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One of Phoola Devi's grandsons outside the family home.

Phoola Devi, 48, and her husband, Bhonai are from the Yadav caste and live in Belauhi hamlet. Phoola is a member of a village SHG (Self Help Group) and has seven children. The family own 13 acres of land (though floods mean that only 5 of them arable) along with two buffalos and two cows. Phoola explains that “Being in the SHG brings women together and since we are saving money, its very easy to access loans in the event of an emergency for example if your children are sick, you can borrow money. And there is a bond that develops among us; its very strong. We help each other and can work together.” With training and advice from GDS, Phoola and Belauhi have been able to increase their family's wheat production from 10-12 quintals of wheat per acre to 16-18 quintals per acre. And by growing other crops like gram, maize and vegetables they have built up the capital to invest in better fertilisers, to improve their house and to pay for their daughers’ weddings.

Bypassed by government subsidies that direct resources towards the needs of larger land-owners, farmers in the hamlet of Belauhi used to only harvest two crops per year and one of these crops - the monsoon Khairf rice crop - would regularly be destroyed by rains. Training and advice provided by Oxfam partners GDS (Grameen Development Services) has allowed Belauhi's farmers to harvest three - and sometimes four - crops so increasing food security and allowing some to move beyond subsistence farming and begin selling farm produce. Crop varieties that can withstand the flooding of fields in the monsoon or the intense heat of summer, including the genetically modified NDR-97 variety of rice, are more suited to farming in an unpredictable climate. New crops including pulses and oil seeds have provided residents a more balanced diet. GDS train local farmers, including women, in new agricultural techniques: irrigation and drought resistant crops. GDS has al
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©Tom Pietrasik
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One of Phoola Devi's grandsons outside the family home.<br />
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Phoola Devi, 48, and her husband, Bhonai are from the Yadav caste and live in Belauhi hamlet. Phoola is a member of a village SHG (Self Help Group) and has seven children. The family own 13 acres of land (though floods mean that only 5 of them arable) along with two buffalos and two cows. Phoola explains that “Being in the SHG brings women together and since we are saving money, its very easy to access loans in the event of an emergency for example if your children are sick, you can borrow money. And there is a bond that develops among us; its very strong. We help each other and can work together.” With training and advice from GDS, Phoola and Belauhi have been able to increase their family's wheat production from 10-12 quintals of wheat per acre to 16-18 quintals per acre. And by growing other crops like gram, maize and vegetables they have built up the capital to invest in better fertilisers, to improve their house and to pay for their daughers’ weddings.<br />
<br />
Bypassed by government subsidies that direct resources towards the needs of larger land-owners, farmers in the hamlet of Belauhi used to only harvest two crops per year and one of these crops - the monsoon Khairf rice crop - would regularly be destroyed by rains. Training and advice provided by Oxfam partners GDS (Grameen Development Services) has allowed Belauhi's farmers to harvest three - and sometimes four - crops so increasing food security and allowing some to move beyond subsistence farming and begin selling farm produce. Crop varieties that can withstand the flooding of fields in the monsoon or the intense heat of summer, including the genetically modified NDR-97 variety of rice, are more suited to farming in an unpredictable climate. New crops including pulses and oil seeds have provided residents a more balanced diet. GDS train local farmers, including women, in new agricultural techniques: irrigation and drought resistant crops. GDS has al