[by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:07.40]Three times a week, a group of smallholder farmers [00:11.40]work together in a community field in Kirolirwe, [00:15.64]a village in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [00:23.12]Recently, the group prepared the soil before planting potatoes. [00:29.24]"Let's go!" shouted the team leader. [00:36.00]They encouraged each another to work harder. [00:39.36]Nearly 200,000 displaced persons fled to camps [00:45.32]in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [00:48.20]because of violence in the east. [00:51.92]Most people there say land disputes [00:55.16]are one of the root causes of the area's conflicts. [01:00.00]So recently, large landowners have been asked to free up more of their land [01:06.60]to individual farmers interested in cultivating crops. [01:11.68]Is this a solution to the land problem? [01:15.60]An organization called FOPAC [01:18.36]is teaching this group better farming methods [01:21.56]like sowing improved seeds in straight line furrows. [01:27.28]It is also showing the farmers how to remove grass [01:31.12]instead of burying it, and to use animal waste as fertilizer. [01:37.28]Mumbere Makuke works for FOPAC as a farming adviser. [01:43.12]He says the surrounding hills are owned by Olive Lembe, [01:48.52]the wife of Joseph Kabila. [01:51.46]Kabila is the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [01:57.60]Much of the land once was cultivated. [02:01.56]Mumbere Makuke says, [02:03.85]the person Olive Lembe bought the property from last year stopped planting crops. [02:11.12]Now, the land is mainly grassland. [02:15.68]Lembe is now urging smallholders to grow crops on some of her land, [02:21.72]which she has renamed Hope Farm. [02:25.68]Many local people have trouble gaining use of the land. [02:31.00]Ranchers bought much land in the area, often on dubious terms. [02:37.84]Hope Farm requires farmers to make payments for use of the land, [02:43.04]and payments have risen sharply in recent years. [02:47.64]Mumbere Makuke says the usual rental payment [02:52.40]in this area for one hectare is $200 for a season of four months. [03:00.16]Many people rent smaller fields of about 400 square meters for $10 a season. [03:09.64]FOPAC tries to avoid conflict with ranchers [03:13.44]whose animals often eat farmers' crops. [03:17.36]He says "We decided to dig ditches around the fields [03:26.32]to stop cattle from getting across." [03:29.72]Reporter Nick Long says the farmers he spoke with s [03:33.56]eemed happy with the new farming techniques. [03:37.64]But there is little manure available for their own fields. [03:42.24]Also, improved potato seeds cost $1,600 [03:48.80]for the two tons needed to plant one hectare. [03:54.36]That is a lot of money for many farmers. [03:58.72]Josaphat Musansa is an agricultural researcher. [04:04.16]He says many farmers are not wealthy enough to pay rent, [04:09.24]let alone buy tons of improved seeds. [04:13.92]He says those farmers can use land if they give a share of their harvest, [04:24.12]often 20 percent, to the landowner or manager. [04:29.00]But as improved techniques take hold, [04:32.52]some landowners may not be satisfied [04:35.96]with a 20 percent share of what is likely to be a poor harvest. [04:42.96]Unless the government introduces policies to help smallholder farmers, [04:48.76]they will have less and less land to use in this area. [04:53.60]Smallholders risk becoming landless laborers [04:58.20]as people with more money outbid them for access to land. [05:05.48]Mario Ritter. [05:06.92]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM