Three times a week, a group of smallholder farmers work together in a community field in Kirolirwe, a village in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
在刚果民主共和国北基伍省的Kirolirwe村，一群小农户每周三次在一块社区土地上共同劳作。
Recently, the group prepared the soil before planting potatoes.
最近，这群人在种植马铃薯前翻好了地。
"Let's go!" shouted the team leader. They encouraged each another to work harder.
“我们走吧！”领队大喊。他们鼓励彼此更加辛勤地劳作。
Nearly 200,000 displaced persons fled to camps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo because of violence in the east. Most people there say land disputes are one of the root causes of the area's conflicts.
刚果民主共和国有将近20万人因为东部的暴力活动流离失所逃到了难民营。这里的大多数人表示，土地纠纷是该地区冲突的根源之一。
So recently, large landowners have been asked to free up more of their land to individual farmers interested in cultivating crops.
所以最近，大地主们一直被要求腾出更多土地给有意耕种的农民。
Is this a solution to the land problem?
这是土地问题的一种解决之道吗？
An organization called FOPAC is teaching this group better farming methods like sowing improved seeds in straight line furrows. It is also showing the farmers how to remove grass instead of burying it, and to use animal waste as fertilizer.
一家名为FOPAC的组织正在给这群人教更好的耕作方法，例如在直线沟播种良种种子。它还向农民们展示如何除草而不是把它们翻埋起来，以及使用动物粪便作为肥料。
Mumbere Makuke works for FOPAC as a farming adviser.
Mumbere Makuke在FOPAC组织担任农业顾问。
He says the surrounding hills are owned by Olive Lembe, the wife of Joseph Kabila. Kabila is the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
他说，周围丘陵的所有人是Olive Lembe，也就是刚果民主共和国总统约瑟夫·卡比拉（Joseph Kabila）的妻子。
Much of the land once was cultivated. Mumbere Makuke says, the person Olive Lembe bought the property from last year stopped planting crops. Now, the land is mainly grassland.
这些土地大部分曾经是耕地。Mumbere Makuke表示，卖给Olive Lembe土地的那个人去年停止了种植农作物。现在这片土地主要是草原。
Lembe is now urging smallholders to grow crops on some of her land, which she has renamed Hope Farm. Many local people have trouble gaining use of the land. Ranchers bought much land in the area, often on dubious terms.
Lembe现在正在鼓励小农户在她的一些土地上种植农作物。她将这片土地改名为希望农场。许多当地人不能获得土地的使用权。农场主往往根据可疑条款购买了该地区大部分土地。
Hope Farm requires farmers to make payments for use of the land, and payments have risen sharply in recent years.
希望农场要求农民们为使用土地付费，并且近年来费用急剧上涨。
Mumbere Makuke says the usual rental payment in this area for one hectare is $200 for a season of four months. Many people rent smaller fields of about 400 square meters for $10 a season.
Mumbere Makuke表示，该地区一公顷土地的日常租金是200美元每四个月。许多人用10美元每四个月的价格租用大约400平方米的小块土地。
FOPAC tries to avoid conflict with ranchers whose animals often eat farmers' crops.
FOPAC组织试图避免同农场主的冲突，农场主的牲畜经常吃农民的庄稼。
He says "We decided to dig ditches around the fields to stop cattle from getting across."
他说，“我们决定在土地四周挖沟阻止牛过来。”
Reporter Nick Long says the farmers he spoke with seemed happy with the new farming techniques. But there is little manure available for their own fields. Also, improved potato seeds cost $1,600 for the two tons needed to plant one hectare.
记者尼克·朗（Nick Long）表示，他采访过的农民似乎对这项新的务农技术非常满意。但是能用于土地的粪便也少了。此外，种植一公顷土地所需的两吨良种马铃薯种子需要花费1600美元。
That is a lot of money for many farmers. Josaphat Musansa is an agricultural researcher. He says many farmers are not wealthy enough to pay rent, let alone buy tons of improved seeds.
这对许多农民来说是一笔大钱。Josaphat Musansa 是一名农业研究员。他说，许多农民不够钱交租金，更别说买成吨的良种种子。
He says those farmers can use land if they give a share of their harvest, often 20 percent, to the landowner or manager. But as improved techniques take hold, some landowners may not be satisfied with a 20 percent share of what is likely to be a poor harvest.
他说，这些农民可以用收成抵租金，通常需要给地主20%的收成。但是随着技术改良的冒头，一些地主可能不满足于歉收收成的20%这样一个份额。
Unless the government introduces policies to help smallholder farmers, they will have less and less land to use in this area. Smallholders risk becoming landless laborers as people with more money outbid them for access to land.
除非政府推出政策帮助小农户，否则他们在该地区能使用的土地就会越来越少。随着更有钱的人出高价获得土地，小农户存在变成无地劳动者的风险。
I'm Mario Ritter.
我是马里奥·理特。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)