G8 Promises Help for African Agriculture
G8承诺为非洲提供农业援助

　
Leaders from the world's largest industrial nations are promising more food aid and agricultural assistance for Africa to help ease the impact of rising food costs. Some non-governmental organizations say increasing demand for biofuels is partly to blame for higher food prices.

世界上最大的八个工业化国家领导人承诺向非洲提供更多的粮食援助和农业援助，以帮助纾缓不断上涨的粮食价格对非洲的影响。一些非政府组织说，对生物燃料不断增加的需求是造成粮食价格上涨的部分原因。

G8 leaders say they are concerned that the steep rise in global food prices could push millions of people back into poverty.

八国集团领导人说，他们担心全球粮食价格急剧上升可能迫使数百万人再度陷入贫困。

So they have pledged more than $10 billion in food aid since the first of the year and are calling on other donors to join them in providing seeds and fertilizers for the upcoming planting season.

因此他们从今年年初以来已经承诺提供一百多亿美元的粮食援助，他们还呼吁其他捐助国加入他们的行列，为即将来临的播种季节提供种子和化肥。

G8 leaders say they will support improvements in agricultural infrastructure including irrigation, transportation, storage, distribution, and quality control while assisting in the development of food security early warning systems.

八国集团领导人说，他们支持改善农业基础设施的建设，包括灌溉、运输、贮存、分发，及质量控制。与此同时，他们还将协助为粮食安全建立一个预警系统。

At their summit on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, G8 leaders promised to work with the International Monetary Fund to help food-importing countries and vowed to boost investments in African agriculture to double the production of key food staples within ten years.

在日本北海道举行的八国集团首脑会议上，与会各国领导人承诺与国际货币基金组织一道努力帮助粮食进口国，并表示决心要增加对非洲农业的投资，从而使主要农作物产量在十年内增加一倍。

Global food prices were a big part of talks between G8 leaders and heads of state from South Africa, Algeria, Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ghana.

在八国集团领导人和南非、阿尔及利亚、埃塞俄比亚、塞内加尔、坦桑尼亚、尼日利亚和加纳领导人的会谈中，全球粮食价格问题是他们磋商的主要问题之一。

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says 37 countries are most affected by rising food prices. Twenty one of them are in Africa.

联合国粮农组织说，食品价格上涨对37个国家的影响最为严重，这37个国家中有21个在非洲。

Charles Abani is with the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, a coalition of groups campaigning to raise living standards in the developing world.

查尔斯.阿巴尼是由若干团体联合组成的“呼吁消除贫困全球行动”组织的成员，这个组织致力于提高发展中国家的生活水准。

"Families are forced to make choices between food and education, food and health, and this crisis really exacerbates the situation on the ground," he said.

他说：“一些家庭被迫在食品和教育，食品和健康之间作出抉择。这场危机的确使实地的局势恶化了。”

Rising world food prices are the result of a number of factors including higher transportation costs, drought, and increased demand from a growing middle class in China and India. There is also more land under cultivation for biofuels, including ethanol.

世界粮食价格上涨是多种因素造成的，包括运输成本的提高、干旱，以及中国和印度日益增长的中产阶层需求的增加。其它原因还包括更多的土地被用于种植可以转换成乙醇等生物燃料的农作物。

The non-governmental organization ActionAid says biofuels are responsible for as much as one-third of the recent increase in food prices. ActionAid's Carol Kayira says that is bad for Africa.

非政府组织“援助行动”说，造成近来粮食价格上涨的责任，生物燃料要负三分之一。援助行动组织的卡罗尔.卡伊拉说，对非洲来说这是一个坏消息。

"Africa is being earmarked as the source of biofuels in the future, that Africa would develop if they implement the biofuels or if they grow biofuels," she said. "And for us in Africa, we are saying no. First of all, we need more research on biofuels. Secondly, we are saying we are already having difficulties to produce our own food to feed ourselves, so if you come in Africa and then you are taking out the basic resources that we require for food for biofuels, you are making the problem worse."

他说：“非洲被指定为未来的生物燃料的来源，如果非洲实施生物燃料的计划或者种植生物燃料，非洲将会得到发展。但是对我们在非洲的人来说，我们的回答是‘不’。首先，我们需要对生物燃料进行更多的研究。其次，正如我们指出的那样，我们在非洲生产出能够养活自己的粮食已经相当困难。所以，如果你到非洲来，然后大谈什么用我们最基本的资源粮食来生产生物燃料，你们这样会让问题更糟 。”

G8 leaders say they will ensure that the sustainable production of biofuels is compatible with food security, in part, by accelerating the development of biofuels from non-food plant materials and waste.

八国集团领导人说，他们将确保可持续生产的生物燃料能兼顾粮食安全，做到这一点的部分方式是通过加速开发用非粮食类的植物和废物来生产生物燃料。

Joseph Suuna is the general secretary of the advocacy group PELUM, which promotes ecological land use management. He says growing demands for biofuels in the developing world are disrupting African agriculture.

约瑟夫.苏纳是一个宣扬土地利用必须促进生态环境的“普卢姆”(PELUM)组织的秘书长。他说，发展中国家对生物燃料日益增加的需求正在破坏非洲农业。

"As a global community, irrespective of whether the immediate people who are dying may be in Africa, this is your problem as much as it is an African problem," said Sunna. "Just as a tsunami in Asia is an African problem is an American problem, so is anything to do with food in Africa."

苏纳说：“作为一个全球社区，不管人们地处何处，如果他们在非洲死亡，那么这个问题不仅仅是非洲的问题，也是大家的问题。就像当年的海啸不单是亚洲的问题，同时也是美洲的问题一样。非洲粮食危机也和大家息息相关。”

In their statement on food security, G8 leaders vowed to form a global partnership on agriculture and food involving developing country governments, donors, the private sector, and civil society.

八国集团领导人在关于粮食安全的声明中誓言要在农业和粮食问题上建立一个全球夥伴关系，这个夥伴关系包括发展中国家的政府、捐助者、私营企业和民间社会。

The World Bank says increases in the price of wheat, rice, and maize cost developing countries more than $320 billion last year. Oxfam International says food inflation has wiped out five percent of the Gross Domestic Product of Mozambique and Eritrea, and ten percent of GDP in Senegal, Haiti, and Sierra Leone.

世界银行说，小麦、稻米、玉米的价格上涨导致发展中国家去年损失3千200亿美元。国际乐施会说，粮食通货膨胀已经抵消了莫桑比克和厄立特里亚5%的国内生产总值，塞内加尔、海地和塞拉利昂10%的国内生产总值。