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Her name is Rukya Dedu – a woman smallholder farmer who lives in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Vegetable production is the mainstay for her family. She grows onion, tomato, lettuce, Swiss Chard, Habesha Gomen, pepper and chili pepper. Agrochemical inputs–synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides were the major inputs she used to feed her plants and to protect them from pest and disease attack. In 2018, she joined PAN-Ethiopia’s vegetable project which has been promoting the use of environmentally sound and nontoxic alternatives for agrochemicals. It has been providing trainings and extension support for farmers on alternatives for soil fertility enhancement and plant protection methods which can be prepared by smallholder farmers with the use of locally available inputs. Rukya made use of the training and she now has set up a vermicomposting unit–producing Vermicompost and using for her vegetable seedling nursery in her backyard and her kitchen garden. She is no more using

Companion planting is the careful placement of vegetables and herbs which have beneficial effects on one another. The plants that we sow/plant together support each other for the best of crop yield. These can be attributed to physical reasons that taller plants provide shelter for plants that need protection. Climbing plants can grow on to taller plants to maximise production in small spaces. Some other plants make good companions because their roots grow at different depths so that they avoid competition for nutrients and water. Other plants increase soil fertility, some others play a significant role in pest and disease control. It is also advisable to consider growing nature; above and below ground when planting vegetables together. Hence, the table below was prepared to be used as an input when selecting vegetables to plant together as inter-crops. The commonly grown vegetables, their families, edible part (we need to give much care and protection) and their preferred companions