Planting hope: the Syrian who risked her life to save virus-resistant super-seeds – Guardian UK

Plant virologist Dr Safaa Kumari discovered seeds that could safeguard food security in the region. But armed fighters had just seized her house in Aleppo and her family were on the run. Hidden in her sister’s house was a small but very valuable bundle that Safaa was prepared to risk her life to recover.

Her work focuses on a quiet yet devastating development crisis – climate-fuelled virus epidemics affecting fava beans, lentils and chickpeas are spreading from Syria to Ethiopia, gradually destroying the livelihoods of low-income populations. Finding a cure was urgent…