10. This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

California has more than two thousand kinds of plants that are not found anywhere else. A new study says climate change could severely affect these plants by the end of the century. Many could move northward and toward the Pacific coast in reaction to rising temperatures and changes in rainfall. Others might climb up mountains to find the cooler climates they like. But David Ackerly at the University of California, Berkeley, says the speed of climate change is greater than during ice ages in the past. He says plants that cannot move fast enough are in danger of getting killed off before they can relocate. Changes in plants could also affect animals that depend on the plants for food. About forty percent of all native plants in California are endemic, meaning they are found only in that state. The new study says that for two out of three endemic plants, the areas where they are found could shrink by more than eighty percent. That, they say, is the worst possible case.The researchers point out that there are many things they cannot be sure about. That includes how much warming to expect in the future from releases of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Also, they cannot be sure what will happen to individual species of plants. Scientists say California's coastal redwoods are among plant species that could be affected by climate change Scientists say California's coastal redwoods are among plant species that could be affected by climate change Still, they say California's coastal redwood trees, for example, could move farther north. California oak trees could disappear from the central part of the state. Professor Ackerly says established trees could survive, but seedlings would not grow. Oaks could move to cooler weather in the Klamath Mountains along the border with Oregon. The Central Valley of California could become the new home for plants now found in the Sonoran desert of Mexico. The study says people who protect or manage natural areas will need to plan for the possible movement of so-called refugee plants. The researchers identified places around California where large numbers of plants hit hardest by climate change are expected to relocate. But they say many of these areas are already under increasing pressure from development. They say it is not too early to prepare for helping plants re-establish themselves in new areas. The Berkeley study also involved researchers from Duke University

and other schools. The findings can be read online in PLoS One, a journal published by the Public Library of Science. And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Bob Doughty.

11. This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

In many developing countries, weather reports remain trapped in the capital. National weather services have the information, but no way to get it to farmers and other people in rural communities. This is the job of an international project called RANET -- Rural Communications using Radio and the Internet. RANET works with national weather services to improve their reach. Kelly Sponberg at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States is the program coordinator. He says that although there is a lot of work at the national level, RANET really happens at the community level. The project develops networks of satellite receiver systems, community radio stations and other technologies. Communities often are provided with some equipment, but the systems are locally owned and supported. RANET uses the WorldSpace satellite system and will soon be on GEONETCast. This is a network of satellite-based systems that provide environmental information. RANET also works with nongovernmental groups and others to make sure information meets local needs. In addition to weather, broadcast time can be filled with advertisements, local music and reports on farming and market conditions. RANET began in the year two thousand. Kelly Sponberg says the project has set up several hundred local stations in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. RANET is also moving into Latin America. And the project does not just involve community radio stations. For example, RANET helped the Indonesian government develop ways to broadcast warnings of tsunamis and severe weather. RANET has a yearly budget of about seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. Money comes from donors including the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance in the United States Agency for International Development. And technical support comes from groups including the First Voice International, Wantok Enterprises and the Freeplay Foundation. RANET is working to improve communications in countries with limited power supplies. And, in the next month or two, it hopes to launch a community reporter program. Local citizens will provide weather reports and other information through text messaging. The RANET Web site is ranetproject.net

12. Helping Foods Keep Their Cool

This is the VOA Special English Development Report. Before refrigerators, homes usually had ice boxes. But another way to keep food cool without the need for electricity is to use an evaporative cooler. This is easy to make and does not even use ice. A common design is a tall box with food placed on several shelves inside. The shelves are pieces of metal with many small holes through them. The sides of the box are covered with pieces of thick cloth. Containers of water are placed at the top and bottom of the cooler. The ends of each piece of cloth lie in the water so the cloth stays wet. Put the cooler in the open air but not in the sun. Air will pass through the wet cloth. The inside of the box will stay several degrees cooler than the outside air temperature. And this may be cool enough to keep foods fresh at least for a short time. Cold storage in a freezer, however, can keep foods in good condition for months after the growing season. Yet foods can be damaged if they are kept too cold. The British development group Practical Action says the best way to prepare foods for storage is at harvest time while still in the field. Use a sharp knife to avoid damage. Place the harvested items on a clean surface or directly into storage containers. Do not put them on the ground. Use clean water to remove dirt, and keep the water clean. Usually it is better not to remove outer leaves from fruits and vegetables before storage. Without the leaves, food can become dry. Fruits and vegetables must be cool from field heat before they are put into storage. If they are placed in cool water, however, it can spread fungus throughout the food. A better idea is to harvest foods either early or late in the day, then leave them to cool naturally. Some fruits and vegetables must be stored at zero to four degrees Celsius. Any colder, and they might be damaged. Others need four to eight degrees. And still others must be stored above eight degrees. Wet the fruits and vegetables so they do not become too dry. The best time to do this is before storage. Cover the items in plastic once they reach the right "critical temperature" for storage. Most fruits and vegetables need the relative humidity in storage to be kept between eighty-five and ninety-five percent.

Finally, leave space between the food containers and the walls of the storage area so air can flow. Keep the space clean. And try not to open the doors too often. And that's the VOA Special English Development Report.

13. Could Women Farmers Solve the Food Crisis?

This is the VOA Special English Development Report. On Tuesday, the United Nations will open a food summit in Rome. Leaders and high-level officials from around the world will meet at the Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters. The F.A.O. says they will discuss the effects of rising food prices, limited resources, climate change, increased energy needs and population growth. The United Nations agency says the three-day summit offers a historic chance to re-launch the fight against hunger and poverty. Another goal is to increase agricultural production in developing countries. Poor countries will likely spend up to one hundred seventy billion dollars this year to import food -- up forty percent from last year. A new report says agricultural prices should ease from their recent record highs. International prices for most crops have started to drop, mainly because of increased production. But over the next ten years, food prices are expected to average well above levels of the past ten years. World grain supplies are low and need to be refilled, and food crops are being used to make biofuels. The report came from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the F.A.O. The F.A.O. has suggested several measures to deal immediately with the situation. These include supplying food to atrisk populations and seeds, fertilizer and animal feed to local farmers. But what about long-term answers to food security? The International Center for Research on Women says one answer is investing more in female farmers. Rekha Mehra is the director for economic and development issues at the Washington-based nonprofit. She says improving women's ability to get resources and technology can directly increase agricultural productivity. After all, women produce as much as eighty percent of the food in developing countries. In parts of Africa, for example, men are responsible for cash crops while women are generally responsible for food crops. And, around the world, women are the ones mainly responsible for their families nutrition.

Women farmers usually have to own land to receive loans and other resources. Yet, in many developing countries, women do not have property rights like men have. Rekha Mehra says the right to own land will lead to greater investment in the land. She says world leaders need to think about these gender issues when they meet in Rome this week. And thats the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. 14. Three Water and Sanitation Projects in India Win Online Search This is the VOA Special English Development Report. A billion people live without a safe water supply. Two and a half billion, or more than forty percent of all people, have no place to use a safe toilet. Recently on the Internet there was a competition to look for creative local solutions to water and sanitation needs. Two organizations, Ashokas Changemakers and Global Water Challenge, organized the worldwide search. Global Water Challenge is a coalition of twenty-two groups working for change in water and sanitation. Ashoka is a group for social entrepreneurs, people who look for creative solutions to social problems. Its Changemakers.net Web site is an online community where competitions are held. Anyone can vote or provide ideas and resources. The search for water and sanitation projects received more than two hundred fifty proposals from fifty-four countries. Judges chose nine finalists in April. Then, visitors to the site voted for three winners. All three are from India. Each will receive five thousand dollars from Global Water Challenge. Himanshu Parikh Consulting Engineers won for a sanitation project called Slum Networking. It involves looking for natural solutions like gravitybased, house-to-house water and sanitation connections in poor areas. The project began in the cities of Indore, Baroda, Ahmedabad and Bhopal. Now the aim is to extend it to rural areas. The Naandi Foundation won for a project for safe drinking water in two states, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. Villagers get clean water at purification centers. Then they sell the bottled water within their communities for small amounts of money. The third winner is a group leading a sanitation project in Maharashtra and Gujarat states. Swayam Shikshan Prayog works with local governments and womens groups to change local behaviors and improve sanitation. Tanvi Nagpal heads the water and sanitation program at Global Water Challenge. She says the Coca Cola Company has given one million dollars to expand several of the proposals in the competition.

This was the first time Global Water Challenge has been involved in an online search. Tanvi Nagpal says the organization may hold another competition in the coming years to look for other inventive ideas. And thats the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. Im Steve Ember. 15. Feeding the Hungry, but Not With Pigeons A listener wonders if the birds could be caught and exported to crisis areas as protein to prevent starvation. This is the VOA Special English Development Report. Saint Marks Square in Venice, Italy, is known for its historic buildings and its pigeons. Tourists have long enjoyed feeding the birds. As a result, the pigeon population has grown and grown. But local officials say all those droppings are not good for the buildings or the people in the square. As of this month, police will fine people who feed the pigeons. But a listener named Phillip Ghee has another thought about how to control pigeon populations. He asks, why not catch the birds and export them to crisis areas to supply protein to people in danger of starvation? He says good farming and science could probably breed out any diseases that may be harmful to humans. "No offense against pigeons but they seem, in their current numbers, such an unnecessary bird," he says. Others may disagree with his opinion. In any case, we put the question to two squab producers. After all, young pigeons, called squab, have been raised for centuries for food. Tony Barwick is president of the Palmetto Pigeon Plant in South Carolina. He says that aside from any questions about health risks, including from pollution, adult pigeons are not that easy to catch. And, he says, exporting them would not be as cost-effective as exporting other forms of protein, such as chicken. Suppose you have a dollar, he says. Half that dollar would be spent catching the pigeon and the other half processing it. With that same dollar, he says, you could buy a processed chicken that offers more meat. Bob Shipley is president of the Squab Producers of California. These producers are a group of seventy-seven independent squab farms in northern California. They process about one million birds a year. Bob Shipley says exporting smoked squab would not be a solution either. In the smoking process, squab meat becomes very soft, almost like paste. The meat also breaks down if it is overcooked.

Squab from the United States is generally exported frozen, so there would be a need for refrigeration. And there is something else to consider about raising pigeons as a food source. Both men said it takes a lot of food to raise squab. Generally it takes more than three and a half kilograms of grain to get half a kilogram of meat. And thats the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. Archives of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. Desertification is a process. It changes productive land into useless land. One example of desertification is when a desert spreads into nearby cropland. In time, the cropland becomes an extension of the desert. But that is not the only way farmers lose fertile soil. Long dry periods, warmer temperatures and the removal of trees can all lead to the loss of good cropland. Floods can remove fertile topsoil and begin a process resulting in the loss of planting areas. Another danger to good land is poor farming methods. Farmers should avoid continually planting crops in the same places, or letting animals feed year after year on the same lands. Countries from Guatemala to Greece to Vietnam are working against the loss of cropland. Africa especially faces the risk of desertification. Nigeria, for example, says it loses three hundred fifty thousand hectares of usable land each year. Hills of sand now cover places where people once lived. When cropland turns to desert, people move to other places for better land and better jobs. This migration can cause political and social tensions. A nonprofit organization in Nigeria is working to bring public attention to the problem. The group is called Fighting Against Desert Encroachment, or FADE. Newton Jibunoh is a retired soil engineer who started this group in the year two thousand. He says desert encroachment could cause widespread hunger. Newton Jibunoh is currently leading a delegation to thirteen African countries to discuss the dangers of losing farmlands. In northern Nigeria, the group organized a competition between schools in seven areas. The goal was to see who could plant the most trees. Trees are often cut down for fuel wood. But lines of trees around cropland can catch blowing sand. In addition, tree roots can hold soil

in place. Even within a desert, trees can be planted as borders around grassy areas. For many years, China has been building a wall of trees in the northern part of the country. The goal is to stop the Gobi Desert from extending toward Beijing. The Great Green Wall will extend about five thousand kilometers. Completion is expected in two thousand fifty. And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For more stories about agriculture, go to voaspecialenglish.com for transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our reports. Im Bob Doughty