YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

Kooper
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註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Kooper »

Please read the Economist article listed below and write an essay about it. List one to three words that you think is worth learning.

Brazilian argriculture: The Miracle of The Cerrado http://www.economist.com/node/16886442? ... d=16886442
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chiron
YOYO member
文章: 520
註冊時間: 週三 10月 03, 2007 4:23 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 chiron »

Kooper 寫:Please read the Economist article listed below and write an essay about it. List one to three words that you think is worth learning.

Brazilian argriculture: The Miracle of The Cerrado http://www.economist.com/node/16886442? ... d=16886442
Guys, I can't attend this meeting again.
Please call me Na'vi!
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Kooper »

Brazil’s Agricultural Miracle and Its Implications for The Future of The Global Agriculture

Not for nothing is Brazil entitled one of the BRICs. After bringing back a whole package of state-of-the-art agricultural technologies from the US in the 70s, Brazil managed to digest and transform the imported knowledge into their own know-how, which in turn made its produce output soar dramatically starting from 90s. Today Brazil is by no means inferior to the traditional five giant food exporters - America, Canada, Australia, Argentina and the EU. It is now the world’s largest exporter in beef, sugar cane, poultry and ethanol. Accounting for one-third of the world’s total amount, Brazil’s soybean export is only second to America,.

This phenomenal agricultural miracle is not just the luck of the draw but the product of two main factors; first, plentiful supply of spare farmland and water lay the foundations for Brazil’s rapid growth. The world’s largest amount of uncultivated or unused farmland lies in Brazil. Only a quarter of its potential arable land is being plowed so far. Brazilian farmers have since 1996 put more farmland under cultivation by one-third. Brazil also has more water than any single country in the world. Its total amount of renewable water is comparable to the whole Asia’s. What’s even more advantageous to Brazil is the regions with abundant water supply happen to largely overlap its farm areas.

The second and most important reason for Brazil’s success is a state- funded agricultural research company named Embrapa. Brazilian agriculture would have remained small potatoes in the world if it were not for the Embrapa, which is seen as the engine of Brazil’s farming revolution. One of the most spectacular achievements the Embrapa has made is to turn the vast infertile soil in Cerrado into arable land. Today the Cerrado constitute 70% of Brazil’s total produce output. Through importing foreign species, crossbreeding, and genetic engineering, scientists of the Embrapa made various breakthroughs: from multiplying grass feed output per hectare and thus expanding Brazil’s cattle herd on a large scale, creating varieties of soybean that are more tolerant to the tropical climate and the acid soils in Cerrado, shortening growing cycles of bull and soybean, to pioneering in no-ill farming and a novel approach called forest, agriculture and livestock integration to make a better use of land, to name but a few.

The success in Brazil sheds light on the solution to the world’s looming food shortage crises. It, however, took Brazil thirty years to take America’s knowledge and turned it into something of their own. Though Brazil is willing and is exporting its system to the areas of the world which most need agricultural breakthroughs, the question all boil down to how fast the others can duplicate Brazil’s triumph.
Kooper
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文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Kooper »

account for:
[1] to be the reason why sth happens
[2] to form or produce a particular amount or part of sth
Examples:
[1] [Recent pressure at work may account for his behavior.]
[Brazil's argricultural miracle did not happen through a simple technological fix. No magic bullet accounts for it.]
[2] [Repeat purchases account for 73% of our sales.]

magic bullet: a quick and easy solution to a difficult problem
Ex: Brazil's argricultural miracle did not happen through a simple technological fix. No magic bullet accounts for it.]
Ex: There's no magic bullet for school reform.
Sherry Liao
YOYO member
文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Sherry Liao »

The world is now facing a serious problem of imbalance between rapid growth in population and slowly-increased productivity in agriculture. According to an annual report by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, the world’s population will rise to 9.1 billion in 2050; however, the global growth of produce yield does not meet the need, and some detrimental factors, such as climate change, the growing need for grain to feed livestock in China, and the trend to use food crops for biofuels, have all worsened the situation.

Food shortages could lead to a serious consequence. When the supply lags behind the demand, price will goes up. This is just what has happened: the price of commodity crops has doubled or even tripled in recent years. This could be a great misfortune for the poor, as food expenses present higher percentage of household spending in poorer families. Since the global economic recovery is still questionable, the steep rises in the price of staples could push the less well-off back into poverty.

To solve the problem of food shortage and to boost the produce productivity, some countries have been devoting to the development of agri-technology. Amongst them, Brazil has achieved remarkable success. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, which has researched on agri-technology for more than thirty years, successfully transformed vast acidic wasteland to cultivated farmland and created high-yielding and tropical climate-adapted crops. The corporation also pioneered new farming techniques, increased the intensity of land use, and speeded up the plants’ growing period, to expedite the increase in yields.

Despite the great contribution to farming productivity, modernized agricultural technology and large-scale farming often draw criticism of impact on environment and its possible danger to human health. Brazil asserted that they did not deforest the Amazon to reclaim farmland, but controversy of the genetically modified agricultural technology is still in the air. Nevertheless, as small-scale and organic farming are not to fix the thorny issue of food crisis, it seems that this is a tendency of no return.
Sherry Liao
YOYO member
文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Sherry Liao »

stall: to stop sth from happening until a later date; to stop making progress
Ex. Discussions have once again stalled.
Ex. Fears are growing that a tax increase may stall economic recovery.

in a sense/in one sense/in some senses etc (=in one way, in some ways etc)
Ex. What he says is right in a sense.
Ex. The hotel was in no sense (=not at all) comfortable.
Ex. George was a big man in every sense of the word (=in every way).
Ex. This is true in a general sense.
Ex. Communication, in any real sense (=of any real kind), was extremely limited.
in a (very) real sense (=used to emphasize that a statement or description is true)
Ex. A head of a school is a manager in a very real sense.

mop sth up: to remove or deal with something which you think is undesirable or dangerous, so that it is no longer a problem
Ex. It took a week to mop up the last of the enemy soldiers.
Ex. The usual solution is to send in infantry to mop up any remaining opposition.
Ex. The rebellion has been crushed, but mopping-up operations may take several weeks.
Sherry Liao
YOYO member
文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Sherry Liao »

Dear ISG members,

I can't make it to the meeting due to a family activity this morning. Hope you enjoy the discussion.
janet12tw
Member
文章: 136
註冊時間: 週日 5月 31, 2009 6:13 am

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 janet12tw »

Hi,

Sorry I can't join the meeting today, either. But I will post my assignment later. Have a nice day!

Regards,
Janet
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Kooper »

So... just JJ and I?

JJ, Will you make it today?
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Just JJ
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文章: 220
註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Just JJ »

What if we can literally profit from knowledge?

Food shortage and Green house effect has been the most-discussed issue as a result of the world’s population growth, and industrialization. Knowledge applied to solutions always seems to be too fancy to be true. A Brazilien institution, however, and the solar energy storage in German have been the paradigm for rest of us around the globe.

Solar energy storage introduced in German government in 1991 has become an stern industry which offers a long-term scheme on the individual basis. The scheme not only involves the facility installation on the individual rooftop, but also has the government supports. The Government of Germany offers the tariff claim as an incentive to extend the public exposure. From this scheme, we can learn an united practice executed simultaneously by the both industry and authority, and it has already implemented for nearly twenty years.

An Brazilian institution, Embrapa, adopts the application of lime to produce farm land. Food shortage is a recognizalbe issue, and the lake of land and population growth are two major factors. Originally, the level of acidity in soil of 20,000-hectare land is high in Brazil. After the use of more than 39m tonnes lime, the farmland is rich in nitrogen which make the soil require less fertilisers. The institution literally turns the farmland into invaluable assets by adopting knowledge.

The storage of renewable energy have broadly used for fifteen years. It requires the well-planed scheme to make it happen and last long in terms of the supports of public, industry, and government. Embrapa, moreover, even gives land a second change to have better quality farming by utilizing knowledge. On the discussion of renewable energy and food shortage, these two instances give us the two great paradigms.
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Just JJ
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文章: 220
註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Just JJ »

Sherry Liao
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文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Sherry Liao »

Just JJ 寫:What if we can literally profit from knowledge?

Food shortage and Green house effect has been the most-discussed issue as a result of the world’s population growth, and industrialization. Knowledge applied to solutions always seems to be too fancy to be true. A Brazilien institution, however, and the solar energy storage in German have been the paradigm for rest of us around the globe.

Solar energy storage introduced in German government in 1991 has become an stern industry which offers a long-term scheme on the individual basis. The scheme not only involves the facility installation on the individual rooftop, but also has the government supports. The Government of Germany offers the tariff claim as an incentive to extend the public exposure. From this scheme, we can learn an united practice executed simultaneously by the both industry and authority, and it has already implemented for nearly twenty years.

An Brazilian institution, Embrapa, adopts the application of lime to produce farm land. Food shortage is a recognizalbe issue, and the lake of land and population growth are two major factors. Originally, the level of acidity in soil of 20,000-hectare land is high in Brazil. After the use of more than 39m tonnes lime, the farmland is rich in nitrogen which make the soil require less fertilisers. The institution literally turns the farmland into invaluable assets by adopting knowledge.

The storage of renewable energy have broadly used for fifteen years. It requires the well-planed scheme to make it happen and last long in terms of the supports of public, industry, and government. Embrapa, moreover, even gives land a second change to have better quality farming by utilizing knowledge. On the discussion of renewable energy and food shortage, these two instances give us the two great paradigms.
I like your viewpoint. It's refreshing.
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Kooper »

Sherry Liao 寫:The world is now facing a serious problem of ("problem of" seems redundant to me) imbalance between rapid growth in population and slowly-increased productivity in agriculture. According to an annual report by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, the world’s population will rise to 9.1 billion in 2050; however, the global growth of produce yield does not meet the need, and some detrimental factors, such as climate change, the growing need for grain to feed livestock in China, and the trend to use food crops for biofuels, have all worsened the situation.

Food shortages could lead to a serious consequence. When the supply lags behind the demand, price will goes up. This is just what has happened: the price of commodity crops has doubled or even tripled in recent years. This could be a great misfortune for the poor, as food expenses present higher percentage of household spending in poorer families. Since the global economic recovery is still questionable, the steep rises in the price of staples could push the less well-off back into poverty.

To solve the problem of food shortage and to boost the produce productivity, some countries have been devoting themselves to the development of agri-technology. Amongst them, Brazil has achieved remarkable success. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, which has been researching ("on" is not needed) agri-technology for more than thirty years, successfully transformed vast acidic wasteland to cultivated farmland and created high-yielding and tropical climate-adapted crops. The corporation also pioneered new farming techniques, increased the intensity of land use, and sped up the plants’ growing period, to expedite the increase in yields.

Despite the great contribution to farming productivity, modernized agricultural technology and large-scale farming often draw criticism of impact on environment and its possible danger to human health. Brazil asserted that they did not deforest the Amazon to reclaim farmland, but controversy of the genetically modified agricultural technology is still in the air. Nevertheless, as small-scale and organic farming are not to fix the thorny issue of food crisis, it seems that this is a tendency of no return.
"Tendency of no return" seems weird to me. I've only heard of "Point of no return." Also no "Tendency of no return" could be found through Google.
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Kooper »

Just JJ 寫:What if we can literally profit from knowledge?

Food shortage and Green house effect has been the most-discussed issue as a result of the world’s population growth, and industrialization. Knowledge applied to solutions always seems to be too fancy to be true. A Brazilien institution, however, and the solar energy storage in German have been the paradigm for rest of us around the globe.

Solar energy storage introduced in German government in 1991 has become an stern industry which offers a long-term scheme on the individual basis. The scheme not only involves the facility installation on the individual rooftop, but also has the government supports. The Government of Germany offers the tariff claim as an incentive to extend the public exposure. From this scheme, we can learn an united practice executed simultaneously by the both industry and authority, and it has already implemented for nearly twenty years.

An Brazilian institution, Embrapa, adopts the application of lime to produce farm land. Food shortage is a recognizable issue, and the lack of land and population growth are two major factors. Originally, the level of acidity in soil of 20,000-hectare land is high in Brazil. After the use of more than 39m tonnes lime, the farmland is rich in nitrogen which make the soil require less fertilisers. The institution literally turns the farmland into invaluable assets by adopting knowledge.

The storage of renewable energy have been broadly used for fifteen years. It requires the well-planed scheme to make it happen and last long in terms of the supports of public, industry, and government. Embrapa, moreover, even gives land a second change to have better quality farming by utilizing knowledge. On the discussion of renewable energy and food shortage, these two instances give us the two great paradigms.
Sherry Liao
YOYO member
文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 100912 The miracle of the cerrado

文章 Sherry Liao »

Kooper 寫:
Sherry Liao 寫:The corporation also pioneered new farming techniques, increased the intensity of land use, and sped up the plants’ growing period, to expedite the increase in yields.
I think "sped" and "speeded" both work here. :?
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