Petak, 16. maj 2008. - Objavljeno 19:22 GMT

'Žetve pirinča neće biti'

The huge wave that hit the Irawaddy Delta when Cyclone Nargis swept over Burma two weeks ago devastated the fragile ecosystem in five coastal areas. The United Nations says in places the damage caused was worse than after the tsunami in 2004. Deforestation meant the wave swept further inland. Food stocks and rice seed were lost. Livestock, tools and equipment too.

Farmers in that part of Burma provide two thirds of the country's rice harvest. The UN's Diedrick DeFlaysha says while the emergency relief operation continues for those in the worst affected areas, efforts need now to be made to get the region's farmers back on their feet.

ACT DIEDRICK DEFLAYSHA

"Time is running out. We're really rushing against the clock. They have to plant the rice seeds before the end of June, so there is only forty to fifty days left, otherwise the harvest of the monsoon rice will be lost."

The UN is trying to source strains of rice seed that will grow better in salty soil. In most places the paddy fields can be repaired but the damage caused by the seawater is harder to reverse. If a new crop of rice can't be planted, it won't just be the families in the delta that suffer. People across Burma will go hungry, and the country will be forced to import large amounts of rice in the months to come.

Chris Hogg, BBC News, Bangkok.

delta
delta, trouglasti deo zemljišta na mestu na kome se reka razdvaja na dva ili više tokova

devastated
potpuno uništen, jako oštećen, upropašćen

fragile
delikatan, jako slab, krhak

deforestation
deforestacija, uništavanje šuma i krčenje zemljišta (najčešće za upotrebu u poljoprivredne svrhe)

livestock
životinje na farmama, stoka / živina, domaće životinje koje se koriste u ishrani

to get the region's farmers back on their feet
da pomognu poljoprovrednicima da stanu na noge, da se oporave

rushing against the clock
rade velikom brzinom jer im vreme da obave posao ističe

monsoon
monsun, sezonski vetar u južnoj Aziji koji zimi duva sa severoistoka, a leti sa jugozapada (i donosi kišu)

strains
tipovi, vrste, sorte

paddy fields
delovi poljoprovrednog zemljišta koji se namerno poplavljuju kako bi se na njima gajio pirinač