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KolaMasha_2017G-_农業如何能雇用非洲的年轻劳动人口并建立和平_
Since 1997, researchers at the University of Sussex have monitored global trends in armed conflict . 从 1997 年起, 萨塞克斯大学的研究者 就一直在监视 武装冲突的全球趋势。
global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的; trends:n.趋势;倾向;动态;动向;(trend的第三人称单数和复数) conflict:n.冲突;矛盾;争执;抵触;v.抵触;
Their research clearly shows that in Africa, over the last 10 years, armed conflict has gone up by sevenfold . 他们的研究清楚显示出 过去十年间,在非洲, 武装冲突增加了七倍。
sevenfold:adj.七倍的;七重的;adv.七倍地;
Let's think about that: sevenfold in a single decade. 咱们来想一下: 十年就翻了七倍。
Why is this? 为什么会这样？
We believe, as oxygen is to fire, so are unemployed youth to insecurity . 我们相信,就像氧气会助长火, 失業的年轻人也会助长不安全感。
unemployed:adj.失业的;下岗的;n.(集合词)失业者; insecurity:n.不安全;不牢靠;无把握;心神不定;
We have a lot of youth on this continent . 在这片大陆上,有很多的年轻人。
continent:n.大陆,洲,陆地;adj.自制的,克制的;
Youth like Sandra, who, on a Saturday morning in March 2014, woke up excited at the prospects of getting a coveted job at the Nigerian Immigration Services. 像珊德拉这样的年轻人, 在 2014 年三月的 一个星期六早晨, 她很兴奋地醒来,期待着 得到她梦寐以求的工作, 在奈及利亚移民服务局工作。
prospects:n.可能性; v.探矿; (prospect的第三人称单数和复数) coveted:adj.人人向往的;v.渴望;贪求(covet的过去分词和过去式) Immigration:n.外来移民;移居;
She kissed her daughter goodbye, left her home, never to return. 她和女儿道别时亲了女儿一下, 离开家, 没有再回来。
Sandra and 15 other young Nigerians died that day, applying for a job, in the ensuing stampede , as tens of thousands of people applied for a few thousand open positions. 珊德拉和其他十五名奈及利亚 年轻人那天因去应征工作而丧命, 因为后来发生人群乱拥, 上万人要应征几千个职缺。
applying:v.申请,请求;使用;应用;(apply的现在分词) ensuing:adj.接著发生的;v.跟着发生(ensue的ing形式); stampede:n.奔逃,蜂拥;狂奔;风气;v.狂奔,涌向;使仓促行事 applied:adj.应用的;实用的;v.应用;使用;申请,请求;(apply的过去分词和过去式)
In the last 20 years, 20 million youth have entered the Nigerian workforce alone. 在过去二十年,就有两千万 年轻人进入了奈及利亚的劳动力。
workforce:n.劳动大军;全体员工;
Today, half our population is under the age of 18. 现今,我们的一半人口不到十八岁。
under the age of:在年龄之下;16岁以下;
That's almost 80 million people that will be entering the workforce in the next 20 years. 那是近八千万人, 在接下来的二十年, 他们会进入劳动力。
My friends, if a wave of 20 million people entering the workforce triggered Niger Delta crisis , 朋友们, 如果一波两千万人的 人潮进入劳动力 就触发了尼日尔三角洲危机、
triggered:v.发动;引起;触发;开动;起动;(trigger的过去分词和过去式) Delta:n.(河流的)三角洲;德耳塔(希腊字母的第四个字); crisis:n.危机;危险期;决定性时刻;adj.危机的;用于处理危机的;
Fulani herdsmen crisis and Boko Haram , 富拉尼牧人危机, 以及博科圣地,
herdsmen:n.牧民; Boko:n.鼻子; Haram:n.女眷;闺房;
I ask you: 那我想问各位:
What will four times that number do? 四倍的人数会造成什么后果？
To do my part to solve this challenge, in 2012, I moved to a small village in northern Nigeria, in the center of the area most recently hit by the spread of insecurity, brutal bombings and searing poverty , with an idea: 为了要扮演好我的角色, 解决这项难题, 2012 年,我搬到 北奈及利亚的一个小村落, 它就位在近期受到不安全感、 残酷炸弹攻击, 以及严重贫困所侵袭之 区域的中心地点, 我的想法是:
recently:adv.最近;新近; brutal:adj.残忍的;野蛮的,不讲理的; bombings:n.[军]轰炸,[军]投弹;v.轰击;引爆炸弹(bomb的ing形式); searing:adj.灼热的;v.使枯萎(sear的ing形式); poverty:n.贫困;困难;缺少;低劣;
Could we create an economic buffer to halt the spread of this insecurity, by unlocking the power of agriculture as a job-creation engine? 我们能否释放出农業的力量, 做为创造工作机会的引擎, 以创造出一种经济缓冲, 让不安全感的散播能够暂停下来？
economic:adj.经济的,经济上的;经济学的; buffer:n.[计]缓冲区;缓冲器,[车辆]减震器;vt.缓冲; halt:v.停止;立定;踌躇,犹豫;n.停止;立定;休息; unlocking:v.(用钥匙)开…的锁;发现;揭示;揭开;(unlock的现在分词)
We knew this had been done before in countries like Thailand , where, in 1980, they suffered from the same economic challenges as us. 我们知道在像泰国等国家, 以前就有这么做过, 1980 年,泰国遇到的 经济挑战就和我们一样。
Thailand:n.泰国(东南亚国家名);
Today, however, Thailand produces two million cars a year -- more than the United Kingdom -- with over 30 percent of its workforce as highly commercial , profitable small farmers, with an unemployment rate of less than one percent. 然而,现今,泰国一年 能生产出两百万台汽车, 比英国还多; 其劳动力有超过 30% 都是高度商業化、 有利可图的小农夫, 失業率还不到 1%。
United Kingdom:n.英国; highly:adv.高度地;非常;非常赞许地; commercial:adj.贸易的;商业的;赢利的;以获利为目的的;n.(电台或电视播放的)广告; profitable:adj.有利可图的;赚钱的;有益的; unemployment:n.失业;失业率;失业人数;
How did they do this? 他们怎么办到的？
In the 80s, Thailand dramatically improved the productivity of its small farmers, ensuring that it was able to start to dominate export markets for produce. 在八○年代,泰国大大改善了 该国小农夫的生产力, 确保这样的生产力能够开始主导 农产品出口市场。
dramatically:adv.戏剧地;引人注目地;adv.显著地,剧烈地; improved:adj.改良的:v.改进:改善(improve的过去分词和过去式) productivity:n.生产力;生产率;生产能力; ensuring:v.保证;确保;担保(ensure的现在分词); dominate:vt.控制;支配;占优势;在…中占主要地位;vi.占优势;处于支配地位; export:n.出口;[无线电]呼叫;出口货;输出额;v.出口;排出;adj.输出的;
Building on this strength, they attracted investment and started to process , being able to export higher-value products like starch from cassava . 靠着这股力量,他们吸引了投资, 开始加工, 得以出口更高价值的产品, 比如木薯淀粉。
investment:n.投资;投入;封锁; process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的; starch:n.淀粉;刻板,生硬;vt.给…上浆; cassava:n.木薯(等于cassawa);
Finally , coupled with investment in education, they started to expand to even higher-value manufacturing . 最后,结合在教育的投资, 他们就开始扩展到更高价值的制造。
Finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地; expand:v.扩张;使膨胀;详述;发展;张开,展开; manufacturing:n.制造业;工业;v.制造;生产(manufacture的现在分词);
To make our idea a reality and follow a path similar to Thailand, we knew that we would have to sell young farmers on farming. 为了要实现我们的想法, 并采用和泰国类似的做法, 我们知道我们得要让年轻农夫 相信农業是有价值的。
A young man in northern Nigeria, for the purpose of today's discussion, we'll call "Saminu," 一位在北奈及利亚的年轻人, 为了方便在此讨论, 我们给他一个昵称「萨米努」,
for the purpose of:为了…目的;
made it very clear to me that this would not be easy. 他很清楚告诉我,这并不容易。
Saminu grew up in a beautiful village in northern Nigeria. 萨米努在北奈及利亚 一个美丽的村落长大,
And he tells wondrous stories of playing for hours with his friends, running up and down the beautiful rock formations that dot the countryside around his home. 他会说许多奇妙的故事,内容是 他和他的朋友玩耍数个小时, 在美丽的岩石结构上跑上跑下, 这些结构遍布在他家周围的乡间。
wondrous:adj.奇妙的;令人惊奇的;非常的; formations:n.形成(formation的复数形式);形态;队形;
Despite this beauty, Saminu knew that the first chance he got, he would leave. 尽管这里如此美丽,萨米努知道, 只要一有机会,他就会离开。
Despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱;
He did not want to be a farmer. 他不想要当农夫。
Growing up, he saw his parents work so hard as farmers, but barely get by. 成长过程中,他看见 他的农夫父母非常努力, 生活却只是勉强过得去。
barely:adv.仅仅,勉强;几乎不;公开地;贫乏地;
As he says, they had " babu " -- nothing. 引用他的话,他们只有 「babu」——就是一无所有。
babu:n.先生(等于Mr或者Sir);
Young farmers like Saminu do not have access to the cash to buy the farming products to pair with their hard work to be successful. 像萨米努这样的年轻农夫 没有办法取得现金 来购买耕作产品, 配合他们的辛勤努力, 所以很难成功。
When their meager harvest came in, desperate for cash, they would sell most of it at fire-sale prices, when, if they could just wait six months, they could get 50 percent more. 当他们的收获量很少的时候, 因为急需要现金,他们会把 大部分收成用大拍卖的价格售出, 其实如果他们能再等 六个月,就能多赚 50%。
meager:adj.贫乏的;瘦的;n.兆; desperate:adj.不顾一切的;令人绝望的;极度渴望的;
Hence , Saminu left to the city, where he soon realized that life was not easy. 因此,萨米努离开家乡前往城市。 他很快就发现在城市生活并不容易。
Hence:adv.因此;今后;
He borrowed a very old motorcycle, with tires that were more patches than tires, to become a motorcycle taxi driver. 他借了一台非常旧的摩托车, 轮胎比较像是补丁而不是轮胎, 他开始当计程摩托车的司机。
patches:n.斑点;小块;补丁;眼罩;v.打补丁;缝补;修补;(patch的第三人称单数和复数)
He lived in constant fear every day that his precious , tattered motorcycle would be ripped away from him, as it had before. 每天,他时时刻刻都很害怕 他会失去他那珍贵、破烂的摩托车, 这以前就发生过。
precious:adj.宝贵的;珍贵的;矫揉造作的; tattered:adj.破烂的,衣衫褴褛的;v.变破烂(tatter的过去分词);
But he got it back, thankfully . 但谢天谢地他把车找回来了。
thankfully:adv.感谢地;感激地;
He knew of others, however, who were not so lucky -- other young men who, once they'd lost their motorcycles, became destitute . 然而,他也认识其他 没他那么幸运的人, 这些年轻人一旦 失去了他们的摩托车, 就变成一贫如洗。
destitute:adj.穷困的;无的;缺乏的;n.赤贫者;vt.使穷困;夺去;
Angry, these young men set out to wreak vengeance on a society that they believed had turned its back on them. 盛怒之下,这些年轻人 就打算要施行报复, 报复对象是被他们认为 已经背弃他们的社会。
wreak:v.造成(巨大的破坏或伤害); vengeance:n.复仇;报复;报仇;
Saminu told me that they joined insurgent groups, often acting as getaway drivers in bombings and kidnappings . 萨米努告诉我,他们加入反叛团体, 常在炸弹攻击和绑票事件中 担任载人逃离的开车司机。
insurgent:adj.叛乱的;起义的;n.叛乱者;起义者; getaway:n.逃走;逃跑;短假;适合旅行的地方; kidnappings:n.绑架;诱拐;v.绑架(kidnap的ing形式);诱拐;
To end this cycle of insecurity, we must make farming a viable choice. 如果要终止这个不安全感的循环, 我们就得让农業 成为一个可行的选择。
viable:adj.可行的;能养活的;能生育的;
We must ensure that these young men, on their small farms, can earn enough money to make a life for themselves; to make a future. 我们得要确保这些年轻人, 用他们自己的小农田, 能够赚足够的钱来养活自己; 建立一个未来。
ensure:vt.保证,确保;使安全;
The question now is how. 现在的问题是,怎么做？
Recognizing that Africa has grassroot-level leadership, we simply developed a model to bring the professional management and investment to scale to these grassroot leaders. 因为知道非洲有草根等级的领导, 我们的做法很简单, 就是开发一个模型 把专業管理和投资给扩大规模, 带给这些草根领导人。
Recognizing:v.认识;认出;承认;接受,赞成(recognize的现在分词) professional:adj.专业的;职业的;职业性的;n.专业人员;职业运动员; management:n.管理;管理人员;管理部门;操纵;经营手段; scale:n.规模;比例;鳞;刻度;天平;数值范围;v.衡量;攀登;剥落;生水垢; grassroot:n.草根,基层;
We called it "Babban Gona " -- "great farm" in Hausa. 用豪萨语叫做「Babban Gona」, 意思是「伟大的农田」。
Gona:n.狭长地毯;
Upon reaching the village in 2012, 在 2012 年到了村落之后,
I traveled from community to community, trying to convince people of our idea, trying to recru it farmer members. 我四处拜访各个社区, 试着用我们的想法来说服大家, 试着招募农夫成员。
community:n.社区;[生态]群落;共同体;团体;
We failed woefully that first year, barely recruiting 100 brave souls. 第一年,我们惨败, 很勉强招募到一百个勇敢的人。
woefully:adv.悲伤地;不幸地;使人痛苦地; recruiting:v.吸收(新成员);征募(新兵);动员;(recruit的现在分词)
But we persevered . 但我们坚持下去。
persevered:vi.坚持;不屈不挠;固执己见(在辩论中);
We kept doing what we promised, slowly we gained their trust. 我们持续努力实现我们的承诺, 慢慢地,我们得到了他们的信任。
More farmers joined us. 更多农夫加入了我们。
Fast-forward now five years. 把时间快转五年到现在。
Fast-forward:n.快进功能;adj.进展迅速的;vi.快进;vt.使快进;
With a passionate and committed team and the tremendous support of our partners, we grew dramatically, today, serving 20,000 small farmers, enabling them to double their yields and triple their net income relative to their peers . 我们有个具热忱且投入的团队, 合作伙伴也给予我们很大的支持, 让我们能大大成长, 现在,我们服务的小农夫 人数达两万人, 相对于他们的同行,
passionate:adj.热情的;热烈的,激昂的;易怒的; committed:adj.坚信的; v.做出错事; (commit的过去分词和过去式) tremendous:adj.极大的,巨大的;惊人的;极好的; enabling:adj.授权的;v.使能够;授权给(enable的现在分词); yields:n.生产量,投资效益(yield的复数形式); v.[经]生产; triple:adj.三部分的; n.三倍的数[量]; v.成为三倍; relative:adj.相对的;有关系的;成比例的;n.亲戚;相关物;[语]关系词;亲缘植物; peers:n.平辈,同事(peer的复数);v.凝视;比得上(peer的三单形式);
We are very proud of the fact -- 我们非常骄傲——
(Applause) （掌声）
Fast-forward three years, 时间快转三年,
Saminu has earned enough money to buy three goats for his mother to start a goat-rearing business, owns his own retail store and bought not one, but two motorcycles, with vanity license plates: "Babban Gona." 萨米努赚足了钱, 为他的母亲买了三只山羊, 开始了飼养山羊的事業, 他拥有自己的零售商店, 买了摩托车, 且不只一台,是两台, 还有很虚榮的车牌, 写着「Babban Gona」。
retail:vt.零售;转述;vi.零售;n.零售;adv.以零售方式;adj.零售的; vanity:n.虚荣心;空虚;浮华;无价值的东西; license:v.许可;批准;
(Applause) （掌声）
My friends, in the next 20 years, over 400 million Saminus are entering the African workforce, with potentially half of them having opportunities in agriculture. 朋友们, 在接下来的二十年, 会有超过四亿个像萨米努 这样的人进入非洲的劳动力, 当中一半的人有机会在农業上发展。
potentially:adv.可能地,潜在地;
To unlock these opportunities, through models similar to ours, they would require 150 billion dollars a year in financing. 若要透过类似我们的模型 来释出这些机会, 他们每年会需要一千五百亿的资金。
This is a big number. 这个数字很大。
But if we can tap into commercial debt , it is a small number -- only 0.1 percent of all the debt in the world today, 10 cents out of every 100 dollars. 但如果我们能利用商業借款, 这就是个小数字—— 那仅是现今全世界 所有借款的 0.1%, 也就是一百元中的十分钱而已。
debt:n.债务;借款;罪过;
This is why we designed our model to be very different from conventional agricultural development programs. 那就是为什么我们的模型设计 会和常见的农業发展方案非常不同。
conventional:adj.符合习俗的,传统的;常见的;惯例的; agricultural:adj.农业的;农艺的;
In a few short years, we have shown that our model works, is high-impact and can turn a profit, attracting commercial investors that do not typically invest in small farmers in Africa. 在短短几年间,我们就展示出 我们的模型是有用的, 它具有很高的影响力, 且能赚到利润, 吸引那些通常不会 投资在非洲小农身上的商業投资者,
high-impact:高强度的; typically:adv.代表性地;作为特色地;
Imagine a world where millions of young men across Africa, hardworking young men, have other options . 想像一个世界,在这个世界中, 非洲各地的数百万年轻人, 辛勤努力的年轻人, 有其他的选择。
options:n.选择; v.得到或获准进行选择; (option的三单形式)
I know these driven, ambitious young men will make the right choice. 我知道这些有动机、 有野心的年轻人 会做出正确的选择。
ambitious:adj.野心勃勃的;有雄心的;热望的;炫耀的;
We can realize this dream if they have a choice. 我们可以实现这个梦, 如果他们有选择的话。
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）