VOA慢速英语: 受价格低因素的影响，肯尼亚农民转向种植紫茶

受价格低因素的影响，肯尼亚农民转向种植紫茶

From VOA Learning English, this is the AGRICULTURE REPORT.

这里是美国之音慢速英语的农业报道。

Tea farmers in Kenya are suffering because of low prices for their crop this year. So they have exchanged their tea bushes for a healthy new purple tea that they hope will sell for a higher price. But there may not be a demand for the new kind of tea.

肯尼亚的种茶农户因为作物价格低而遭受损失，因此，他们改变了茶树丛，种植一种更健康的紫茶，他们希望能够卖个更高的价钱。但是对于这种新品种的茶，也许并没有需求市场。

Agricultural workers in green tea fields near Mt. Kenya are gathering the tea leaves. It is beautiful to see. The rows of tea bushes are straight. All appears to be well. But the farmers who planted the bushes are worried. Nelson Kibara is one of them. He has been growing tea in the Kerugoya area for forty years.

肯尼亚山脉附近的绿茶田里，农业劳动者正在采摘茶叶，远看去很漂亮。茶树丛列很笔直，所有这一切看上去都还不错，但是种植茶树丛的农民却在担心。尼尔森·基巴拉就是其中一个，他已经在肯哥亚（Kerugoya）地区种植了40年的茶。

He says the prices this year have been so low that he has made almost no profit. He says he must grow different kinds of tea if he is to survive.

他说今年的茶叶价钱太低了，几乎没有什么利润。要想存活下去，他必须种植一些别的茶。

Mr. Kibara and hundreds of other farmers have been removing some of their tea bushes and planting a new kind of tea developed by the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya. Its leaves are purple and brown. When the tea is boiled the drink has a purple color.

基巴拉和其他数百名农户正在移除他们的茶树丛，种植一种肯尼亚茶研究基地研发的新品种。茶叶是紫色和棕色的。茶煮沸后，呈现紫色。

Medical researchers have studied the health benefits of the new tea. They say it is healthier than black tea and could be sold for a price that is three to four times higher than the price of black tea. But Mr. Kibara says he has not received a higher price for his purple tea crop.

医学研究员已经研究这种新茶的健康益处，他们说这种紫茶比红茶更健康，价格是红茶的三到四倍。但是基比亚说他种植的紫茶还没有较高的收益呢。

He says the market for the tea is unstable. And he is often forced to sell his purple tea for the same price as green tea leaves. He says there are not enough buyers willing to pay more for the purple tea than black tea.

他说市场对茶的需求不稳定定，紫茶总是被迫以跟绿茶同等的价钱出售。而且没有那么多的消费者愿意支付更多钱来购买紫茶。

The Kenya Tea Development Agency represents small farmers. It says farmers have planted purple tea before a market has been created for it. Vincent Mwingirwa works at the agency.

代表小农利益的肯尼亚茶叶开发署，表示：还没有开拓出紫茶的市场，农民就已经开始种植紫茶了。文森特·温格瑞在该机构工作。

“What has happened is that purple tea has been developed for the farm. Unfortunately, there was not concurrent research on the market for purple tea. So we are now in a scenario where some of our farmers have planted purple tea, but they do not know where to take it.”

“紫茶是专门为农业研发的，但遗憾的是，同期并没有做一下紫茶的市场调查，所以，现在我们面对这样一个情况：茶农已经种植了紫茶，但是他们不知道怎么把这些茶叶很好地卖出去。”

Stephen Mutembei works at the Tea Research Foundation. He says farmers quickly changed from growing black tea to growing purple tea. But he also blames tea leaf processors for not making changes more quickly. But Mr. Mutembei says purple tea is an important crop for the country and its tea farmers. He says Kenya needs to find new products like purple tea to help its tea industry become more stable. Tea is the country's top crop.

史蒂芬·马特姆贝就在茶叶研究基地工作，他说茶农转变很快，不种绿茶，改种紫茶。但是他还埋怨茶叶加工商没有加快改变的进程。但是马特姆贝说紫茶对该国以及茶农来说是种重要的作物。他说肯尼亚需要找到更多的新产品，比如紫茶来帮助茶叶产业更加稳定，茶叶是肯尼亚的顶级作物。

Mr. Mutembei says the country's economy is too closely linked to the changing price of black tea. He says tea buyers and drinkers must be persuaded that they should pay more for purple tea than black tea.

马特姆贝说国家的经济状况与红茶价格的浮动关系太紧密了，购买茶叶的顾客、以及饮茶的人需要保证对于紫茶，他们会支付比红茶更多的钱。

And that's the VOA Learning English AGRICULTURE REPORT. I’m Caty Weaver.

这里是美国之音慢速英语的农业报道，我是凯蒂·威佛尔。