A new report says if women farmers had the same rights as men, more could be done to reduce world hunger. The report, "Empowering Women in Agriculture," is from the anti-hunger group Bread for the World. Bread for the World says equal access to agricultural resources would help increase food security and economic growth.

Faustine Wabwire is the group's foreign assistance specialist.

FAUSTINE WABMIRE: "Women constituted half of the agricultural labor force in not just Africa, but the developing countries as a whole. And when you think of Africa alone, it's more than sixty percent of the total agricultural labor force being provided by women."

The report says in most countries, women working in rural areas are more likely than men to hold seasonal, part-time and low-wage jobs. They also receive less pay for the same work.

Ms. Wabwire says women farmers often cannot get seeds, fertilizer, proper tools, credit and, especially, land.

FAUSTINE WABWIRE: "For most of Africa, we have about eighty percent of the population living in rural areas and they subsist on agriculture. Now women make sixty percent of the agricultural labor force and they have no access to resources. So, for example, land is one good example where less than twenty percent of all landholders are women."

This is often because of legal as well as cultural reasons. She says women who have lost their husbands may have no legal rights over their land. The only way to keep the land, she says, is to marry, say, the brother of the dead husband.

FAUSTINE WABWIRE: "So constraints like this are still very prevalent in most African societies and they continue to impede women's ability to fully enjoy their human rights."

However, Ms. Wabwire says women in agriculture are getting more attention these days. For example, Kenya's new constitution gives women the right to own land. But she says there is still a long way to go. Bread for the World is urging the United States government to increase development assistance, or at least not to decrease it.

FAUSTINE WABWIRE: "This assistance through programs such as Feed the Future, which is the U.S. government's agriculture program, is helping to elevate the status of women. It's enabling women to access productive resources such as seeds. They are able to have access to extension services, which will enable them to produce more and contribute to healthy societies."

But Ms. Wabwire says more African governments must recognize the major role that women play in agriculture and elsewhere. The report says, "Putting more income in the hands of women translates into improved child nutrition, health, and education." It gives women a way to "transform the economic life of the communities and countries in which they live."

Just how much could hunger be reduced if women had equal access to agricultural resources? The report estimates that hunger could be reduced for an extra one hundred to one hundred fifty million people.


词汇讲解：

1. reduce vt. 减少;缩小
例句：He is trying to reduce expenses.
他正试图减少开支。

2. receive vt. 收到,接到
例句：I've just received a telegram.
我刚收到一份电报。

3. agriculture n. 农业
例句：Agriculture offers something for everyone.
农业为每个人都贡献某些东西。

4. constitution n. 章程;(事物的)构造
例句：The written constitution of the United States was adopted in1787.
美国的成文宪法于一七八七年通过。

5. assistance n. 援助
例句：Your technical assistance in the project is greatlyappreciated.
您对这个项目的技术援助大受赞赏。

6. extension n. 伸展;伸长
例句：We had hoped for the extension of the deadline to the end ofthe week.
我们曾希望把最后期限延至周末。

7. produce vt. 生产,出产
例句：The factory produces 1,000 cars a week.
这家工厂每星期生产一千辆轿车。

8. recognize vt. 认出,识别
例句：The policeman recognized her as a pickpocket.
警察认出她是个小偷。

9. economic adj. 经济上的
例句：They bought an old house for economic reasons.
出于经济上的原因他们买了一所旧房子。

10. extra adj. 额外的;外加的
例句：I don't suppose they wanted any extra help.
我想他们不需要额外帮助。

短语讲解：

1. A new report says if women farmers had the same rights as men,more could be done to reduce world hunger.

the same as 跟...一样
例句：The two brothers look the same as each other.
这兄弟俩长得一样。

2. Bread for the World says equal access to agricultural resourceswould help increase food security and economic growth.

access to 接近；通向…的入口
例句：Few men have direct access to the King.
很少人能接近国王。

3. Women constituted half of the agricultural labor force in notjust Africa, but the developing countries as a whole.

as a whole 作为一个整体;整个看来
例句：Is this true just in this country, or in the world as awhole?
只是在这个国家如此呢,还是就整个世界来看都这样?

4. And when you think of Africa alone, it's more than sixtypercent of the total agricultural labor force being provided bywomen."

think of 想到,考虑
例句：Don’t think of your product as a computer
不要把你正在设计的产品认为是计算机

5. They also receive less pay for the same work.

pay for 付款， 报偿
例句：I' ll give you double pay for working overtime.
你加班我付你双倍工钱。

6. For most of Africa, we have about eighty percent of thepopulation living in rural areas and they subsist on agriculture.

subsist on 依靠
例句：And how do the poor subsist on such a meagre amount?
穷人又是怎样靠这般小数目维持生活的？

7. This is often because of legal as well as cultural reasons.

as well as 和...一样;和;也
例句：His interests included poetry as well as mathematics.
他不仅喜爱数学而且也爱写诗。

8. Bread for the World is urging the United States government toincrease development assistance, or at least not to decrease it.

at least 至少
例句：He smoked at least half a packet of cigarettes a day.
他每天至少抽半包烟。

9. They are able to have access to extension services, which willenable them to produce more and contribute to healthy societies."

be able to 能够
例句：He is able to lift a very heavy weight.
他能举很重的份量。

10. The report says, "Putting more income in the hands of womentranslates into improved child nutrition, health, and education."

translate into 把......翻译成......
例句：Literacy does not, of course, translate into depth of understanding of culture.
当然，这并不代表对文化的深刻认识。