FARMERS have been urged to adopt best farming practices and exploit available technologies in order to increase their productivity and improve their living conditions.

The call was made on Tuesday in Nyanza District as residents from various sectors gathered for the launch of season A2015.

Speaking at the function, the Minister for Gender and Family Promotion, Oda Gasinzigwa, challenged the farmers to work harder to boost production and improve their livelihoods.

She urged them to embrace best farming practices, including land consolidation, use of fertilisers, irrigation, among others, to improve productivity.

"We should not over rely on rains to grow crops. We need to think outside the box to increase our production,” Gasinzigwa said.

"We can, for instance, start exploiting the abundant water resources at our disposal  for small-scale irrigation farming,” she added.

Gasinzigwa told farmers that apart from increasing agriculture yields, irrigation could also help mitigate the effects of climate change.

"We need to exploit our vast resources by effectively using available technologies and adopting best farming practices,” she noted.

"We must aim to be rich and this is only possible if we increase our production,” she added.

Gasinzigwa also urged farmers to avoid conflicts and feuds that could derail their socio-economic growth.

Eliphas Kamanzi, a resident of Kavumu cell, Busasamana Sector, told The New Times  that they are trying to adapt to the challenges resulting from climate change which had hitherto hindered their production capacity.

"We are trying to abide by government policies, apply fertilisers, use quality seeds and practice irrigation as we struggle to produce enough yields to both feed our families and have surplus for markets,” Kamanzi said.