VOA慢速英语:泰国停止有争议的大米补贴计划（双语）

[ti:Thailand Ends Controversial Rice Support Program] [ar:Christopher Cruise] [al:Agriculture Report] [00:00.00]From the VOA Learning English, [00:01.23]this is the Agriculture Report. [00:04.62]The military government of Thailand [00:07.96]is ending payments to rice farmers [00:10.39]to support the price of their crop. [00:13.99]The policy was put in place by the civilian government [00:19.28]ousted recently by the military. [00:21.64]Officials are investigating charges of corruption [00:26.47]and the possible loss of billions of dollars. [00:31.15]The military government says different measures [00:35.72]are needed to increase agricultural development and support farmers. [00:42.11]The rice support program was one of the most important policies [00:48.96]of the government of ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. [00:53.92]It helped her party win the 2011 election. [00:58.55]Under the policy, the government [01:02.27]paid farmers 50 percent more than world market rice prices. [01:08.80]The government said because Thailand was then the largest exporter of rice, [01:15.65]it could use its power to increase the price of rice around the world. [01:22.66]But problems affected the program, which cost more than $19 billion. [01:30.63]India became the world's largest rice exporter. [01:35.65]The Thai government angered people by refusing [01:40.27]to release information about the payments. [01:43.57]And the program failed. [01:46.69]Thailand was not able to force an increase in the price of rice, [01:52.13]and millions of tons of rice are now in storage buildings. [01:57.86]Reports say 18 million tons of rice are being stored in Thailand, [02:05.57]that is twice as many as normal levels. [02:10.69]The payments to rice farmers ended last year. [02:15.31]Hundreds of thousands of farmers were not paid. [02:20.11]Reports said about 20 farmers killed themselves [02:25.53]because of financial problems. [02:28.12]Others protested, gathering on the streets [02:33.31]of the capital Bangkok to demand payments. [02:36.85]In March, the government tried to make money [02:41.46]by selling rice on the world market at lower prices. [02:47.00]David Dawe is a senior economist at the Food [02:51.78]and Agriculture Organization -- a United Nations agency. [02:56.55]"One of the ways that they were raising money [02:58.97]is they realized that they were going to [03:00.66]have to sell some of the huge stocks that they had. [03:03.24]They just couldn't continue to borrow money [03:06.79]and sit on all these stocks [03:09.08]and so they just started selling stocks," Dawe said. [03:12.83]There is some good news. [03:15.05]The U.S. Agriculture Department predicts Thailand [03:19.10]will be the world's biggest exporter of rice by next year. [03:24.88]The department says Thailand will export almost 10 million tons, [03:31.52]that is the largest amount [03:34.26]since the country exported 10.6 million tons in 2011. [03:40.05]And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English. [03:54.82]I'm Christopher Cruise.

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Thailand Ends Controversial Rice Support Program

泰国停止有争议的大米补贴计划

From the VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

The military government of Thailand is ending payments to rice farmers to support the price of their crop. The policy was put in place by the civilian government ousted recently by the military. Officials are investigating charges of corruption and the possible loss of billions of dollars.

泰国军政府停止了对稻农进行补贴来支持他们所种植农作物价格的计划。这政策是最近被军政府赶下台的文政府所实施的。现在官员们正在对贪污腐败和数十亿美元可能损失的指控进行审查。

The military government says different measures are needed to increase agricultural development and support farmers. The rice support program was one of the most important policies of the government of ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. It helped her party win the 2011 election.

军政府称需要实施不同的措施来提高农业的发展和加大对农民的支持。这个大米补贴计划是前任总理英拉·西那瓦所领导的政府最重要的政策之一。这项计划还帮助她的政党赢得了2011年大选。

Under the policy, the government paid farmers 50 percent more than world market rice prices. The government said because Thailand was then the largest exporter of rice, it could use its power to increase the price of rice around the world.

根据这一规定，政府支付给农民高于国际市场大米价格50%的价格。政府称，因为泰国当时是世界上最大的大米出口国，它可以利用这一优势来提高世界大米的价格。

But problems affected the program, which cost more than $19 billion. India became the world's largest rice exporter. The Thai government angered people by refusing to release information about the payments. And the program failed.

但是这个耗资190亿美元的计划被一些问题所影响。印度变成了世界上最大的大米出口国。泰国政府因拒绝发布有关大米补贴的信息而激怒了人民，该计划宣告失败。

Thailand was not able to force an increase in the price of rice, and millions of tons of rice are now in storage buildings. Reports say 18 million tons of rice are being stored in Thailand, that is twice as many as normal levels.

泰国无力推动大米价格的上涨，致使现在数百万吨大米堆积在粮仓里。据报道称，有1800万吨大米被堆积在泰国，是其正常储藏量的两倍。

The payments to rice farmers ended last year. Hundreds of thousands of farmers were not paid. Reports said about 20 farmers killed themselves because of financial problems. Others protested, gathering on the streets of the capital Bangkok to demand payments. In March, the government tried to make money by selling rice on the world market at lower prices.

对稻农的补贴计划在去年已经结束，几十万农民未得到补贴。据报道称，有大约20个农民因经济问题而自杀。其他人则聚集在首都曼谷的街道上进行抗议，要求补贴。今年3月份，政府试着在国际市场上以较低的价格出售大米来筹集资金。

David Dawe is a senior economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization -- a United Nations agency.

David Dawe是联合国粮食农业组织机构的高级经济师。

"One of the ways that they were raising money is they realized that they were going to have to sell some of the huge stocks that they had. They just couldn't continue to borrow money and sit on all these stocks and so they just started selling stocks," Dawe said.

Dawe说：“他们筹集资金的方法之一是他们意识到他们不得不去销售他们所拥有的大量库存。他们只是不能再坐拥这些库存而继续去借钱，所以他们开始出售库存。”

There is some good news. The U.S. Agriculture Department predicts Thailand will be the world's biggest exporter of rice by next year. The department says Thailand will export almost 10 million tons, that is the largest amount since the country exported 10.6 million tons in 2011.

这也有一些好消息称，美国农业部预测明年泰国将会成为世界上最大的大米出口国。该农业部称，泰国将会出口大约1000万吨的大米，这将会是自2011年该国出口了1060万吨大米后至今最大的出口量。

And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English. I'm Christopher Cruise.

这就是今天的美国之音慢速英语农业报道，我是克里斯多夫·克鲁斯。

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Thailand Ends Controversial Rice Support Program

From the VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

The military government of Thailand is ending payments to rice farmers to support the price of their crop. The policy was put in place by the civilian government ousted recently by the military. Officials are investigating charges of corruption and the possible loss of billions of dollars.

The military government says different measures are needed to increase agricultural development and support farmers. The rice support program was one of the most important policies of the government of ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. It helped her party win the 2011 election.

Under the policy, the government paid farmers 50 percent more than world market rice prices. The government said because Thailand was then the largest exporter of rice, it could use its power to increase the price of rice around the world.

But problems affected the program, which cost more than $19 billion. India became the world's largest rice exporter. The Thai government angered people by refusing to release information about the payments. And the program failed.

Thailand was not able to force an increase in the price of rice, and millions of tons of rice are now in storage buildings. Reports say 18 million tons of rice are being stored in Thailand, that is twice as many as normal levels.

The payments to rice farmers ended last year. Hundreds of thousands of farmers were not paid. Reports said about 20 farmers killed themselves because of financial problems. Others protested, gathering on the streets of the capital Bangkok to demand payments. In March, the government tried to make money by selling rice on the world market at lower prices.

David Dawe is a senior economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization -- a United Nations agency.

"One of the ways that they were raising money is they realized that they were going to have to sell some of the huge stocks that they had. They just couldn't continue to borrow money and sit on all these stocks and so they just started selling stocks," Dawe said.

There is some good news. The U.S. Agriculture Department predicts Thailand will be the world's biggest exporter of rice by next year. The department says Thailand will export almost 10 million tons, that is the largest amount since the country exported 10.6 million tons in 2011.

And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English. I'm Christopher Cruise.