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Swarna-Sub1 not only helps armers in the low-lying

areas o South Asia cope with oods. For women

armers, the ood-tolerant rice variety reduces their

work burden and gives them more time or other activities.

Swarna-Sub1also called scuba rice because o its

ability to survive underwater or up to two weekshas

been a dramatic success story in the ood-prone areas o

South Asia. While yield levels o other varieties are drastically

reduced by ooding, Swarna-Sub1 is able to produce up to 6

tons per hectare.

Swarna-Sub1 was developed through collaborative work

between the International Rice Research Institute and Indias

Central Rice Research Institute. In 2008, it was introduced

in the Indian state o Uttar Pradesh. Now, the benefts o

planting it are trickling down, helping make rice arming

much more proftable.

Fields o sorrowIndrawati Yadav, rom Dubripur Village o Siddharthnagar

in eastern Uttar Pradesh, is a woman who is both a armer

and, by tradition, the caregiver in her household. She tills

land that lies in the path o ash oods every year, damaging

most o her rice crop and leaving her with not much grain

to harvest. Indrawati and many women armers like her are

helpless in dealing with the elements. They are vulnerable to

ood scarcity and become unable to support their amilies.

Keeping hope afoatThings started to turn or the better when Yadavs

husband bought 8 kilograms o Swarna-Sub1 seeds rom a

government store. She and other women members o her

amily planted the seeds in her arm, a quarter o a hectare

in size.

Swarna-Sub1 is good or the lowlands, which are

submerged several times during the monsoon season every

Holding back

food, sweat, and tears

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year, said Indrawati. In our area, most arming households

now grow this variety because it yields more and is tolerant

o ooding.

Where rice production was previously very unstable, she

now has enough rice or her amilys needs throughout the

year and extra money rom selling some o her produce.

It is more proftable or marginal armers like me togrow this variety, Indrawati added. We can recover our

expenses on inputs and labor even ater a ood.

Swarna-Sub1, which is also less susceptible to diseases,

can be harvested in about 130 days ater planting. There is

time to grow wheat and other crops in the ollowing season,

so we have more ood and income or our amilies, she

said.

Less labor painsWomen used to have to replant the feld ater a ood. Now

we dont have to, Indrawati said.

In addition to household and arm work, the women

also manage the livestock. They milk the dairy animals, clean

the livestock sheds, and collect animal manure or household

uel or ertilizer. Every day, the women collect rice straw and

wheat cha or odder while the animals graze in the open

felds.

Like a blessing, Swarna-Sub1 has helped ease the work

o women armers. The quality o its rice straw makes or

good odder or our livestock, she said. We dont need towalk long distances to look or straw.

Because Swarna-Sub1 is o medium height, it is easier to

thresh. We spend less time now threshing rice, which leaves

us more time to take care o our children, Indrawati said.

With less arming chores, she and the other women also fnd

time to make mats and other handicrat or household use,

instead o buying the items. They can also sell extra items or

additional income.

A womans work is never done

As more men migrate to the cities to fnd jobs, the women

are let behind to tend the arm. Not surprisingly, they are

doing quite well in their newound unction.

Swarna-Sub1, a food-tolerant rice variety, helps ease the burden o

women armers.

The rice that holds back food, sweat, and tears

Women in motion 13