Nkoranza (B/A), April 28, GNA - Mr Mac-Lawrence Ahiadu, Nkoranza District Director of Agricultural Services, has urged farmers to regard agriculture as a business and attach importance to their activities to improve their living conditions.

Mr Ahiadu was addressing about 25 beekeepers from Bantama and Mframa in Sene District of Brong Ahafo at a one day capacity building workshop at Nkoranza.

He emphasized that, beekeeping was a lucrative agricultural venture practiced worldwide with its product honey having ready market because of its nutritional and medicinal values.

"With the changes in weather conditions and the current unpredictable rainfall pattern in the country, there was the need for farmers to diversify farming methods in order to guard against losses", Mr Ahiadu said. He, therefore, advised them to engage in variety of farming activities such as grass cutter rearing, snail and mushroom farming besides, the beekeeping.

Mr Daniel Yando, an agriculture extension officer and an expert in beekeeping, urged unemployed youth to embrace beekeeping and advised beekeepers to manage their bee hives well.

He urged the farmers to harvest their produce between January and March to avoid being destroyed by the rains and called on them to use the knowledge they had acquired to woo more people to engage in the vocation to help reduce poverty.

Mr Atta Kwasi Boakye, Head of Sene District Business Advocacy Center said the workshop was to help the beekeepers to share the experiences of expert beekeepers and to acquire more knowledge in the management of their farms.

He commended the African Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Sene District Assembly for offering financial support towards the workshop.

Mr Boakye said about 1,200 clients of the Centre in the district had benefited assistance from financial institutions in the District. The beneficiaries are engaged mainly in income generating activities such as soap making, grass cutter rearing, beekeeping and batik tie and dye printing.