评论
打印
Bamboo farming is on the rise in Uganda.
乌干达的竹子种植业正在崛起。
The strong and fast-growing crop is seen by the East African government as having real growth possibility.
乌干达政府认为，这种生长力强、生长速度快的作物具有真正的增长潜力。
Along a 3-kilometer stretch of the river Rwizi, environment protection officers recently planted new bamboo?seedlings?and cleared room for last year's survivors to grow.
在Rwizi河沿岸3公里，环境保护官员最近种植了新的竹苗，并为去年幸存下来的竹苗清理了生长空间。
The river Rwizi is the most important river in western Uganda that includes the major city of Mbarara.
Rwizi河是乌干达西部最重要的河流，包括主要城市姆巴拉拉。
A successful bamboo forest would protect the river against sand miners, farmers and others whose activities have long threatened it.
一片茂盛的竹林将保护这条河流免受采沙者、农民和其他活动的长期威胁。
The National Environment Management Authority estimates that the Rwizi has lost 60 percent of its water collection area over many years.
据国家环境管理局估计，多年来Rwizi河的集水面积已经减少了60%。
In some areas the river runs as narrow as a?stream.
在某些地区，河道窄得像一条小溪。
"Once bamboo is established, it is almost like a net," said Jeconious Musingwire.
“竹子一旦扎根，几乎就像一张网，”杰科尼斯·穆辛韦尔（Jeconious Musingwire）说。
He is an environment officer who was the project's technical advisor.
他是一名环境官员，也是该项目的技术顾问。
"The roots trap everything, including the surface runoff, and?stabilize?the weaknesses of the banks."
“竹子的根部可以截留一切，包括地表径流，并稳固河岸的薄弱位置。”
In Uganda, bamboo can be burned for fuel in rural communities, taking pressure off shrinking forests of eucalyptus and other natural resources.
在乌干达，竹子在农村可以当作燃料，减轻日益缩小的桉树森林和其他自然资源的压力。
It is a strong plant that can grow almost anywhere.
竹子是一种强壮的植物，几乎可以在任何地方生长。
And businesses can turn it into products ranging from furniture to toothpicks.
企业可以将其加工成从家具到牙签的各种产品。
Some of the bamboo?species?grown in Uganda are imported from Asia.
乌干达种植的一些竹子品种是从亚洲进口的。
But many grow wild.
但许多竹子是野生的。
One kind has shoots that are smoked and then boiled to make a popular traditional meal in eastern Uganda.
有一种竹笋可以熏制后煮熟，做成乌干达东部流行的传统美食。
The Ugandan government has set a 10-year policy that calls for planting 300,000 hectares of bamboo.
乌干达政府制定了一项为期10年的政策，要求种植30万公顷的竹子。
Most of it will be grown on private land by 2029 as part of wider reforestation efforts.
到2029年，大部分竹子将种植在私人土地上，支持更广泛的植树造林工作。
That is a high target.
这是一个很高的目标。
The Uganda Bamboo Association, the largest such group with 340 members, has planted only 500 hectares.
乌干达竹子协会（Uganda Bamboo Association）是最大的竹子协会，拥有340名成员，但目前该协会只种植了500公顷竹子。
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.
即使人们对竹子种植越来越感兴趣，政府官员也必须在乌干达农村地区推动更多农民种植大片竹林。
A single bamboo pole brings in a little less than a dollar, so farmers need to grow a lot to earn enough.
一根竹竿的收入略低于一美元，因此农民需要种植大量竹子才能赚到足够的钱。
Bamboo promoters are urging them to see a bamboo plantation as the same kind of money-making crop as coffee or tea.
竹子推广者正在敦促农民将竹子视为与咖啡或茶叶一样的经济作物。
Banks are offering bamboo "plantation?capital" loans that promise ownership of large forests of bamboo.
银行提供竹子“种植资本”贷款，承诺贷款人将拥有大片竹林。
Bamboo plants are normally ready for harvesting in three to five years.
竹子通常在种植三到五年后就可以收获。
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.
在基塔拉大型农场工作的作物生产专家雅各布·奥戈拉（Jacob Ogola）说，一个维护良好的种植园至少可以使用50年。
He said bamboo is easy to manage, and usually does not need spraying for?pests.
他说，竹子易于管理，通常不需要喷洒杀虫剂。
Still, Uganda's bamboo plantations are not growing fast enough to build an industry around the plant.
不过，乌干达竹子种植园的发展速度还不足以支撑建立竹子产业。
Steve Tusiime owns a bamboo nursery.
史蒂夫·图西梅（Steve Tusiime）拥有一家竹子苗圃。
It has sold fewer than 10,000 seedlings in the past two years.
在过去两年里，该苗圃售出的竹苗不到1万株。
But, Tusiime said, "Bamboo is going to be a?game changer?in Africa.
但是，图西梅说：“竹子将改变非洲的游戏规则。
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."
你可以吃竹子，可以用竹子建造房屋，可以为竹子创造一个产业，可以用竹子喂养牲畜，竹子还可以保护你的土地。”
I'm Dan Novak.
丹·诺瓦克为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
