The Nigeria chapter of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology, OFAB, in Africa, is inviting media practitioners that cover agriculture, biotechnology, and other biosciences, to apply for the 2021 Edition of its annual Award that promotes credible reporting of the sector.
The fifth edition of the award recognizes exemplary journalism that stimulates best practices in the adoption of agricultural technologies, particularly agricultural biotechnology.
The Africa-wide award known as the Pan-African Agricultural Innovations in Agriculture and Development (PAID) was initiated to promote credible agricultural biotechnology reportage.
The award also seeks to recognize outstanding journalists in all media genres involved in the coverage of agricultural biotechnology stories in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the Nigeria Country Coordinator of OFAB, Dr Rose Gidado, the award was instituted to ensure that journalists reporting on the subject matters were exposed to global best practices in the profession.
While noting that no country developed in the absence of science and technology, Dr Gidado said farmers in Nigeria were lagging behind their counterparts in other parts of Africa, due to the non-utilization of modern agricultural technologies.
“We therefore celebrate journalists who take time to inform and educate farmers on the benefits of emerging and innovative technologies,” she said.
The annual award was won in the past by media practitioners from Vanguard, TVC, NTA, Channels, AIT and a host of other newspapers and online platforms.
The objectives of the Award are to:
- Appreciate the contribution of journalists in promoting sustainable agricultural technologies.
- Improve the quality of agricultural journalism and motivate journalists and media houses to capture impact stories and report on innovative agricultural biotechnology as well as other agricultural technologies.
- It also celebrates and promotes innovative best-practices in agricultural biotechnology and other agricultural technologies that address challenges of food insecurity, climate change, and sustainable development.
The award accepts one entry per applicant ONLY and is open to ALL agriculture and science journalists in Nigeria, in the broadcast, print media and online.
The entry should have been published or aired between June 2020 and July 2021.
The award-winning story is judged purely on scientific accuracy, initiative, originality, clarity of interpretation and value in fostering a better public understanding of agricultural biotechnology and its impact in the society.
The deadline for submission of entries is Monday, 31st August 2021.
Details of how to apply for the award can be found at: https://www.ofabnigeria.com/2021/08/05/ofab-nigeria-media-award-2021-call-for-entry/
