Deepa Poudel was a smallholder farmer in 2015 but today she is a leader, teacher and trusted advisor. Her journey began when she trained with iDE to become a Farm Business Advisor and began earning an income by teaching her clients innovative farming techniques so that they too may earn a greater income. In a country plagued by invasive pests, she shared practices to keep crops healthy but knew she could do more.
Within a few years, Deepa took the opportunity to take more training and became a “plant doctor.” She hosts plant clinics where farmers bring crop samples for her to diagnose and she offers solutions. Deepa also has an informative and lively Facebook page where she shares information about pest management solutions, a practice that was especially helpful for her community when COVID-19 restrictions prevented her from meeting others in person.
By 2018, Deepa doubled her income to about $2,000 a year and increased her number of clients from 200 to over 800, making sure to focus on other women like her so that they too may improve their livelihoods. Deepa's work has transformed agriculture in her community from subsistence to commercial, enabling farmers to increase both production for their own use and for sale.
What's next for Deepa
Deepa is currently testing and demonstrating vermicompost inoculated with tricodemera, a safe bioagent that controls plant diseases and increases crop production. Deepa hopes to bring this organic pest solution to more farmers in her community.
Deepa's Details
Country
- Nepal
Sector
- Agriculture
Entrepreneur Impact
- Availability of Technology
- Supporting Services
- Access to finance
- Motivating Investment
- Advocating For Change
- Output Marketing
- Training & Capacity Building
- Production
- Local Distribution & Sales
- Co-managing Resources
Ecosystem Impact
- Local Economic Development
- Food & Nutrition Security
- Disaster Preparedness & Recovery
- Environmental Protection
- Transformative Market Participation
Country Profile
- 142/189
Human Development Index (HDI) Rank
- 15%
Poverty Rate
- 29 Million People
Population
iDE was started as a radical idea that business is a solution to move people out of poverty. 40 years later, we still don't give things away. We create long term change by powering entrepreneurs to end poverty for their families and communities.
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