Cyclone Nargis one year on

When Cyclone Nargis hit Burma last year, 140,000 lives were lost and the livelihoods of the country’s poorest people were destroyed. The Department for International Development has been helping the survivors rebuild their lives Photograph: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Agriculture is crucial to Burma’s economy – the majority of the country’s poor live in rural areas and make their living from farming small plots of land. Ko Kyaw Oo, 29, and his wife, Ma War War Lwin, 23, are pictured in the paddy fields in which they work as day labourers. They lost their newly built home in Cyclone Nargis, and are now living in a small hut attached to one of their in-laws' houses Photograph: Piers Benatar/Piers Benatar

Burmese farmers grow rice and vegetables, fish and raise livestock and sell their produce at market Photograph: Piers Benatar/Piers Benatar

But Cyclone Nargis cut a swathe through Burma’s "rice bowl" – the Irrawaddy Delta. Damages and economic losses totalled four billion dollars. Photograph: Paul Whittingham/Department for International Development

The cyclone destroyed farmers' stored rice and seed stocks, fruit and vegetable crops. Almost 28,000 fisherman died and around 70% of fishing gear was lost or ruined. In this village close to the delta's mouth to the sea, more than 300 of the 500 inhabitants died in Nargis, a loss of around 60%. The village recieved no help for 20 days after the cyclone, but then NGOs started to help. Villagers survived by eating the animals that died in the cyclone Photograph: Piers Benatar/IDE Myanmar

To prevent food shortages, the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) funded the distribution of paddy seed and fertiliser to poor rural farmers through the international non-profit organisation International Development Enterprises (IDE) Photograph: Piers Benatar/IDE Myanmar

The UK and IDE also provided power-tillers – critical for getting the seed into the ground before the monsoons started – after 200,000 working buffalo and cattle died. In this village, most of the houses were flattened, and the larger buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged. The paddy fields were badly affected by saline water, but farmers have had, with IDE's assistance, considerable success in replanting Photograph: Piers Benatar/IDE Myanmar

Six months after the cyclone, the dry season brought a severe water shortage. Ag Kyaw Soe shows the extent of his land. He is one of the two sons of Daw Aye Thant, 61, and her husband U Kyaw Han, 70, who own two and a half acres of rice paddy fields and borrowed money from their daughter to farm it. They have received help but are struggling as their summer paddy fields have been devastated by brown grass hopper. Their normal rice yield is only 30% of what it should be. They have never seen this pest before, and many NGOs (including IDE) are certain that it is because of inappropriate post-Nargis use of pesticides that may have killed beneficial insects Photograph: Piers Benatar/Piers Benatar

Low and damaged yields from the dry season’s crops highlighted the continued challenges for the poor in the Irrawaddy delta. U Soe Myint's blighted paddy is threshed with the help of neighbours. He owns 5.7 acres of rice paddy, which he farms along with his two sons. He lost 3500kg of rice (stored in his small barn) during Cyclone Nargis, and has struggled ever since, as it was his only real asset, in terms of self-sufficiency and investment. He only managed to survive because of rice handouts from NGOs and private organisations. His problems have been further exacerbated since Nargis by the spread of pests, including the brown grass hopper Photograph: Piers Benatar/Piers Benatar

U Soe Myint stands in front of piles of paddy infected by brown grass hopper that are being burned in his fields. He supplements his livelihood by raising chickens, ducks and growing some vegetables Photograph: Piers Benatar/Piers Benatar

And an additional £20m from the UK over two years will help Burma's poorest and most vulnerable get back on their feet and build a sustainable economic future Photograph: Piers Benatar/Piers Benatar

DFID's initial £45m emergency assistance has helped nearly one million people’s livelihoods recover. And in partnership with aid organisations, it continues to work with the farmers to overcome the challenges Photograph: Piers Benatar/Piers Benatar