Farmers in Gatsibo District, Nyagihanga sector are appreciating the benefits of Push-Pull farming, because now they have avoided damaging the environment by using Rocket because there are deadly bugs and we had the benefit of getting rid of them on the crops.
After a campaign to sensitize farmers to use the Push-Pull farming method against insects in maize crops, using a Bracharia and a Desmodium, the number of farmers has now increased to 183.
Members of the MAC Committee after the Meeting (Multi Actors Communities) visited farmers who are using Push-Pull in the Nyagihanga sector in different sites including new farmers who have joined the Technology.
Singirumukiza Therese, who lives in Nyagitabire cell, Kibatsi village, says that since they started working with this farming method using Push-Pull, there are many benefits, because where we plant this grass, special nutrients do not go into it, so the corn grows well.
“Now we have received them so that we encourage our friends to use them because they are useful for us and give us a rich harvest, and even the Bracharia and Desmodium if we give it to the animals will give us more health so we don’t die in vain and the drugs we used could also affect us and kill different insects. we don’t use it anymore”. She says
Musengamana Jean Marie Vianney is the leader of a group of 16 people, where we have 8 women and 8 men and we have now joined Push-Pull to reduce the use of pesticides in our fields.
“This is the farm where we started, but we have the intention of increasing the area of cultivation because we have found this way of increasing production and the money we paid for having medicines, we are now buying seeds, and we are now going to buy these herbs from other farms that we cultivate so that all these farms you see, we have already prepared and started cultivating it“. He says
He went on to say that they started without effort, but the place where we see the benefit of it is when you know its importance, we started in this farm using Push-Pull farming. Even at the bottom of it we cultivate another but we use medicine to see the difference.
But we came to examine our two fields and we found that where we farmed using Push-Pull technology there is no special fertilizer, but where we hope to use chemicals we found a lot of special fertilizer but the area where the Desmodium and Bracharia was attacked did not contain it.
Another reason why all our farms are going to use this method of Push-Pull technology is that the yield is very different without using it because where you used it the yield is almost three times higher than when you didn’t use Push-Pull.
The Area Program Coordinator in the Nyagihanga sector, Muhirwa Eric Hitimana, who is responsible for agricultural marketing for Push-Pull, started by thanking the farmers who have decided to use this new technology Push-Pull method and sharing with their colleagues the advantages of using this new method.
“It’s true that explaining the benefits of Push-Pull technology to the public requires a journey, because so far 183 peoples have started using it, and you saw it when we were visited by MAC Committee. so the number is increasing”. He says
He concluded, by thanking the Government from the Village level to the Gatsibo District, because we have a good relationship, especially the agricultural and livestock sector, they help us to mobilize the people to implement this project.
More photos from the MAC Committee’s trip to communities using Push-Pull Technology
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