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 pesticides for pest
and disease management as she replaced it with plant extracts like garlic and
ginger mixture, neem seed extract and baking soda solution, respectively.
Her organically managed kitchen garden is used as a source of food for her
family. The nursery in her backyard is also used as a cash income for her.
She is one of the outstanding women farmers in Abine Germama Village–CRV, Ethiopia. She is a pioneer in promoting the production of diverse vegetables to her neighbors. She uses her borehole as a source of water to irrigate her nursery and her kitchen garden.
Nice article, thank you for sharing with us.
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Thanking Rukya Dedu for her inspiring efforts in sustainable farming, she’s a true pioneer in promoting organic practices. NACL Industries Limited offers Agrochemical Products to support diverse farming needs.
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