（本文的英语源文本来自于51VOA，译文为本人原创，欢迎交流指正）
Back in 1966, a farmer named Nekkanti Subha Rao
planted a new variety of rice in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
回望1966年，位于印度东南的安德哈拉邦，一名叫作内坎提·撒卜劳的农民种下了一种新品水稻。
The rice plant is called IR8. It was the creation of scientists at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.
这款新水稻被命名为IR8，是由位于菲律宾的国际水稻研究学会的科学家们改良而成。
Scientists created the IR8 variety by combining a tall rice plant from Indonesia and a shorter version from China.
科学家们将一种产自印尼的高杆水稻与产自中国的一种矮杆水稻杂交，从而研发出了IR8。
IR8 was the world's first highly productive rice. Itis credited with having prevented famines and providing food for millions ofpeople.
IR8是世界上第一种高产水稻。人们相信它可以防治饥荒，为数百万人口提供粮食。
Agricultural experts say IR8 rice is partly responsible for the Green Revolution, which began in the 1940s and continued through the 1960s. During this period, farmers increased their use of man-made fertilizers and pesticides, and irrigation systems to water crops. Food production sharply increased and helped prevent widespread hunger.
农业学家认为IR8水稻的成功，部分得益于起始于20世纪40年代至60年代的“绿色革命”。在此期间，农民们加大了人工合成化肥和杀虫剂的使用量，并为种植水田农作物兴建了大量的水利设施。粮食产量剧增从而防止了大范围的饥荒扩散。
India and the International Rice Research Institute have been celebrating the 50th anniversary of IR8 rice, which became known as "miracle rice."
印度和国际水稻学会庆祝IR8水稻研制成功50周年，IR8水稻也被称为“神奇水稻”。
Farmer Rao, now 80 years old, remembers his surprise when he harvested a shocking 7.5 tons of rice on every hectare.
已经80岁高龄的农民——劳，仍然记得当他收获了令人震惊的每公顷7.5吨水稻时的惊喜。
"Never before," he said. "Every farmer feeling very, very, very happy, happy. 100 percent success."
“闻所未闻，”他说。“每一位农民都非常、非常、非常的开心。这是百分一百的成功。”
Many Asian countries struggled with food shortages in the 1960s and 1970s. IR8 and other varieties that followed helped increase rice production in Asia by 200 percent. The increase helped prevent widespread hunger.
在20世纪60至70年代，许多亚洲国家挣扎在温饱线上。IR8和后续类型的水稻帮助亚洲的粮食产量翻了两番。粮食的增产防止了大面积的饥荒。
"It transformed agriculture," said Dr. Nafees Meah, the institute's representative for South Asia. He said the Green Revolution prevented the food crises that happened in those years. "It saved millions of lives."
该学会的代表拉菲斯·麦阿博士发言称：“这改变了农业”。他说，绿色革命在那几年防止了粮食危机的发生。“这挽救了成千上万人的生命。”
After India,IR8 rice was planted in other Asian countries, such as the Philippines,Vietnam and Cambodia,where rice is the main food for most people.
继印度之后，在其他几个以水稻作为多数人口的主主食的国家也开始种植IR8水稻，例如越南和柬埔寨。
Agriculture experts say that the plant's shorter length made IR8 rice stronger and less likely to fail before harvest time. And,it took less time to grow compared to local rice. So, farmers could plant more than one crop on the same land.
农业专家称，IR8水稻的枝杆越短，那它在收获之前抗倒伏的能力就越强。并且，对比当地的原生水稻IR8的成熟期更短。所以，农民们可以在同一块土地上种植2种以上的作物。
Recalling the Green Revolution
重启绿色革命
Even with the rise in food production, the Green Revolution also led to some long-term troubles.
随着粮食产量的提高，绿色革命也引发了一些长期的困境。
As The New York Times reported, crops such as IR8 rice required heavy use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
据纽约时代周刊报道，如IR8等类型的作物需要大量使用农药和化肥。
This method of agriculture left behind chemical pollution, noted U.S. News & World Report magazine. It also used up a lot of soil nutrients, and eventually led to soil depletion. So, farmers needed more and more fertilizer, according to National Public Radio (NPR).
美国《新闻与世界报告》杂志指出，这一农业种植方法带来了化学污染。按照国家公共电台的说法，这种方法压榨了土地过多的养分，实际上导致了土壤消耗。如此一来，农民们只能使用越来越多的化肥。
Crops like IR8 also needed more water than natural rainfall offered, so farmers had toirrigatethe soil and build wells, NPR noted. In India, this caused the groundwater to sink as much as one meter each year.
国家公共电台还指出，像IR8这样的农作物还需要供给除自然降水之外的额外水分，所以农民们不得不灌溉土壤和挖掘水井。在印度，这使得地下水位每年以一米的速度下降。
This "package of practices" was costly,especially for poor farmers. Many of the farmers used credit to buy the products and services, but could not pay back their loans. So, they went in to debt, lost their land, and were forced to move to crowded cities to find work.After they left, richer farmers bought their land.
这“一揽子做法”花费巨大，尤其是对经济状况不好的农民。许多农民使用信贷去买生产资料和服务，但（收获）却不足以偿还他们的贷款。不得已，他们因为欠债，土地被收缴，被迫迁居到拥挤的城市寻找工作。他们离开之后，更富有的农民买下了他们的土地。
There was very little work on the larger farms because farmers began turning to tractors and other modern equipment. So, human labor decreased, creating high rural unemployment in some areas.
在大型农场里只有少量的工作，因为农民们开始使用拖拉机和其他现代农业设备。从而，人工骤减，在一些地区造成了农村的高失业率。
Widespread planting of only one or two varieties of
rice also reduced biodiversity. In the long-term, this can lead to the spread of disease among plants.
仅仅广泛种植一两种水稻也减少了生物多样性。从长远来看，这可能会导致植物间的疾病传播。
Feeding a growing world 填饱一个不断膨胀的世界
The methods used during the Green Revolution saved nearly one billion people from starvation, according to the New York Times.However, experts are divided on whether the lasting results are more good than bad.
据纽约时报的报道，在绿色革命期间使用的生物科技使将近10亿人从饥饿中得以生存下来。然而，这最终的后果到底是好是坏，专家们对此持有不同意见。
Today food security is still an issue, and not just for Asia. At the same time,malnourishment continues to affect millions of poor people on the continent. And everywhere, farmers are dealing with issues resulting from climate change.
如今，在亚洲及其他地区，食品安全仍然是一个重大的问题。与此同时，营养不良持续困扰着这片大陆上数百万的贫困人口。并且，农户们还要面对气候变化导致的一系列问题。
Rod Wing is an American scientist at the International Rice Research Institute. He says developing new kinds of rice with more nutrients but less of a harmful effect on the environment can reduce our dependence on gases linked to climate change. The problem, he says, is that the rice must require less water, fertilizer, and pesticides.
罗德·温是国际水稻研究学会的一名美国科学家。他认为开发一些营养更加丰富，环境负担更小的新水稻品种，能够减少水稻对气候条件的依赖。
In recent years, new kinds of rice that are more resistant to dry weather and floods are showing promising results in eastern India and Bangladesh, a country where floods used to cover or wash away crops.
最近几年，在东印度和孟加拉国一些抗旱抗涝的新水稻品种经受住了实际检验。而在过去，这些地区的农作物经常被洪水淹没或冲走。
A genetically engineered variety of rice has been developed to improve Vitamin A levels. Lack of Vitamin A kills many children under the age of five. In addition, researchers are developing crops that keep blood sugar lower and release energy slowly.
一种使用了基因工程技术的水稻能够提升维他命A的含量。缺乏维他命A已经导致了许多儿童在五岁之前夭折。此外，研究者正在开发能够缓慢释放能量从而使血糖含量维持在稍低水平的农作物。
But the challenge of productivity that IR8 rice fueled remains, noted Wing. "The big question is...how are we going to feed three more billion people on the planet by 2050?"
但科学家罗德·温指出，目前生产力面临的挑战是为剩余的IR8水稻供给养分。“最大的难题就是···我们怎么才能满足这颗星球上将在2050年多出来的超过30亿的人口”。
And while some farmers are experiencing larger harvests, they continue to battle other problems. The cost of growing the rice is "very, very high now. Labor cost is high," said farmer Rao.
当一些农民正经历越来越大的丰收时，他们也必须解决其他一些棘手的问题——例如，种植水稻的成本。农民劳说，“现在，成本已经越来越高了，特别是人力成本”。
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