Sowing hope in Rwanda

The World Bank plans to sow "Seeds of Hope" in war-ravaged Rwanda. The Bank wants to launch this initiative to restore agriculture in this impoverished African nation. Rwanda was virtually self-sufficient in food before the civil unrest in 1994, with 91 per cent of the population involved in farming. "But granaries have been looted and burned and seeds have been eaten by starving people throughout the country," says Ismail Serageldin, chairman of the World Bank's agriculture consultative group. The group has prepared seeds to replenish Rwanda's farming base. Rwandan farmers require seeds which resist local plant and pest diseases.