New Juaben South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr. Isaac Apau-Gyasi, has urged farmers to use electronic communication to engage Agriculture Extension Agents.

The advice comes amid the Covid-19 pandemic, especially with the emergence of a new variant, Omicron virus.

Electronic agriculture (E-agriculture) focuses on the enhancement of agricultural and rural development through improved information and communication process.

More specifically, electronic agriculture involves the conceptualization, design, development, evaluation, and adaptation of innovative ways to use information and communication technologies.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Apau-Gyasi said farmers in the Municipality have shown understanding of the importance of using electronic platforms to connect with agriculture officials in their farming activities.

This, he said has resulted in an increase in the number of farmers who use the platform this year as compared to last year.

In 2020, he said about 6,210 farmers used the platform but the figure jumped to about 7,850 farmers in 2021.

Aside from the Electronic-Agriculture intervention, he said the Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) Initiative has improved the livelihood of people in the area.

The initiative brought about the distribution of 15,000 palm tree seedlings to over 150 farmers as well as 100 pigs.

He tasked the beneficiaries to go by good farming practices so that, the proceeds could be extended to those who did not benefit from it this year.

Mr. Michael Okyere Baafi, Member of Parliament for New Juaben South Constituency, who is also the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry said the government introduced the One District One Factory (1D1F) Initiative to promote export of processed local goods.

He said farmers should involve themselves in processing raw food materials to achieve the 1D1F objective. 1D1F Initiative was introduced by the government in 2018 to change the nature of Ghana’s economy from one of dependency on import to the export of raw material, focusing on manufacturing, value addition, and export of processed foods.

During the Farmers’ Day celebration, the New Juaben South Municipal Assembly awarded many farmers with items and certificates with the institutions that sponsored the event also being awarded.