The CGIAR spends roughly half of its research budget in sub-Saharan Africa and has a concomitant responsibility to work with journalists in the region to report effectively on agriculture. In pursuit of that commitment, the CGIAR and several partners recognized outstanding media coverage through two awards and helped to strengthen reporting in Lusophone Africa through a well-attended media workshop.

Journalism Awards

Patricia Oyella of WBS TV in Uganda and Wandera Ojanji of the East African Standard in Kenya emerged as winners of the CGIAR-FARA 2008 Award for Excellence in Agricultural Science Journalism in Africa.

Patricia Oyella, second from left, receives her award at AGM08.

Oyella won the prize for an outstanding broadcast story, while Ojanji received the outstanding print media prize. Each award, carrying a cash value of US$5,000, recognizes journalists’ efforts in effectively communicating agricultural science to the general public. This year’s prize was jointly offered by the CGIAR and Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

“We received an impressive array of entries from about 20 countries in Africa. Oyella and Ojanji impressed the judges most for thoroughly exploring the issues without losing their audience in the complexity of science. We recognize and applaud their efforts in showing how agricultural research contributes to development in Africa,” said Catherine Mgendi of the CGIAR. “Extensive and well-researched coverage of important issues contributes to the mission of the CGIAR and FARA, and we are grateful for this contribution.”

Patricia Oyella, editor and reporter at WBS TV in Uganda, received the award for her broadcast feature, “Saving the Cooking Banana,” shown on WBS TV and on Business Africa, a program broadcast on a network of more than 45 African and five European partner channels. Combining powerful, captivating imagery with precise narratives, the feature demonstrated the importance of this food crop in Africa, the problems faced by banana farmers and the solutions offered by researchers .

The panel of judges – comprising senior journalists and editors across Africa – applauded her entry as “a brilliant story well told with strong human interest.” The judges commended Oyella for a well-researched story that also featured unforgettable images and experts who explained the issues clearly.

Wandera Ojanji, science and environmental writer at the East African Standard newspaper in   Kenya, received the outstanding print award for his article, “Endangered Species?,” published on September 2, 2007. In his article, Ojanji effectively highlighted the plight of diminishing indigenous livestock breeds in   Kenya  and neighboring countries, and advocated strongly for the conservation of their genetic diversity through research, local breeding programs and policy interventions.

Wandera Ojanji, second from left, receives his award at AGM08.

“‘Endangered Species?’ is a good agricultural research story, and the journalist has done justice to a difficult theme,” said the judges.

The award program attracted 49 print and broadcast entries dealing with issues such as biofuels, climate change, the role of biotechnology, food safety, fertilizer availability, pest management and efforts to control noxious weeds, such as striga.

“In this day of information overload, journalists have to be concise, accurate and relevant. They additionally have to present agricultural information attractively and innovatively. Their choice of words and images sometimes has more impact than loads of scientific evidence,” said Francois Stepman, FARA communications specialist. “We truly laud the efforts of journalists to inform and educate the public about the importance of issues affecting agriculture in Africa and solutions offered by research.”

Media Workshop

The CGIAR further promoted high-quality science reporting by organizing a journalism training workshop, which targeted Portuguese-speaking journalists from Mozambique and Angola. The 3-day course, carried out in partnership with the Reuters Thomson Foundation, offered participants rigorous training in news writing as well as a rich selection of news opportunities, including the AGM08 opening ceremony and presentations from some of Africa’s, and indeed the world’s, foremost agricultural experts.

Media workshop participants gather in Maputo for a 3-day course.

Jointly inaugurating the workshop, CGIAR director Ren Wang and the director of the government of Mozambique’s Information Office, Felisberto Tinga, emphasized the pivotal role the media play in keeping agriculture high up on the international development agenda as well as in national governments’ priorities.

“Renewed media interest in agriculture over the last year or so follows many years of neglect,” Wang said. “This was apparent not only in the mass media but in the policies of national governments and international development agencies. Now, however, world leaders are calling for renewed support for agriculture, including research, and their call is being strongly echoed in the press.”

Participating journalists had an engaging discussion on the Green Revolution for Africa with Karim Tounkara of the Africa Union; Namanga Ngongi, president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA); and Monty Jones, World Food Prize laureate and executive director of FARA.

The journalists also heard about what makes African agriculture so unique and about opportunities for turning it around from Mark Cackler, Manager of the World Bank’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department, and FAO representative Maria Zimmermann. A sobering and eye-opening account of the state of agriculture in Mozambique, provided by the coordinator of the national program for agriculture development, Fernando Songane, succinctly brought home the message.

Participating journalists rated the training workshop highly, with the quality of speakers scoring a high of 5.6 out of 6.0. They also indicated that the workshop was all-in-all very relevant to their day-to-day work.