If a situation or story unfolds, it develops or becomes clear to other people.
-- Like a lot of people, I've watched the events of the last few days unfold on TV. -- As the plot unfolds, you gradually realize that all your initial assumptions were wrong.
Tons of internationally donated food was distributed to the starving peasants. Most of the produce sold in the market is grown by peasant farmers. Peasant women with scarves around their heads were working in the fields.