双语新闻：乌干达企业将香蕉纤维转化为可持续产品
Banana plant stems are mostly useless following harvest of the fruit. It takes time and work to remove the stem from the ground. Then the farmers have to crush the plant waste to small pieces to spread around crops.
香蕉的茎在果实收获后大多是无用的。把茎从地里拔出来需要时间和劳动。然后，农民们必须把植物废料压成小块，散布在庄稼周围。
But is there a better way to deal with the plant waste? A company in Uganda says yes. The business is collecting banana stems to process the plant tissue and make products.
但是有没有更好的方法来处理植物废料呢?乌干达的一家公司说是的。该公司收集香蕉茎，加工植物组织并生产产品。
The idea is both new and sustainable in the East African country where banana plants are very important. Uganda has the highest rate of banana use in the world. The country is Africa's top banana crop producer.
在这个香蕉植物非常重要的东非国家，这个想法既新颖又可持续。乌干达是世界上香蕉使用率最高的国家。该国是非洲最大的香蕉作物生产国。
A young local business, TEXFAD, deals with the banana plant waste. Now, it says it is making a profit from all the rotting stems. TEXFAD collects some of the plant tissue and uses it to make products like floor coverings, containers for home goods and more.
当地一家名为TEXFAD的年轻企业专门处理香蕉植物废料。现在，它说它正在从所有腐烂的茎中获利。TEXFAD收集一些植物组织，并用它来制造地板覆盖物、家居用品容器等产品。
John Baptist Okello leads the business division of TEXFAD. He told the Associated Press that the business made sense in a country where farmers "are struggling" with millions of tons of banana-related waste.
John Baptist Okello领导TEXFAD的商业部门。他告诉美联社，在一个农民正在与数百万吨与香蕉有关的废物“苦苦挣扎”的国家，这项业务是有意义的。
The company works with seven different farmers' groups in western Uganda. It pays $2.70 for a kilogram of dried fiber.
该公司与乌干达西部七个不同的农民组织合作。每公斤干纤维的价格为2.7美元。
David Bangirana is the leader of one such group in Sheema District. He said only a small part of the stem is used for fiber. He said that the rest of the crushed plant remains is returned to the farmer for use as fertilizer.
David Bangirana是Sheema地区一个这样组织的领导人。他说，茎中只有一小部分用于制造纤维。他说，被压碎的植物剩下的部分会返还给农民用作肥料。
TEXFAD also takes material from a third party, Tupande Holdings Ltd. Its trucks transport banana stems from farmers in central Uganda. Tupande's workers search the stems for the best candidates as fiber. Machines then turn the fiber into threads, thin long pieces of cloth.
TEXFAD还从第三方Tupande Holdings Ltd.获取材料。它的卡车运送来自乌干达中部农民的香蕉茎。Tupande的工作人员在茎中寻找最合适的纤维。然后机器把纤维变成线，又细又长的布料。
Aggrey Muganga is the team leader at Tupande Holdings Ltd. He said his company deals with more than 60 farmers who continuously supply surplus raw material.
Aggrey Muganga是Tupande控股有限公司的团队负责人。他说，他的公司与60多家不断供应过剩原材料的农民打交道。
That number is only a small part of what is available in a country where banana crops makes up more than a million hectares of land.
这个数字只是这个国家现有香蕉种植面积的一小部分，香蕉种植面积超过100万公顷。
Banana production has been increasing over the years. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics found that banana production rose from 6.5 metric tons in 2018 to 8.3 metric tons in 2019.
香蕉产量多年来一直在增加。乌干达统计局发现，香蕉产量从2018年的6.5吨增加到2019年的8.3吨。
Muganga said that they put extra income in the hands of the farmers. He added, "We turn this waste into something valuable that we sell to our partners who also make things."
穆甘加说，他们把额外的收入交到农民手中。他补充说，“我们把这些废物变成有价值的东西，卖给我们的合作伙伴，他们也做东西。”
At a plant just outside the Ugandan capital Kampala, TEXFAD employs more than 30 people who use their hands to make products from banana fiber. The company is now exporting some products to Europe.
在乌干达首都坎帕拉郊外的一家工厂里，TEXFAD雇佣了30多名工人，他们用双手用香蕉纤维制作产品。这家公司现在向欧洲出口一些产品。
Such products are possible because "banana fiber can be softened to the level of cotton," Okello said.
这种产品是可能的，因为“香蕉纤维可以软化到棉花的水平，”奥凯洛说。
The company can make some paper products with the material. It is working with researchers to experiment with possible cloth from banana fiber. However, it does not have the technology to make clothing, Okello said.
该公司可以用这种材料制作一些纸制品。该公司正与研究人员合作，尝试用香蕉纤维制作布料。然而，奥凯洛说，它还没有制造服装的技术。
香蕉的茎在果实收获后大多是无用的。把茎从地里拔出来需要时间和劳动。然后，农民们必须把植物废料压成小块，散布在庄稼周围。
But is there a better way to deal with the plant waste? A company in Uganda says yes. The business is collecting banana stems to process the plant tissue and make products.
但是有没有更好的方法来处理植物废料呢?乌干达的一家公司说是的。该公司收集香蕉茎，加工植物组织并生产产品。
The idea is both new and sustainable in the East African country where banana plants are very important. Uganda has the highest rate of banana use in the world. The country is Africa's top banana crop producer.
在这个香蕉植物非常重要的东非国家，这个想法既新颖又可持续。乌干达是世界上香蕉使用率最高的国家。该国是非洲最大的香蕉作物生产国。
A young local business, TEXFAD, deals with the banana plant waste. Now, it says it is making a profit from all the rotting stems. TEXFAD collects some of the plant tissue and uses it to make products like floor coverings, containers for home goods and more.
当地一家名为TEXFAD的年轻企业专门处理香蕉植物废料。现在，它说它正在从所有腐烂的茎中获利。TEXFAD收集一些植物组织，并用它来制造地板覆盖物、家居用品容器等产品。
John Baptist Okello leads the business division of TEXFAD. He told the Associated Press that the business made sense in a country where farmers "are struggling" with millions of tons of banana-related waste.
John Baptist Okello领导TEXFAD的商业部门。他告诉美联社，在一个农民正在与数百万吨与香蕉有关的废物“苦苦挣扎”的国家，这项业务是有意义的。
The company works with seven different farmers' groups in western Uganda. It pays $2.70 for a kilogram of dried fiber.
该公司与乌干达西部七个不同的农民组织合作。每公斤干纤维的价格为2.7美元。
David Bangirana is the leader of one such group in Sheema District. He said only a small part of the stem is used for fiber. He said that the rest of the crushed plant remains is returned to the farmer for use as fertilizer.
David Bangirana是Sheema地区一个这样组织的领导人。他说，茎中只有一小部分用于制造纤维。他说，被压碎的植物剩下的部分会返还给农民用作肥料。
TEXFAD also takes material from a third party, Tupande Holdings Ltd. Its trucks transport banana stems from farmers in central Uganda. Tupande's workers search the stems for the best candidates as fiber. Machines then turn the fiber into threads, thin long pieces of cloth.
TEXFAD还从第三方Tupande Holdings Ltd.获取材料。它的卡车运送来自乌干达中部农民的香蕉茎。Tupande的工作人员在茎中寻找最合适的纤维。然后机器把纤维变成线，又细又长的布料。
Aggrey Muganga is the team leader at Tupande Holdings Ltd. He said his company deals with more than 60 farmers who continuously supply surplus raw material.
Aggrey Muganga是Tupande控股有限公司的团队负责人。他说，他的公司与60多家不断供应过剩原材料的农民打交道。
That number is only a small part of what is available in a country where banana crops makes up more than a million hectares of land.
这个数字只是这个国家现有香蕉种植面积的一小部分，香蕉种植面积超过100万公顷。
Banana production has been increasing over the years. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics found that banana production rose from 6.5 metric tons in 2018 to 8.3 metric tons in 2019.
香蕉产量多年来一直在增加。乌干达统计局发现，香蕉产量从2018年的6.5吨增加到2019年的8.3吨。
Muganga said that they put extra income in the hands of the farmers. He added, "We turn this waste into something valuable that we sell to our partners who also make things."
穆甘加说，他们把额外的收入交到农民手中。他补充说，“我们把这些废物变成有价值的东西，卖给我们的合作伙伴，他们也做东西。”
At a plant just outside the Ugandan capital Kampala, TEXFAD employs more than 30 people who use their hands to make products from banana fiber. The company is now exporting some products to Europe.
在乌干达首都坎帕拉郊外的一家工厂里，TEXFAD雇佣了30多名工人，他们用双手用香蕉纤维制作产品。这家公司现在向欧洲出口一些产品。
Such products are possible because "banana fiber can be softened to the level of cotton," Okello said.
这种产品是可能的，因为“香蕉纤维可以软化到棉花的水平，”奥凯洛说。
The company can make some paper products with the material. It is working with researchers to experiment with possible cloth from banana fiber. However, it does not have the technology to make clothing, Okello said.
该公司可以用这种材料制作一些纸制品。该公司正与研究人员合作，尝试用香蕉纤维制作布料。然而，奥凯洛说，它还没有制造服装的技术。
