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Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Seeds of Hope

Spanish Translation

Every year, Africa's farms produce fewer and fewer crops. Many Africans do not have enough food to eat. Americans Bill and Melinda Gates say it is time to change that for good.

On September 12, the Gates Foundation announced it was teaming up with the Rockefeller Foundation to fight hunger in Africa. Together, the generous groups will spend $150 million to help farmers on the continent of Africa.

Growing Hope
The new program is called Alliance for a Green Revolution. It is a back-to-basics plan that will start with seeds. Already, African scientists are working to develop hardier crops. They have created new kinds of rice plants that grow well in Africa. The rice is resistant to weeds.

Africa's farmers are mainly women. Many of the scientists helping to create the new crops are also women. Margaret Karembu is a scientist in Kenya. She told TIME that women are working to help their sisters in the villages. "We know what it means to have to harvest all day," she said.

The effects of planting hardier plants can already be felt. Children are expected to help in the field, but now they spend less time there. More kids are in school in the areas where the new rice is grown.

Better harvests will give farm families more crops to eat and to sell. It will take years for the new program to reach full bloom. But the seeds of hope have been planted.

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