Podcasts – Themes – Agriculture

Introduction
Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm

This support pack contains the following materials:

• the article that you can listen to in the podcast
• an optional comprehension activity based on the article
• links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (agriculture).

Read the article

Iguana farming
When you think of animal farming, cows, sheep, Behaviour: Iguanas are diurnal, meaning that
goats, horses, pigs, chickens and ducks probably they are awake during the day. They are also
come to mind. cold-blooded, which means they do not produce
their own body heat. In other words, if it is cold,
Most people are aware that nowadays many the iguana is cold too. So to stay warm, green
types of fish are also farmed - in Europe at least iguanas bask in the sun, lying on warm rocks as
15 different types. What is more, so-called they soak up the sun's heat.
"alternative farming" has come to a lot of people's
notice, and a quick search on the Internet can Source: The Wild Ones Animal Index
come up with sites about the farming of ostriches,
llamas, deer, kangaroos, bison and even Iguanas or cattle?
crocodiles. But what about farming lizards? And The green iguana, also known as "bamboo
not only for their skins, to make into shoes or chicken" or "chicken of the tree", has been used
handbags, but for food? as a source of food in Central and South America
for up to 7000 years. However, in many of the
The green iguana regions where they are indigenous, a
combination of factors has meant that they are
Physical Appearance: Full-grown green iguanas now listed as an endangered species.
are usually between four and six feet, although
they have been known to grow up to seven feet Firstly, the iguanas' behaviour does not help their
long. This includes the tail, however, which can cause. When an iguana feels threatened, its
make up about half the body length and, in natural reaction is to drop out of a tree and into
addition to its green colour, has black stripes. water below, where it will wait for the threat to
Green iguanas, not surprisingly, are green in pass. But humans are more intelligent than other
colour, but can be found in many different shades predators, and will go into the water, where it is
ranging from bright green, to a dull, greyish- easy to catch the iguanas.
green. Their skin is rough, with a set of pointy
scales along the iguana's back. Green iguanas Secondly, the best catch for a hunter is a
have long fingers and claws to help them climb pregnant female. Consequently, the number of
and grasp. female iguanas that are of reproductive age has
been greatly reduced.
Geographic Range: The green iguana is found
over a large geographic area, from Mexico to Added to these factors is the problem of
southern Brazil and Paraguay, as well as on the deforestation. In some parts of Central and South
Caribbean Islands. America, such as the vast pampas of Argentina,
the natural habitat is ideal for farming cattle.
Habitat: Iguanas live in tropical rainforest areas, However, in many other areas, forest must be
generally in lower altitudes in areas near water cleared to provide pastures for the cattle to graze.
sources, such as rivers or streams. They spend Cutting down forests, as environmentalists are
most of their time high in the forest canopy, about well aware, can have devastating effects, such as
40-50 feet above the ground. erosion, reduced water resources and a decrease

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 Podcasts – Themes – Agriculture

in soil fertility. It has also contributed decisively to hectare. Iguana chow is a mixture of broken rice,
the sharp fall in the iguana population. meat, bone, and fish meal, papayas, mangos,
bananas, avocados, as well as a variety of leaves
If estimates are true that iguanas can yield as and flowers. Smallholders can erect simple
much protein per unit area as cattle, then it feeding stations and keep them stocked with
seems to make good sense to concentrate on the table scraps or weedy vegetation. This makes for
restoration and protection of tropical forests for low-cost production before the iguanas reach
food and habitat, and farm the native iguanas harvesting size."
rather than the intruding cattle.
Source: Iguana Farming - A Source of Food and a
How to farm iguanas Method of Tropical Forest Preservation
"The key elements of iguana farming are
reproduction in captivity, controlled incubation, Where are iguanas being farmed?
and raising hatchlings in captivity. Once the The pioneer of iguana farming is Dr Dagmar
hatchlings are seven months old, they are Werner, a German herpetologist, who founded
released into forested areas on farms, where they the Pro Iguana Verde Foundation. She is
grow to harvestable size in two additional years. currently working with six Panamanian
communities, and is involving others in Costa
To create the farms, enclosures are constructed Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala. Countries that
using sheet-metal walls sunk 30 cm into the have expressed interest in her program include El
ground. Inside, the animals sleep in shelters Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia and Venezuela.
made of bamboo and other vegetation. Each
shelter has an adjustable entrance slit through The Foundation has set up "Iguana Park" near
which young lizards can slither, but predators, Orotina in Costa Rica, which is both an eco-
which are usually larger, cannot. Most enclosures tourism facility and a place to demonstrate and
are set on stilts and food is served in the shade undertake further research on the sustainable
underneath. With this system, 20 to 60 young use of forests.
iguanas are kept in a 10 square metre area. The
iguana farms also include an artificial nest In Belize, the Belize Zoo started its Iguana
consisting of a "tunnel" leading to a sand-filled, Breeding Program, designed so the typical
egg-laying chamber. Both tunnel and chamber Belizean could raise iguanas for food.
are made of predator-safe material and are easily And in the La Mosquitia rainforest in Honduras,
accessible by the farmer. there is an Iguana Vigilantes group, whose motto
Artificial nests increase the number of hatched is "The iguana is our heritage, our future. We
eggs and their survival rate to 90%, versus 50% have to take care of it."
in the wild. Using food supplements (iguana With initiatives like these, we can only hope that
chow), it is estimated that the population can be the future of iguana farming is assured.
maintained at 6 to 10 times the level possible in a
rainforest, or around 50 adult iguanas per

After reading
Exercise 1
Below are 10 statements about the text. Decide if each statement is True or False.
1. The author thinks that many people will be surprised that lizards are farmed.
2. Green iguanas are well equipped for life in trees.
3. Iguanas are cold, even if they are in the sun.
4. Iguanas behaviour can protect them against less intelligent predators.
5. Iguanas are suited to the habitat of the pampas.
6. Iguanas may be able to earn farmers as much from the same area of land as cows.
7. Iguanas are ready for "harvesting" in two years.
8. Young iguanas can escape from predators by entering the shelters.
9. Artificial nests allow twice as many hatchlings to survive than in the wild.
10. The author is hopeful that iguana farming has a bright future.
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 Podcasts – Themes – Agriculture

More activities on this topic

You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of agriculture at:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-agriculture.htm
• Word game: Practise the names of farm animals and other words related to farms.
• Story: Animal Farm. This satirical novel by George Orwell is ostensibly about a group of animals
who oust the humans from the farm they live on and run it themselves, only to have it corrupted into
a brutal tyranny.
• Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about agriculture.
• There are also 2 agriculture-related cartoons and some carefully selected external links.
Answers to Exercise 1: 1. True (T); 2. T; 3. False (F); 4. T; 5. F; 6. T; 7. F; 8. T; 9. F; 10. T

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