A new app is currently being developed that will usher in a new era of digital farmers in Samoa.
The project is part of a partnership between a UN agency and Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Data analyst and mobile app developer Tooa Brown is tasked with designing and developing the mobile app., statement.
Brown said the idea for the app branched off from monitoring and evaluation visits to farmers currently participating in Samoa Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity Project.
"The disadvantages of using traditional methods of record keeping are high print costs, paper waste and recording information on paper that could get damaged and lost," she said.
"It's essential for farmers and for the environment that processes are adapted to a digital technology concept because innovative processes can potentially lead to efficient and resource friendly sustainable farming."
The app being developed for farmers is an initiative under the UN Joint Programme Samoa Knowledge Society implemented by UNESCO in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
The initiative is being led by the Ministry’s Agriculture Sector Coordination Division and a workshop introduced the concept of the mobile app to a control group of farmers, who will participate in the app trials once it has been completed.
A statement said the second phase of the mobile app development is expected to start next month and will be followed by trials with the control farmers group before it is launched.