The Man Who Stopped a Desert Using Ancient Farming用古老農耕法止退沙漠的人

吳明仁（音） 譯/程颋

Desertification is a serious problem facing numerous countries in the world today. Various measures have been taken to counter the negative effects， with some providing better results than others.

‘Modern’ innovations as well as traditional practices have been taken trying to stop the negative impact of desertification. The successful application of the latter is apparent in the case of Yacouba Sawadogo， a farmer who took the initiative to combat desertification in his country by using simple， traditional methods.

Taking matters into his own hands1

Yacouba Sawadogo is a farmer from Burkina Faso. The northern area of this African country lies within the Sahel， a semi-arid region sandwiched2 by the Sahara Desert in the north and the Sudanian Savanna in the south. Desertification has been a serious problem in the northern part of Burkina Faso since the 1970s.

As a result of over-farming， over-grazing， and over-population， the soil in this region has suffered from heavy erosion and drying over the decades. Efforts have been made both on a national and international scale to remedy the situation， though to no avail3.

It was during the 1980s that Sawadogo， seeing that the measures taken by the authorities were not producing results， decided to take matters into his own hands. Sawadogo employed two traditional methods—Za?4 and cordons pierreux5， in his battle against the desertification of his country. As these traditional ways were regarded as odd by his community， Sawadogo was initially thought to have lost his mind， and was ridiculed.

Two farming techniques

Za? is a farming technique which has been used traditionally in the western part of the Sahel， which includes Burkina Faso. In essence， this technique involves the digging of holes in soil that is not very permeable， so that runoff can be collected. These holes have a depth that range from 5 to 15 cm （1.97–5.91 inches）， and a diameter of between 15 and 50 cm （5.91–19.69 inches）. Fertilizers or compost may be placed in the holes to increase the amount of nutrients in the soil. Crops may then be planted in these holes.

The advantages of this technique are many. For instance， this is a simple and cheap technique that may be utilized by any farmer. It is， however， a labor-intensive technique， and therefore， the cost is higher in terms of manpower. In addition， farmers need to monitor and maintain their Za? holes. Nevertheless， the efficacy of Za? is evident， as its use has resulted in increased crop yield.

Another traditional technique employed by Sawadogo is known as cordons pierreux. Like Za?， this technique is aimed at using runoff to combat desertification. Whilst the Za? holes collect runoff， the cordons pierreux prevent the runoff from going to waste by slowing its flow. This technique uses small blocks of rubble or stones that are arranged in a thin line across the field， which slows down the flow of runoff， thus allowing more time for the water to penetrate the earth.

Success！

The success gained by Sawadogo in his fight against desertification has made him a respected figure in the community that initially ridiculed him. In 2010， a documentary film entitled The Man Who Stopped the Desert， which is about Sawadogo’s life， premiered in Norwich in the UK. This film made his work known on the international stage and highlighted the problems faced， as well as potential steps that may be taken， by countries such as Burkina Faso to mitigate them.

The fame achieved by Sawadogo through the film has enabled him to reach out to6 a much greater audience and allowed him to also share his agricultural techniques with fellow farmers， making them better equipped with more effective tools in their struggle against desertification.

荒漠化是當今世界許多國家面臨的嚴重問題。為了減輕其負面影響，人們采取了各種措施，效果參差不齊。

“現代”新技術和傳統方法都被人們用來嘗試阻止荒漠化的負面影響。雅各巴·薩瓦多戈的例子顯然是后者的成功應用。薩瓦多戈是一個農民，他帶頭在自己國家采用簡單而傳統的方法對抗荒漠化。

靠自己解決問題

雅各巴·薩瓦多戈是布基納法索的農民。布基納法索是個非洲國家，該國的北部位于薩赫勒地區，這是一個被北部的撒哈拉沙漠和南部的蘇丹大草原夾在中間的半干旱地區。20世紀70年代以來，荒漠化一直是布基納法索北部地區面臨的嚴重問題。

數十年來，由于過度耕作、過度放牧和人口過多，這一地區的土地遭遇嚴重侵蝕和干旱問題。為了改善這種狀況，國內相關部門和國際相關組織做了很多工作，但都沒有奏效。

20世紀80年代，薩瓦多戈看到政府機構的措施都沒起作用，就決定親自解決問題。他用了兩種傳統方法——淺坑法和石頭阻隔帶法——在布基納法索與荒漠化做斗爭。開始的時候，村里的人覺得這些傳統方法很奇怪，認為薩瓦多戈瘋了，嘲笑他。

兩種農耕技術

淺坑法是一種農耕技術，傳統上在包括布基納法索在內的薩赫勒西部地區使用。實際上，這種技術就是在透水性不太強的地里挖出坑來收集徑流。坑的深度為5—15厘米（1.97—5.91英寸），直徑為15—50厘米（5.91—19.69英寸）。坑里可以放上肥料或堆肥以增加土壤的養分，然后將作物種在里面。

這種技術有很多優點。例如，它既簡單又便宜，哪個農民都可以使用。然而，這是一種勞動密集型技術，因此人力成本較高。此外，農民還需要察看和維護這些坑。但不管怎樣，淺坑法的效果是顯著的，它的使用提高了作物產量。

薩瓦多戈使用的另一種傳統技術叫作石頭阻隔帶法。和淺坑法一樣，這種技術也意在使用徑流對抗荒漠化。淺坑法收集徑流，而石頭阻隔帶法通過減緩流速使徑流不致浪費。這種方法是將小塊的碎磚或石頭在地里排成窄窄的一行，以減緩徑流的流速，因此水可以有更多時間向土壤里滲透。

成功！

薩瓦多戈對抗荒漠化的斗爭取得了勝利，原先嘲笑他的村民變得尊重他了。2010年，一部講述他的事跡的紀錄片《止退沙漠的人》在英國諾里奇首映。這部紀錄片將他的成就呈現在世界舞臺上，突出講述了布基納法索這樣的國家面臨的問題以及為了減輕這些問題可能采取的措施。

這部紀錄片讓薩瓦多戈有了名氣，使他能夠幫助更多的人，把他的農業技術傳授給其他農民，為他們提供更有效的手段與荒漠化做斗爭。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）