even less, and so those who are hoarding⁶ and attempting to sell at 10,000 [$82] or 12,000 [$100] will have no option than to bring the rice to the market and ensure that the people get it at a reasonable price," he explained.

Food riots have broken out in more than a dozen African countries in recent months, prompting concern in Nigeria, one of the continent's most volatile⁷ countries.  Tuesday, police in the northern city of Kano stopped a rally against soaring food prices.  The House of Representatives last week summoned the agriculture minister over what was described as "the imminent⁸ food crisis".

The governor of Ogun state in the southwest, Segun Agagu, says the meeting also agreed on measures to boost food production and reduce dependence⁹ on imports.

"Federal government will work through the ministry¹⁰ of agriculture and water resources and co-ordinate the states and research institutes to ensure that in the medium to long-term, Nigeria produces not only enough food for herself, but should be in a position to export food," he said.

The Nigerian government last month ordered the release of 65,000 tons of food from strategic reserves to help curb¹¹ rising prices.

Experts predict the food crisis in West Africa could deepen in the coming months as reserve food stocks run out and prices climb.

1 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

2 millet   

n.小米，谷子

参考例句：

• Millet is cultivated in the middle or lower reaches of the Yellow River.在黄河中下游地区，人们种植谷子。
• The high quality millet flour was obtained through wet milling.采用湿磨法获得了高品质的小米粉。

3 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

4 sorghum   

n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西

参考例句：

• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
• They made sorghum into pig feed.他们把高粱做成了猪饲料。

5 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

6 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

7 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

8 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

9 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

10 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。

11 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。