Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,Dr Eli Garveh has stated that farmers should be empowered to increase productivity while protecting the environment.
According to him farmers training and capacity building should be focused on promoting sustainable environmental practices to mitigate the effects of climate change as well as value addition to increase profitability in the sector.
He made this known at a trainer of trainers’ workshop on climate change mitigation for 35 extension officers of the Sekyere East District Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture at Effiduase in the Ashanti Region.
The workshop was to equip the extension officers with knowledge and skills to educate farmers on how to effectively respond to risks associated with climate change including disasters in their communities.
It was also to help the officers to effectively support the farmers to adopt best agricultural practices and how to mitigate the effects of potential disasters and risks that could affect their crops and communities in general.
Dr Garveh indicated that,helping farmers to identify early warning signs of disasters were crucial to mitigating their effects on food production and incomes.
He urged farmers to transcend from the routine of supplying raw produce to adding value to their crops to increase their income as well as propel the industrialisation agenda of the state.
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