International trade in potatoes currently represents only about 6% of production so prices are set locally. Potatoes are a good source of nutrients. And farmers can plant them in rotation with grain crops.

 如今土豆的国际交易量只占产量的6％左右，因此各地区自行定价。土豆是理想的营养来源。另外，农民可以将土豆与谷类作物轮耕。

The United Nations World Food Program says potatoes can grow in almost any climate. They do not require very much water and experts say potatoes can produce more food per hectare than wheat or rice.

 联合国世界粮食项目表示，土豆几乎可以在任何气候下种植。它们不需要太多的水。另外专家也指出，每公顷土豆可以比小麦，大米产量更大。

Until the early 1990s most potatoes were grown in Europe, North America and the former Soviet republics. Person for person Europeans still eat the most potatoes. But the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says production has increased sharply in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

 一直到二十世纪九十年代，大部分的土豆都生长在欧洲，北美和前苏联。按人均算，欧洲人主食土豆。但联合国粮食农业组织称在亚洲，非洲和拉丁美洲，产量在剧增。

The FAO says developing countries grew more potatoes than developed countries for the first time in 2005. That same year an American-led research team tried to settle the debate over where potatoes came from. They reported that all potatoes today have a single origin in southern Peru. The earliest evidence suggested that farmers developed potatoes from wild plants more than 7000 years ago. 

 FAO指出，发展中国家的土豆种植量在2005年首次超过发达国家。同年，一个由美国人领导的研究小组试图解决土豆起源的争论。他们的报告指出，现在世界上所有的土豆都起源于秘鲁的南部。最早的证据表明7000多年前农民就开始从野生植物中培育土豆。

posted on 2008-06-01 15:28 BL 阅读(28) 评论(0)  编辑  收藏 网摘收藏