6700 AJ Wageningen
The Netherlands

www.cta.int

T

he Technical Centre for Agricultural and
Rural Cooperation (CTA) was established in
1983 under the Lomé Convention between

the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) Group of
States and the European Union Member States.
Since 2000, it has operated within the framework
of the ACP–EU Cotonou Agreement. CTA’s tasks
are to develop and provide products and services
that improve access to information for ARD, and
to strengthen the capacity of ACP countries to acquire, process, produce and disseminate information in this area.

in the Agricultural and Rural Development of ACP Countries

CTA annual seminar
Brussels, Belgium
12 - 16 October 2009

http://annualseminar2009.cta.int

COMPILATION DOCUMENT

Postbus 380

the role of media in the agricultural and rural development of ACP countries — cta annual seminar - brussels, belgium

COMPILATION DOCUMENT

CTA

the role of MeDIA

Organised by CTA in collaboration with:

CTA is financed by the European Union

Centre Ivoirien de
Recherches Economiques
et Sociales

IntoPrint

Photographs
Cover & p. 3: K. Hackshaw,
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p. 13: K. Hackshaw

p.
p.
p.
p.
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14:
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16:
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70:
71:

K. Hackshaw
R. H. Neun,
S. Ouattara, T. Murray
B. Guisse, CMA/WCA
K. Hackshaw
K. Hackshaw

p. 72: K. Hackshaw
p. 73: K. Hackshaw
p. 87: GRET, G. Rambaldi

COMPILATION DOCUMENT

the role of MeDIA

in the Agricultural and Rural Development of ACP Countries

3
Published by
The (ACP-EU) Technical Centre for
Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA)
Postbus 380 - 6700 AJ Wageningen
The Netherlands
Tel: (31) 317 467 100
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© CTA 2009
ISBN: 978 92 9081 429 0

Acknowledgements
Organising a seminar is no easy matter, and involves the collective
energy of a number of individuals. CTA wishes to acknowledge the
input of all the individuals and organisations who contributed both to
the seminar and to this document. This includes the members of the
Steering Committee, who assisted in shaping and forming the themes
and issues to be discussed, and also contributed by evaluating the
abstracts.
We also wish to thank all the authors and others who have contributed
to this document, including participants in both the e-discussion and
the seminar itself.

4

Expectations

Aude Ehlinger,
Head of partnerships
at the NGO SOS Faim,
in Cameroon and
Burkina Faso

Modeste Shabani
Bin Sweni,
Director,
Radio Sauti ya
Mkaaji

Dr Hansjörg Neun,
CTA Director,
The Netherlands
This was a terrific meeting. It
gave us the opportunity to meet

At the beginning of this seminar,

I am fully satisfied with the way

experts from all the CTA mem-

I felt the theme being treated

this workshop was organised,

ber states – from Africa, the

was too general and therefore

particularly with the quality of

Caribbean and the Pacific. The

did not quench my thirst. I had

the participants. CTA has good

theme of the seminar, the role

the feeling that what we heard

criteria for selecting partici-

of the media in agriculture, was

was nothing more than a rep-

pants. People tended to share

fascinating. The recommenda-

etition of what we had heard

their knowledge systematically.

tions show that there are enor-

at other seminars. Fortunately,

There were no “walk-ons”, as

mous expectations that CTA, as

gradually we turned to more

we sometimes see at meetings.

a small institution, will not be

tangible examples. We heard

Furthermore, I got an award in

able to satisfy fully. We have a

about field experiences, and

the “Best Community Projects”

fairly small budget. But I think

limits to activities intended to

category, which is a great bonus

that, together with our partners

strengthen information on agri-

for me. It shows that our work

in the ACP countries, we will try

culture and by the farmers. I

is important enough to be worth

to share roles so that we can

think this seminar will lead to

an international prize. I am the

apply some of the solutions that

some concrete proposals, and

only Congolese at this seminar

are advocated. Our efforts at

that the meeting will produce

and, see, I got an award. I’m

capacity-building for journalists

an excellent document.

thrilled!

will be strengthened. We could,
for instance, provide support for
journalists who are networking,
if they submit relevant training
projects to us.

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 	

4

Quotes, Expectations	

5

Foreword	

7

I Introduction 	

8

V Abstracts 	

22

1.1. Background	

8

Media and ARD issues	

22

1.2 The seminar in Figures	

9

Media and Agricultural Extension	

25

Media and Climate Change	

27

Media and Gender Equality	

29

Media Funding in ARD	

32

Media and arid and semi-arid zones	

33

Communication between Media
and Other ARD Players	

35

II Events	

11

2.1 E
 xecutive Summary:
Why do the Media matter?	

11

2.2 Brussels Briefing on the Media	

13

2.3 Coming of Age	

14

Contribution of the Media to Agricultural Policy	 37

6

III Media	

14

Institutional environment	

3.1 Media coverage	

14

Media, emerging new media service and ICTs	 41

3.2 TV Programme	

15

Working Group recommendations	

43

3.3 Live Blogging 	

16
VI Annexes	

45

39

IV Outputs	

17

6.1 Programme	

45

4.1 Summary – Pre-seminar blog	

17

6.2 List of participants	

52

4.2 Summary – E-discussion	

19

6.3 25th Anniversary Programme	

69

4.3 Brussels Declaration	

20

6.4 Media Award Winners	

70

6.5 More about the Media Award Winners	

71

6.6 A long road, but well worth it	

74

6.7 Articles from the pre-seminar blog	

75

7.1 Acronyms and abbreviations	

88

7.2 Order reports from previous seminars	

89

Foreword

C

an the media participate fully in agricultural and rural development?
If so, how should this be done in the context of the African, Caribbean
and Pacific (ACP) countries?

These are the questions CTA considered at its 2009 annual seminar, held in
Brussels, Belgium from 12 to 16 October.
According to recent statistics, agriculture accounts for only 4–6% of GDP.
This undoubtedly explains the low rate of government investment in the
agricultural sector in most ACP countries. And if this is true, what conceivable
reason would the media have to be interested in such an “insignificant” field?
Perhaps we need to look more closely at the figures.

According to a study by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), these statistical
data are incomplete and do not reflect the real contribution of agriculture. Argentina, for instance, has revised
its original estimate from 4.6 to 32.3%, which includes the entire value chain, from transport to storage and
processing, etc.; Brazil upped its figure from 4.3 to 26.2%; while in the USA, where only 2% of the working
population is involved with agriculture, some 25% work in the food industry. Lastly, a World Bank study1
has revised its first estimate of the average rural sector contribution to the GDP from 26 to 41%.
In other words, agriculture and rural development are big business. Not only are they important, they also
make up a very attractive sector worth greater media coverage.
I worked in Africa for 20 years, and know that media interest in agriculture is often limited to times of natural
disaster, crop losses or food crises – or simply opening ceremonies for large projects.
But agriculture has come back “loud and strong” onto the international development agenda. We can find
proof in the studies mentioned above, and in the recent G8 decision to earmark €20 billion to promote
agricultural output over the next 3 years.
CTA, day in, day out, strives to convince politicians and their fellow citizens of the importance of agriculture
and rural development. Furthermore, CTA is also persevering in its efforts to sensitise the media, as was
the case in October 2006 at a seminar in the Bahamas, where memorable discussions were held between
journalists and representatives of the ministries of agriculture of the Caribbean states.
It is time for the media to shoulder their responsibility and promote a new perception of agriculture. Without
them, the battle is lost in advance.
CTA’s annual seminar, held during “CTA Week” in Brussels, brought together representatives of ACP countries
to promote far-reaching dialogues aiming to facilitate interactions between the media, political decisionmakers and rural communities.
During the week, CTA also celebrated its 25th anniversary. This was an excellent opportunity to strengthen
partnerships with our governing authorities, especially the European Commission and the ACP Secretariat
General, and to thank them for standing with us for the past 25 years and encouraging our partners to
recognise our know-how and effectiveness.
I should also like to address my sincere gratitude to everyone who worked relentlessly to make this seminar
such a success. I am thinking especially of the members of the steering committee, and all our CTA team
members, including the interns, who worked so very hard.
I also would also like to thank the participants for their spirited contributions to the work sessions and
discussions.
Happy reading – and let me urge you to continue sharing your ideas through the new Media4Dev community.
Dr Hansjörg Neun
CTA Director
2005-February 2010
1
Guillermo E. Perry (author), William Foster (author), Daniel Lederman
(author), Alberto Valdes (author), David M. De Ferranti (editor). 2005.
Beyond the city: The Rural Contribution to Development. World bank,
Washington, DC.

7

I – INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background

D

uring the past few years,
international political communities have often discussed the consequences of food,
economic and financial crises for
development.
The return of agriculture to the top
of the development agenda is a
reality.
Some major multilateral institutions have carried out studies and
reports on this theme, including:
• t he 2003 progress report on the
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme
(CAADP) of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD);
• t he 2008 World Bank report on
development;
• t he 2009 FAO report on the state
of food insecurity and agriculture;
• t he analyses presented at various meetings of the G8 ministers
of agriculture.
In the ACP countries, the media
often ignore these subjects or
treat them lightly. To remedy this
situation, the media should provide more reliable, up-to-date
information on development and
should disseminate information
appropriately to political decisionmakers and rural communities,
where people are often illiterate
and number among the most seriously affected by these crises.

8

Despite the commitment to devote
10% of GDP to agriculture, stipulated in the 2003 Maputo Declaration, state budgets for this sector
are still very low, mainly due to
insufficient awareness of the
importance of agriculture.
The media have a role to play in
funding and investment for agriculture. By creating greater awareness, they can encourage political

decision-makers to become more
actively involved in agricultural
and rural innovation processes.
This was the background to the
international seminar that CTA
held in Brussels (Belgium) from 12
to 16 October 2009 on the “Role of
Media in the Agricultural and Rural
Development of ACP Countries”, in
order to:
• contribute to formulating strategies to strengthen the media’s
capacity to access and disseminate information on key questions related to agriculture in the
ACP countries;

Brussels Briefing

• improve communications between
the media and other actors
involved in agricultural and rural
development;
• contribute to identifying support
programmes for the media.
The seminar was attended by over
170 experts from the sectors interlinking media and agricultural/
rural development – journalists of
the written press, rural radio and
television; research scientists;
representatives of press agencies;
communications specialists from
public services and development
projects; decision-makers from the
six ACP regions (West, Central, East
and Southern Africa, the Caribbean
and the Pacific); national institutions in the EU countries, and
regional and international organisations. The seminar focused on
the following themes:
• media coverage of agricultural
and rural development (ARD)
issues;

Media awards

Daily reports

• c ommunications between the
media and other actors in ARD;
• t he media and the funding of
agricultural development;
• media capacity-building;
• the role of new technologies in
media development.

The seminar programme was
enhanced by pre-seminar activities including an e-discussion, with
edifying input from over 2,000
experts. The media’s practical
experiences in ACP communities

were presented in specially-prepared videos, used to produce a
TV programme that was broadcast
in more than 30 ACP countries.
The Brussels Briefing, on the first
day of the seminar, set the tone
by looking at the issue from the
perspective of both journalists
and policy-makers/stakeholders.
It examined possible roles for the
media in development, and considered how they could be used to
cope with rural constraints – looking at what is required from the
media, the resources needed, and
the constraints faced by the media
in fulfilling these roles.

ROMs will be produced containing
the special TV programmes. All
the seminar products are available
from CTA’s Publication Distribution
service. Electronic versions of the
documents, as well as the presentations that have been sent to CTA,
are available on the seminar website at http://annualseminar2009.
cta.int. PDF copies of the texts can
be downloaded from CTA’s virtual
library, Anancy.

1.2 The seminar in figures

To encourage the ACP media to
give more coverage to issues
relating to ARD in ACP countries,
and to encourage decision-makers
in supporting agricultural development, CTA organised a contest to
honour professional journalists
and community media.
During the seminar, exchanges
and discussions culminated in conclusions and recommendations on
strategies that will be implemented
to strengthen the role of the media
in ARD in ACP countries. Some of
these can be found in the Executive Summary (page 11).
These messages have also been
set out in a Brussels Declaration
(page 20). Concerted implementation of these strategies by the
actors as well as the national,
regional and international institutions will enable the media to play
their role in ACP ARD.
This summary document is one of
a series compiled to present the
richness of the discussions during
the week in Brussels, as well as
the resulting conclusions and recommendations. A more comprehensive, stand-alone version of the
Executive Summary (page 11) will
be published. Additionally, two CD-

Should you wish to continue the
debate or take part in the Media4Dev community, send an email to
us at cta@cta.int.

Participants
by gender
women 38%

men 62%

Participants by region
10 % Caribbean
20% West Africa

3 % Central Africa

13 % East Africa

12 % Southern Africa

6 % Pacific

6 % International

30 % Europe

9

Participants by type
of organization

2% West Africa

1 % Bilateral Donors
10 % Development Projects

17% Research Organisations
3 % Farmers' Associations
6 % International Organisations

8% Regional Organisations
9 % NGOs
1% Governemental Organisations
1% Network Associations
3 % Private Sector

39% Combined Media

19 posters

40 oral

Number of oral and
posters presentations

Illiterate or poorly-educated population
Inappropriate information packaging or no communication strategies

Contraints Faced
by the Media

2.7 %
4.1 %
5.0 %

Few or limited media facilities available
Transportation problem

5.4 %

Lack of leaders or political support

5.4 %

Other constraints

7.2 %

Problems between media and sources

7.7 %

Difficulties to collect or get up-to-date information

10

8.6 %

Lack of free and trustworthy information

10.4 %

Lack of interest from editors and journalists

11.3 %

Lack of funding for research, collecting, getting or sharing information

14.9 %
17.6 %

Difficulties to understand the information and non-qualified journalists
0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10 %

12 %

14 %

16 %

18 %

20 %

II – EVENTS
2.1 executive summary:
why do the media matter?

I

n ACP countries, there is a
wide range of public, private
and community media organisations whose print journalists,
television, video and radio broadcasters – as well as communicators
using both traditional means such
as music or drama, and new digital, wireless technologies – constitute an important but disparate
set of actors. These organisations
can facilitate awareness, learning
and action to address the major
agricultural and rural development
(ARD) challenges of the 21st century, including food security and
climate change.
Without this wide range of media,
key policy commitments to the
agricultural sector may be unaccounted for, knowledge may
remain undocumented or not
widely shared, and information
may remain in the hands of the
few. Therefore the media can be
a strategic link in the chain of
information dissemination and
communication that brings many
stakeholders together in the process
of agricultural innovation.

access information. However, the
current media coverage does not
guarantee the relevance, quality
and quantity of information they
need. The media face many constraints, including lack of skills and
specialisation, poor remuneration,
lack of equipment and transport,
and limited or no affordable access
to the internet and reliable information networks.
The goal of strengthening the role
of the media in ARD addresses
these constraints and aims to
build new, improved communication with knowledge partners such
as farmers, extension workers,
agribusinesses and scientists. An
“essential service” in the development of ACP, the media can play
a key role. They must assume
responsibility to enable interaction with resource-poor farmers
and rural communities, who face
vast challenges in food production,
nutrition and adaptation to climate
change.

THE 2009 CTA SEMINAR –
RESPONDING TO THE CALL

MEDIA – AN
“ESSENTIAL SERVICE”
Even though it is acknowledged
in ACP nations that an adequate
flow of information is an indispensable element in the achievement of basic needs, functioning
of markets and the implementation of agricultural policies and
programmes, media treatment of
crucial issues such as food security, post-harvest technology and
water management often tends
to be insufficient.
Millions of people in ACP nations
rely on their local radio stations,
mobile phones and cyber-cafés to

OF ACP PARTNERS
The focus on the role of the media
in this year’s seminar emerged
from calls from the ACP regions
during events such as the Caribbean
Week of Agriculture, and a West
African study visit with journalists
on problems associated with the
livestock trade. The 2009 seminar
also received input from many
collaborating institutions; the
international steering committee
responsible for advising on the
themes of the seminar included
representatives from media organisations in the ACP region, Europe
and North America.
The seminar’s agenda addressed

several current challenges, including the emergence of community
media alongside public and private
sector media; the growing need
for capacity-building to enable the
media to engage in ARD issues,
including climate change and gender equality; and the rapid development and use of digital media in
the ARD sectors.

OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the seminar
were:
• t o contribute to the formulation of strategies to improve the
media’s ability to access and disseminate information on the core
issues affecting the ACP agricultural sector and strengthen communication with and within the
media;
• t o contribute to identifying programmes to support the media.

PARTICIPANTS
The seminar brought together
over 170 participants, representing experts and major players in
the media and ARD. They included
a range of journalists from media
institutions such as newspapers
and magazines, radio, television and webcasters. They were
joined by agricultural researchers, representatives of a range of
development media organisations,
communication specialists working
in public service and development
projects, policy-makers from the
six ACP regions (Central, Eastern,
Southern and West Africa, the
Caribbean and the Pacific), as well
as representatives from national
research and development institutions in EU countries and regional
and international organisations.

11

PROCESS
The call for proposals attracted
over 225 abstract submissions.
In total, 57 presentations were
selected and organised into 10
thematic plenary and parallel
panel sessions as well as interactive poster sessions.

THEMES AND SESSION 	
TOPICS
1. Media and ARD issues
2. Media and agricultural 	
extension and learning
3. Media and climate change
4. Media and gender equality
5. Media funding in ard
6. Media in arid and semi-arid
zones
7. C
 ommunication between
media and other ard players
8. C
 ontribution of the media 	
to agricultural policy, 	
programming and knowledge 	
management
9. I nstitutional environment of
media: building the capacity 		
of media in ard
10. Media, emerging new 	
media service and icts
Various activities were undertaken
to gather the opinions and views
of a wide range of international
actors. These activities included
an e-discussion comprising more
than 2,000 participants, and a preseminar blog which was replaced
by the live blog during the seminar. Regular and rapid additions to
the seminar’s website were also
produced synchronously.
Once the seminar was under
way, an exciting set of activities
unfolded. On the first day, seminar
participants had the unique experience of joining EU-ACP delegates
12

Presentation during the session on Media and Climate Change
at the European Commission for a
“Brussels Briefing” on the topic of
the seminar as well as plenary and
panel discussions (see page 13).
Specific action-oriented working
groups contributed detailed action
items specific to the thematic
areas as well as radio, television
and video, print and community
media (page 43). On the final day
of the seminar, the Brussels Declaration was drafted to summarise
recommendations from the online
activities, seminar presentations
and deliberations throughout the
week (page 20).

BEYOND 2009 – TOWARDS
A STRONGER ROLE FOR
THE MEDIA IN ARD
In light of the many discussions
and recommendations generated
through the seminar process, CTA
will ensure the following recommendations are put into practice
as part of the newly-created media
programme.
•B
 y September 2010, develop a
media capacity-strengthening
strategy that takes into account
suggestions from the proposed
list of actions, as well as regional
variations on issues that are
essential for agricultural development in ACP countries.

•W
 ithin the next strategic plan,
collaborate with national and
international institutions to
involve the media more closely
in the ACP development policy
process and ARD programming,
and respond to action items
regarding annual conferences,
small grants, awards and recognition efforts.
•D
 evelop guidelines for media
roles, responsibilities and relations with national and international research, education and
extension agencies.
•U
 se all its existing programmes
to increase awareness among
funding agencies about the support needed to act on suggested
action plans for radio, television/
video/film and community media
in the agricultural and rural sectors of ACP.
•D
 irect increased support to community media in ARD.
•A
 s far as possible, ensure gender
equality in capacity-building.
•P
 romote information exchange
throughout non-ARD media networks on successful practices
and experiences in dealing with
key ACP agricultural and rural
issues, including climate change
and food security.

2.2 Brussels Briefing on the media

T

he 14th Brussels Development Briefing on Media
and Development, held on
12 October 2009, discussed key
issues regarding the role media
can play in raising awareness in
ACP and EU member states, and
in building public support for EU
development policy. The participants agreed that efforts need to
be made by the various actors to
feature success stories on agriculture and rural development, not
just bad news. If we want to boost
productivity in order to respond to
people’s needs in terms of food,
employment and income in a sustainable and environmental way,
there is a need for agriculture to be
more visible in the media. But this
cannot happen without increased
investment in agriculture, and in
information and communication
infrastructure.
All participants agreed that the
media are essential partners in the
ARD sector, and that they face real
constraints: poor infrastructure,
lack of equipment, low salaries,
and lack of education and specialisation in agriculture leading to a
poor understanding of development issues. There is a mismatch
between the expectations of media
and the development community
– for the media, agriculture is
not usually seen as newsworthy,
whereas development partners do
not trust the media to report accurately and objectively. While the
use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) varies
across ACP regions, they provide
channels and means to enhance
the role of media. We need to
share good practice, including from
other sectors such as health and
education, and move away from
traditional models to disseminate
information and allow interactive learning across actors linked
in broad networks. National ACP
governments and the international
community should engage in supporting the media.

research skills and to collaborate
with scientists. As Violet Otindo,
the KBC–CNN award-winner, points
out, scientists could win an award
for teaming up with journalists and
making agricultural stories more
exciting and positive. Training in
new technologies and strengthening of professional associations,
especially for young female journalists, who may lack networks,
are essential. More young journalists who champion ARD issues in
our societies should receive recognition through awards, training
and other forms of support.
The good news is that “homegrown” local media specialists are
increasing in number. Local media
can satisfy local demand, in local
languages, for news, information,
action and possible influence on
national development, through
networking with other media
beyond the local level. Some
types of media can create and
share power with rural communities, such as community radio;
participatory video, which can also
be linked to television and film
documentaries; telecentres that
function as community resource
centres; and a press that shares
many different rural voices/languages and reports on issues of
importance to rural communities.
We already see future developments in mobile phones and web
2.0 applications that allow rural
citizens’ journalism and podcasts
by rural communities of their own
stories via rural radio.

Participants at the Brussels Briefing

Online interview with
CTA Director

Web-casting

13

Journalists lack specialised training to respond to issues related to
agriculture and rural development,
and they need to develop better
Press Conference following the Brussels Briefing (L-R)
Stephen Hazelman, SPC; Dr Wilson A Songa, CTA Chairman;
Ian Barber, European Commission.

2.3 Coming of age
CTA’s 25th Anniversary
Ceremony
CTA celebrated 25 years of service
to the 79 ACP states at a special
ceremony on 14 October 2009, at
the Palais des Colonies in Tervuren,
Belgium. The evening ceremony
was one of the highlights of the
CTA seminar on “The Role of Media
in the Agricultural and Rural Development of ACP Countries” held
during what was dubbed, ‘CTA
Week in Brussels’.
A highpoint of the evening was,
without doubt, the announcement of
the winners of CTA’s first ever Best
Journalism and Best Community
Communication Awards for journalists who have contributed to ARD in
ACP countries (see page 70).
In addition to the 170 participants
at the seminar, representatives
of Brussels-based ACP and EU
embassies, as well as representatives from international organisations and development partners,
attended the event.

HE Mrs Marcia Yvette GilbertRoberts, Ambassador of Jamaica,
performed the duties of master
of ceremonies for the evening,
presiding over presentations from representatives
of CTA’s governing authorities and international partners, who spoke of some of
the key development issues
shaping the current global and
regional climate, and how they
perceived CTA’s interventions in
this context.
In his presentation on behalf
of the CTA Executive Board, Dr
Wilson Songa, Chairman of the
Board, congratulated the Centre
on the dedication of its staff, “from
the high level of activity, sometimes we have the impression that
CTA employs well over 100 staff,
when in reality the staff complement is just over 40”. However, as
dedicated as the staff may be, as
demanded as the Centre’s services
were by its ACP members, and
despite the Centre’s recent restructuring, Dr Songa pointed out that

given the context in which the Centre worked, it desperately needed
more funds if it wanted to remain
relevant and have more impact
over the next 25 years.
CTA’s Director, Dr Hansjörg Neun,
in his vote of thanks at the end of
the evening, took the opportunity
to congratulate the organisation
on its achievements.

III – MEDIA
3.1 Media coverage

I

2,300 persons subscribed to the
discussion, the results of which
were presented during the seminar (page 19).

For the past few years, CTA has
relied on pre-seminar electronic
discussions (e-discussions) to
gather ideas and opinions that
help shape the seminar’s theme.
These e-discussions also allow
more people, especially those
who are not able to attend the
seminar, to contribute their views
to the discussions. This year over

Whereas the e-discussion is targeted at professionals in the field,
the pre-seminar blog, introduced this year, aimed to obtain
first-hand, grassroots opinions
from a wide range of participants
on a number of topics, including capacity-building, use of new
media, and first-hand views and
opinions on the seminar’s themes
(page 17). While it was also possible for participants to communicate with the blog using SMS,
this feature was not as success-

t seems appropriate that a
seminar about the media
should take advantage of all
relevant media to communicate
with its various audiences. A range
of traditional and new media were
used before, during and following
the seminar.

14

ful, possibly because most users
reading the blog online could submit comments directly online (for
free), and also because the brevity
of SMS may not have matched the
type of discussion.
The seminar website hosted
material pertinent to the seminar’s
organisation, themes and the preseminar blog. When the seminar
began, the pre-seminar blog was
converted to a live blog.
Web 2.0 tools featured prominently. The tag “Media4Dev” was
entered on Delicious, and a Twitter
account was opened. A community was established on LinkedIn,
and a Flickr account was set up for

the seminar to facilitate the sharing of photos and videos. Once the
seminar got under way, the blogs,
tweets, photos and videos flowed
in.
A live webcast on day 1 of the
seminar, of the Brussels Briefing,
allowed viewers from all over the
world to have a first-hand look
at the seminar and even to post
questions online. Over 100 media
houses and organisations signed
up for the broadcasts, and almost
200 users looked at the Briefing
online.
In addition to the online tools,
CTA once again collaborated with
People TV to produce a special TV
programme on the theme of the
seminar. The programme featured
a panel discussion and highlighted
video shorts from Africa (Kenya,
Mali, Senegal and Zambia), the
Pacific (Kiribati) and the Caribbean
(Trinidad and Tobago).

All the sessions were taped, and a
DVD documenting the seminar will
also be available.

and English, are also available on
the seminar website (http://annualseminar2009.cta.int).

Radio is still king in many ACP
countries. Special radio broadcasts were made of
the TV programme,
and participants
were eager to assist
with live interviews
throughout the week.
Radio also featured
strongly during the two
press conferences held
during the seminar, on
the first and last days.
While some debate that
the future of print media
is uncertain, in ACP print
media are still strong, and
Daily Digests summarising each day’s proceedings
were produced from Tuesday
to Friday. PDF copies of the
digests, produced in French

3.2 TV programme on media
and agriculture in ACP countries

A

s part of the communication
strategy used in organising
the annual seminar, CTA
and its partners produced a television programme on ‘Media and
Agriculture in ACP Countries’.
The objective of this special programme was to increase the
impact of the seminar and share
it with everyone involved in ARD
in ACP countries (political leaders,
media, rural communities and the
general public), and to heighten
awareness of the role the media
can play in agricultural development in ACP countries.
Five overall themes were selected:
•m
 edia and trade in agricultural
products;

•
•
•
•

m
 edia and gender;
media and climate change;
m
 edia and capacity-building;
h
 ow the media cover agriculture.

Projects from the ACP region were
selected for inclusion in feature
reports, produced in French and
in English, and were presented
in Brussels as part of the TV programme.
• I n the Caribbean, a national daily
and a rural radio station were
visited to provide examples of
how the media (under)focus on
the agricultural sector.
• I n 2008, CTA organised a study
trip that took about a dozen
journalists from several coun-

tries in West Africa along the
Dakar-to-Bamako route. At the
border they had to cope with
the administrative headaches
that seriously disturb trade in
agricultural commodities in the
sub-region. Press articles on this
subject prompted some governments to react.
• I n a region of West Kenya rife
with AIDS, rural communities
with support from the NGO
Kenya Aids Intervention Prevention Project Group (KAIPPG),
have created their own media.
They record agricultural techniques and dietary advice on
cassettes and videos, which are
then passed from village to village.
15

Taping of TV programme

Dr Hansjörg Neun, director of CTA
and Oumarou Barry, presenter
from People TV, stayed on scene
during the live taping in Brussels.
Various specialists were invited
onto the set, depending on the
subject:
•A
 bdoulaye Barry, journalist at
RTS / Senegal
• I n the Pacific, international media
coverage of events in Kiribati
largely contributed to stirring up
international support on climate
change issues.
• I n Zambia, the International
Women’s Media Foundation
offers women journalists training
sessions that include an introduction to agricultural problems
and methods for treating agricultural news. These sessions have
affected the way the media cover
agriculture, for example, the
Times of Zambia has started a
weekly column on agriculture.
Experts and journalists were
invited to add information, and
seminar participants were invited
to attend the discussions.

•B
 l o n d e a u Ta l a t a l a , d e p u ty,
National Assembly / Cameroon
•B
 usani Bafana, freelance journalist / Zimbabwe
•C
 ece Fadope, Africa programme
manager, International Women’s
Media Foundation / USA
•D
 iana Francis, expert in agricultural policy and trade negotiations, IICA / Trinidad
•D
 orienne Rowan-Campbell,
organic farmer / Jamaica
•F
 atouma Sophie Ouattara, journalist at Sidwaya, a daily newspaper / Burkina Faso

•O
 biero Ong’ang’a, director of
Lake Victoria Center for Research
and Development / Kenya
•N
 azima Raghubir, journalist /
Guyana
•S
 amisoni Pareti, freelance journalist / Fiji.
The programme was scheduled to
be broadcast in November 2009,
in two 30-minute segments, by
about 40 television channels that
are partners of the People TV
audio-visual production company,
as well as in the Caribbean and the
Pacific. To broaden the outreach, it
will also be recorded on cassette
for broadcasting by community
radio stations and will be distributed via CTA’s website, www.cta.
int.
CTA will give a DVD of the TV programme to seminar participants
and partner organisations upon
request.

• J ames Onyango, director of
KAIPPG / Kenya
•L
 arry Thomas, co-ordinator,
Media Centre, Secretariat of the
Pacific Community (SPC) / Fiji

3.3 Live blogging aggregates content
at CTA seminar

L

16

ive blogging, carried out by
a four-person francophone
and anglophone team, complemented the overall media mix
used during the seminar. The live
blogging aggregated content documented in text, audio, pictures and
video. The seminar blog was spiced
by tweets, initially from the new
media team members and later
from participants and others who
joined in tweeting the conference.

The live blogging allowed people
who were not at the seminar to
comment on articles posted on
the seminar blog. The content
that was blogged was also picked
up by other users. This resulted
in richer information and content,
which was further integrated and
shared by yet more bloggers.
“Tweeting at the CTA seminar was a
great experience for me because I
was very well informed about what
was taking place … and I got to
know what other participants were
thinking too. In other words, there
was a lot of information sharing,
networking and advocacy on agriculture-sensitive media policies”,
said Maureen, Agena a participant

and tweeter at the conference.
Using live blogging, the new media
team was also able to integrate
content from multiple platforms,
including YouTube, Twitter, Blogspace and Flickr, to one platform:
http://annualseminar2009.cta.
int/blog. The team also integrated

audio and text on the same blog
platform. This involved stakeholders in sharing and disseminating
information for knowledge-sharing
applications for the agricultural
community.
The seminar blog content was
also aggregated through the use
of Ping.fm, which the team used to
send content to other social networking sites, including Facebook,
Yahoo! Mail, Google Mail, Flickr,
Twitter and other social networking sites.

A valuable output for both bloggers and organisers was seeing
how geographically dispersed
journalists can work together and
be sensitised, evidenced by the
way they contributed their comments to the blog and to Twitter
and Facebook. The success of the
live blogging may be seen in the
continuation of community participation even after the conference
had ended.

Live blogging in figures
Microblogging – more than
700 tweets
Blog entries in the form of
videos and short stories – 80
Photos documented – over
200
Comments to the blog (not
including those made on
other social networking sites
such as Facebook) – 51

To be fully effective, live blogging depends on several conditions,
including the existence of a dedicated wireless service in the conference area. Failing this, the bloggers can blog and tweet offline
and then blog online when back on the internet. For maximum
effectiveness, bloggers also need to use a laptop capable of capturing signals in a wide variety of environments. To provide more
advanced services, the blog team also needs to have access to
voice recorders with MP3 format, video cameras and mobile camera
phones. While not essential, extra tapes and batteries allow for
greater flexibility and efficiency.

IV – Outputs
Prior to the international seminar on The Role of Media in the
Agricultural and Rural Development of ACP Countries (Brussels,
12–16 October 2009), CTA organised a pre-seminar blog and an
e-discussion to allow experts from
across the ACP region to share
their opinions and experiences on
the topic.

log
See b
les
artic
ge 75
on pa

4.1 summary –
pre-seminar blog
Moderators: Marilyn Minderhout,
Ibbo Daddy Abdoulaye
The objective of the blog was to
support development of the CTA
2009 seminar and to give ACP
media practitioners the opportunity to exchange and share experiences. The majority of those who
contributed to the blog were journalists, many of whom either had
been or still were working on rural
development issues. There were
also several contributions from
members of media networks and
associations.

The blog ran for almost 12 weeks,
and was structured around
selected themes. These had been
identified in an introductory article
and were further elaborated in the
short articles posted each week.
These articles provided a context
and starting point for discussion,
and prompted contributions that
provided a startling commentary
on the relationship between the
media and rural development in
ACP countries. The majority of the
contributions came from Africa, but
similar concerns were expressed

17

by bloggers from the Caribbean
and Pacific.
Blog contributors reflected on the
institutional setting in which they
– as journalists – work. The political context has a decisive impact
on press freedom. More generally,
even within democratic regimes, a
certain level of fear and distrust of
the media hinders factual and well
informed reporting. Civil servants
– mindful of their careers and the
consequences of incurring the disapproval of their superiors – can
block access to information. The
inefficiency of government offices
was also mentioned: materials not
archived, statistics not kept and
endless delays in retrieving information so, when it does become
available, its relevance is often
questionable. However, when
government officials or researchers have something to report in
their own interest, “they [know]
how to shout”; otherwise, they are
“allergic to the press”, as one blogger put it.
The political culture, and the financial and corporate interest that
support it, were seen as having
an equally serious impact on the
capacity of journalists and editors
to choose stories that promote a
more “public journalism” and that
might benefit rural development.
Several contributors supported
the observation from the Pacific
that the rapid privatisation and
corporatisation of the media had
created a culture in which “profit
[has] overtaken the public good
as the main motive of the news
media”.

18

This type of environment did not
encourage the transmission of
information needed by farmers –
especially small-scale farmers. One
contributor, who had tried to find
out from farmers why the media
had not contributed more to development, was told: “Politicians have
money, farmers don’t. They don’t
want the country to know what’s
going on here. They only come
to the rural areas during election
time to hand out presents!”

Farm communities were prepared
to put money and time aside for
the media when “they saw that
journalists were representing their
issues and concerns”. But bridging
the gap between a potential rural
readership and gaining access
to information that could have
a positive impact on agricultural
production and rural livelihoods is
complex. Some contributors suggested that further professionalisation, training, specialisation and
improved salaries could help overcome this problem. Others emphasised the need for legislation to
facilitate the development of new
technologies capable of bridging
the urban–rural divide.
While the constraints facing practising journalists – including low
pay and limited budgets – discourage investigative rural journalism
– it was seen to be important to
remember that the media do have
the potential to stimulate ARD.
There was a general consensus
that, in the absence of adequate
state or private radio coverage of
agricultural issues, community
radio stations provide an important source of support for rural
households. Here, the organisers
are also the listeners, and community radio stations not only provide
livelihood information, they also
bring the concerns of rural communities into the public domain.
In this way they stimulate the
exchange of experience and knowledge between communities as well
as providing journalists with useful
materials. In addition, as a blogger from Nigeria suggested, community radio – if well co-ordinated
– could be interwoven into a rural
media network that could support agricultural extension – support much needed in areas where
“extensionists are poorly trained,
poorly paid and often reluctant to
work in the rural areas”.

Financial sustainability was identified as a serious problem for many
rural media initiatives. But from
the blog, it appeared that there
are positive experiences of community radio stations that have
developed a steady commercial
base for themselves – sometimes
with the support of local people –
or have achieved stability by linking with a wide range of partner
organisations.
The community radio theme led
into a discussion of the impact of
new technologies on ARD. Here
several contributors stressed the
importance of first discussing with
local communities the technologies
available and their need, relevance
and capacity to use and maintain
these tools effectively.
Strategies sensitive to the specific
conditions within individual countries are needed. New technologies do not generate development,
but the messages they carry can
have an impact on development
policies. Journalists in the mainstream media need access to
supportive information and they
must have sufficient skill, experience and determination to provide well documented, issue-based
coverage of rural affairs. Journalists, broadcasters and webmasters can play a significant part in
transforming their sector into an
“inclusive media” – a media that
draws all sections of society into
the development process.

4.2 summary – e-discussion
Moderators: Susanna Thorp and
Laurence Lalanne-Devlin
Over 2,000 people were invited
to take part in the e-discussion,
including journalists, communication specialists, researchers,
librarians, regional organisations
and rural development agencies.
The four-week discussion was
held simultaneously in English and
French, and was broken into four
themes:
• constraints faced by the media;
• expectations between the media
and other development stakeholders;
• the potential role of ICTs;
• funding for capacity strengthening.
This summary report gives a brief
overview of some of the main
points and recommendations arising from the discussion to provide
a foundation for further discussion
and action at the seminar.

Media advocating for change in West Africa

Constraints

Expectations

It was unanimously agreed that
the media are essential in agricultural development – but concerns
were expressed over the multiple
constraints that limit the media
from realising their full potential
in this role. The reality is that the
media, particularly in Africa, are
faced with the challenges of poor
infrastructure, low salaries, lack of
equipment, a lack of specialisation
(and training for agriculture) and
therefore a poor understanding of
development issues. Specific constraints with regard to the themes
discussed in week one (including
climate, marketing and extension)
were that journalists lack timely
and regionally appropriate data to
communicate to their audiences.

Different expectations exist
between the media and other
development partners (such as
researchers and policy-makers).
Media houses do not see agriculture as newsworthy, and find it difficult to interpret scientific jargon
for their audiences. There is often
a mistrust of the media among
researchers and others, who may
wish to have their stories published or broadcast without cost,
and lack the skills to package the
information in the right way.

Key recommendation. To provide greater capacity-strengthening to the media.

Key recommendation. More
efforts are needed to bridge the
gap between the media and development partners if agriculture is to
have a higher profile among target
audiences.
Role of ICTs
While ICTs and new media tools
provide new channels and means
to enhance the role of the media,
it was acknowledged that ICTs are
not a panacea.

Key recommendations. Recognising the potential for ICTs needs
to include learning from other sectors and sharing good practice.
A more sophisticated model is
required, of interactive and iterative learning across actors linked
in broad networks, rather than the
traditional, linear model for disseminating information.

Funding
With agriculture now back on the
agenda for development support,
it was felt that funding for agricultural communication initiatives
has not followed suit, and greater
efforts are required at national
and international levels to support
the media in agricultural development.
Key recommendation. Agricultural communication for development must become a key priority
for investment – and donor and
national efforts should be better
co-ordinated.

19

20

4.3 Brussels Declaration

21

V – Abstracts
Media and ARD issues
VIDEO IN DEVELOPMENT
– FILMING FOR RURAL
CHANGE (CTA BOOK
LAUNCH)
Dr Rico Lie and Mr Andreas 	
Mandler, University of 		
Wageningen, the Netherlands
This new CTA publication is about
using video in rural interventions for social change. It offers
a glimpse into the many creative
ways in which video can be used in
rural development activities. Capitalising on experience in this field,
the book aims to encourage development professionals to explore
the potential of video in development, making it a more coherent,
better understood and properly
used development tool – in short,
filming for rural change.
Video has been used in development for more than 30 years,
but only with the advent of digital video has filming and editing
equipment become affordable
and easier to use. Despite the
consequent increase in the use
of video in development activities, however, there is very little information available on the
practical aspects of using video,
from building it into development
strategies to preparation, filming,
distribution and screening. Recent
trends show a heavy emphasis on
participatory video, particularly in
terms of farmer participation, with
comparatively little attention being
paid to educational or learning videos. There is very little literature,
for example, on how to integrate
adult learning with video, or how
to stimulate farmer experimentation.
22

There is confusion, for example,
about the degree of professionalism needed to design, produce and
use video in development activities. Which professionals should
be involved? Are different kinds
of professionals needed – professional film-makers, professionals

with facilitation or management
skills, communication professionals, people with particular technical skills? There is also confusion
about the terms “participation” and
“participatory video”. Participation
is a key concept, but we need to
be more specific about the kinds
of participation that are practical in making videos for development and the stages at which
participation should be sought
(e.g. script-writing, design, filming, reviewing).

SOURCING INFORMATION
ON ARD BY THE PACIFIC
MEDIA
Ms Viola Ulakai, Tonga 		
Broadcasting and Television 	
Corporation, Tonga
Sourcing information in the Pacific
for agriculture and rural development is not easy. This paper
explores the challenges journalists have identified when trying to
provide coverage on these topics,
and presents the different views
of journalists in the region who
have shared their experiences with
regard to sourcing information. In
a recent ADVOC online survey,
overwhelming reasons focused
on the lack of capacity-building
programmes, and the need for
stakeholders to treat the media
as peers, partners and trusted
colleagues who can and will disseminate information accurately,
without bias and in the simplest
English or in the vernacular language. It also pointed to the need
for resource-sharing when sourcing information, particularly when
either party is unable to reach a
remote or isolated area. Other
challenges identified include the
need for scientific sources to work
with journalists on simplifying
information, creating awareness
on the importance of agriculture
and rural development among
journalists in the region and creating understanding of the media
in the agriculture sector.
The presentation provides scenarios in which these challenges
are experienced and what can be
done to address them. It highlights proposed programmes to
make sourcing information simpler
for journalists and sources. Lastly,
it presents a set of recommendations to help CTA address sourcing
of information on agriculture and
rural development in the region by
the media.

THE VOICE OF THE VISUAL
– VISUAL LEARNING
STRATEGIES FOR PROBLEM
ANALYSIS, SOCIAL
DIALOGUE AND MEDIATED
PARTICIPATION

DEVELOPING A LOVE
AFFAIR BETWEEN RURAL
AGRICULTURE
AND THE MEDIA

Dr Loes Witteveen, IRDT, 	
Wageningen University, 	
Netherlands

In the Caribbean island state of
Trinidad (Trinidad and Tobago),
media involvement is a moneymaking business. Rural farmers,
mostly middle-aged men and
women, know they must present
agriculturists and agriculture more
attractively if the media are to be
prodded to invest in pushing a love
affair between food producers and
consumers. Some farmers, interviewed in their rural districts,
expressed the need for government and other stakeholders to
help enhance farmers’ image
and role in society. Ideal for this
task, they said, would be a media
production company dedicated
solely to coverage of agriculture,
frequently presenting to the public a new image of rural farming
and farmers. Such presentations
could also attract rural youth, who
often reject agriculture for higherpaying, less back-breaking jobs. A
media production company could
also be the national hub in an
information web of rural community networks. Through engaging,
quality programming, rural farmers would expect to attract the
attention of government and other
stakeholders whose intervention
could bring resolution to issues
such as land tenure; land allocation; ready and equitable access
to land preparation equipment;
clearing of clogged waterways
and general water management;
construction of access roads; and
responsible supervision of agrochemical use. A dedicated production company with adequate
financial support, and with the collaboration of educational institutions and other national and global
agricultural organisations, could
extend beyond the island nation
of Trinidad and Tobago to stoke up
a love affair between rural farmers and the media throughout the
Caribbean.

The changing need for innovative learning strategies in the life
sciences results from the growing complexity of societal issues.
Nowadays, these types of complex issues are sometimes called
“wicked problems”. Wicked problems are complex problems that
do not have one single solution
that is right or wrong, good or bad,
as they relate to social systems
and values. They are problems
in which many stakeholders are
involved, all of them framing the
problems and issues in a different way. Reflecting on the consequent changing role of scientists,
it is realised that we need learning strategies to enhance problem
analysis and intersubjective consensus.
This paper reports on a research
and design project on visual learning strategies for problem analysis
and policy design, focusing on dialogue and participation by social
actors, (future) practitioners and
decision-makers. The design track
resulted in the development of visual problem appraisal and embedded filming. These methodologies
were used in productions regarding
“Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Kerala, India” and “AIDS
and Rural Development Professionalism in sub-Saharan Africa”.
The films have been used in an
array of situations and with a variety of audiences. They have shown
the ability to bring complex realities and a diversity of stakeholders together in spaces of learning,
reflection and change.
The research results indicate the
relevance of designing and producing specific visual learning
strategies in the context of wicked
problems in rural development,
where using film provides options
to enhance mediated participation
and learning by vulnerable and
overlooked stakeholders.

Dr Eugenia Springer, Eugenia
Springer Productions, Trinidad

MEDIA TREATMENT OF
AGRICULTURAL AND
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
ISSUES: CHALLENGES
AND PROBLEMS
Ms. Anne Matho Motsou, Jade,
Cameroon
Abstract: The media have to face
the following challenges in dealing
with problems of agricultural and
rural development:
-c
 ontribute to improving living
conditions in rural areas by disseminating information that can
help the rural population increase
agricultural and animal production. The media, therefore, must
leave room for veterinarians,
agronomists, etc. to share their
expertise on the various problems that farmers encounter in
their crop and stock production.
Since African farmers are poor,
journalists have to propagate
effective, low cost techniques
and practices. Farmers would be
pleased to learn, by reading the
newspaper, that feeding papaya
seeds to chickens helps control
worm attacks;
-d
 isseminate neighbourhood
news. The journalist has to go
out into the field regularly to talk
with rural development people,
i.e. village associations, NGOs,
CIGs to identify topical subjects
and report on them. The challenge is to provide information
that reflects the reality in the
field.
The media have to face two types
of problems:
- insufficient financial resources
to travel to areas far from their
head offices; the result is that
they constantly cover the same
zones;
-m
 anipulation of journalists by
certain rural development people, e.g. project managers who
exaggerate the repercussions
of their projects, or local populations who do not speak the
truth.

23

SIM-INFO ANOPACI
Mr Sylvain Kouao, ANOPACI,
Côte d’Ivoire

24

The Ivorian agricultural sector
is increasingly divided between
industrial agriculture and subsistence agriculture, the latter being
characterised by limited potential
profit. During the past decade, the
media have undergone considerable change, and there are still
obstacles to be overcome. The
media have an enormous impact
on the agricultural environment,
which is so locked up that the
media are the only link between
the rural world and the outside
world. In Côte d’Ivoire, the media
portray a negative image of agriculture. The small number and limited diversity of publications and
broadcasts, the choice of subjects
and the journalistic form adopted
reflect a certain superficiality in
the manner in which the media
handle themes related to ARD. We
see a current crisis in the way the
media deal with questions regarding ARD. At present, there are very
few journalists who are capable
of making a relevant analysis and
matching it against the truth in
the field, to help people working
in rural development take the right
decisions. In most of our countries,
because agricultural development
issues are dealt with by international institutions, the treatment
is biased and does not contribute
to increasing rural productivity or
improving rural living conditions.
In the Ivorian media, the question
of rural development is especially
badly off. Newspapers feel that the
subject is not very appealing to its
readers, and give it lowest priority
in national news coverage, as can
be seen by the very small number
of special features on agriculture.
The other aspect of the way in
which rural development issues
are treated concerns information
from the rural areas directed to
the decision-makers and other citizens. If information from the rural
areas was well handled, it could
have disrupted social links and led
to a new type of solidarity.
It takes vision to decide to invest in
development-oriented agricultural
information. Development actions

that involve the media sometimes
lose sight of the human dimension of the process. An integrated
approach, focused on improving
services offered by the media and
targeting ARD, should enable rural
populations to build up the collective resources needed to improve
their living conditions. The way
agricultural development issues
are treated is often too abstract
and theoretical to fit in with this
vision.
Thanks to its partnership with CTA
through the market information
system (SIM) project, ANOPACI
has helped more than 25 rural
radio stations produce agricultural
programmes devoted to information that responds to the needs
of rural populations. Farmers can
understand the radio broadcasts
and newspaper articles as everyday language is used, and the
approach is based on the everyday
experiences of the target readers
and listeners. Agricultural development, according to farmers, should
be covered in a way that reflects
their real experiences in their own
environment, as well as their mind
set and knowledge system. These
are the conditions in which information can become meaningful
to the farmers because it can be
integrated in their daily activities
and decisions. ANOPACI now uses
television and video in its treatment of development issues. Eyes
have no barriers. The food riots
have brought out the challenges
and shown that information is not
always properly treated. Work
and thought need to be devoted
to the whole issue of development,
to make this information available
as required.

MEDIA IN AGRICULTURE –
WE ARE NOT SECOND BEST
Mr Phil Malone, Countrywise
Communications, UK
After working in producing training materials in ACP countries
for more than 24 years, we feel
we must celebrate the talent that
exists in agricultural communication, and encourage high-quality,
low-cost production of useful information and training materials.
Digital video cameras are now
a f f o r d a b l e e ve n i n t h e m o s t
remote areas, but there needs to
be investment in training to help
media professionals and agricultural development staff produce
interesting material to improve
incomes for time-poor farmers.
There is a movement towards
ensuring such material can be
used in many different ways – the
soundtrack on local radio; video on
local and national TV; and DVDs
distributed to farmers to help
overcome particular problems. We
show examples of videos to boost
rice production, produced in Africa
and Bangladesh by local teams
and translated into many local languages. Planning and preparation
make the final productions easy to
follow, and they feature real farmers offering their advice.
The challenge for the future is to
involve those who want to invest
in rural areas – mobile phone companies, banks, NGOs and international agencies – to use these
means of communication so that
skill levels can be improved in rural
areas. The final products will be in
demand by end-users if they know
they are available, and progress
will be made as the process of
looking over the fence is speeded
up. We need to use appropriate
technology so that farmer champions can inspire others and prove
that media in agriculture is not
second best.

THE USE OF MULTI-MEDIA
TO PROMOTE AGRICULTURE
AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
– “CABI’S SECRET SERVICE”
Ms Janny Vos, CABI, UK
With over 90 years’ experience
of working with different stakeholders, including researchers,
extension workers, policy-makers,
trainers, input suppliers, traders
and farmers, CABI recognises the
roles played by different media in
effective communication. In many
countries, CABI has been working “behind the scenes” of radio,
video, TV and the web to promote
sharing and dissemination of agricultural information and technologies.
Print and electronic media are
complementary, but their effectiveness varies with the audience
and purpose. User preferences

should guide the choice of media,
which in turn influences uptake
and impact. Radio and video are
effective in farmer-to-farmer
communication. Messages must
be simple and the broadcast publicised in advance. Mixed media
(posters, leaflets, handbooks, CDROM, radio and video) are useful
in promoting research outputs
and training, and creating awareness among different stakeholder
groups about complex issues such
as pest outbreaks.
A communication plan spelling
out who, what, when and how
is essential for effective media
use and evaluation. Communication strategies developed and
tested by CABI in Africa include,
for example, creating awareness
about the impact, management
and prevention of invasive plant
species (Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda,
Zambia); and a knowledge-sharing

framework for an awareness campaign on cassava brown streak
disease (ECA region). Evidence of
increased awareness was demonstrated in the target countries.
With partners, CABI currently pilots
a web-based mobile agricultural
information system using SMS,
e-mail and wireless technologies
to promote information-sharing
among users in remote areas. In
all cases, the role of intermediary
agencies in delivering the messages and ensuring sustainability
is pivotal.

Media and agricultural extension
and learning
THE FARMER’S VOICE /
LA VOIX DU PAYSAN –
AGRICULTURAL
EXTENSION AND INFORMATION IN CAMEROON
Ms Marie Pauline Voufo, 	
presented by Aude Ehlinger,
Cameroon
“I became an agricultural businessman by reading your technical
descriptions” – said André Marie,
a faithful reader of the newspaper
La Voix du Paysan, who we met in
January 2008 while he was working in his oil palm fields not far
from Edea in the coastal region of
Cameroon. He is not the only one
to speak that way about La Voix du
Paysan, a monthly that has been
published in Yaoundé, Cameroon
for over 20 years. The newspaper
organised a contest at the end of
2007 to measure its interest to
farmers and its impact on them.
Several hundred people partici-

pated and gave very instructive
testimony about their agro-pastoral achievements based on what
they have read in this newspaper,
which some of them see as “the
mirror of the farmer”.
It was through its very well prepared, mostly technical and practical columns that La Voix du
Paysan conquered an audience of
ambitious, established producers
from around the country. A survey
of readers held in December 2008
and January 2009 confirmed readers’ preference for the technical
profiles (fiche technique). These
profiles focus on lessons in cropping and pastoral techniques. They
are designed to spread practical,
up-to-date information on agropastoral crops currently grown in
Cameroon. In the future, more
information will also be included
on processing agricultural products and on marketing circuits.

ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN
BRIDGING THE DISTANCE
BETWEEN LAB AND FARM
Mr Sunil Kumar Singh, University
of the South Pacific, Fiji
Media such as radio, television,
videos, newspapers and magazines can play an important role
in disseminating findings from
agricultural research to farmers.
In Fiji, there are 11 radio stations broadcasting in three different languages (English, Fijian
and Hindustani), five newspapers
published in three languages, and
two free-to-air television companies telecasting the majority of
their programmes in English. Most
farmers in Fiji have regular access
to radio, television and newspapers; however, currently there are
very few programmes dedicated
to educating or informing farmers
about pest management, use of
technology and good agricultural

25

practices. The findings from scientific research are often targeted
at academic journals, which farmers hardly have access to – and
even with access, the presentation of findings is too technical for
them to understand and apply. The
knowledge gap between farmers
and agricultural researchers can be
bridged by journalists, who act as
an important link between them.
Agricultural researchers need to
provide journalists with interpretations of their findings that are
of value to farmers, so that wider
dissemination can take place and
more people can benefit. In this
presentation, a short video illustrates how research findings can
be used to educate farmers with
the help of media.

FARM RADIO – A TRIGGER
FOR DEMAND-DRIVEN
EXTENSION SERVICES
IN MALAWI
Mr Rex Chapota, African Farm
Radio Research Initiative, Farm
Radio International, Malawi
This paper examines how farm
radio broadcasts have triggered
demand for agricultural extension
services in Malawi. Farm Radio
International is implementing the
Africa Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI), a participatory,
multi-stakeholder action research
programme aiming at discovering, documenting and disseminating best practices for using
radio-based communication to
enhance food security in Malawi
along with Ghana, Mali, Tanzania
and Uganda.

26

As part of the implementation
process, AFRRI is working in partnership with five radio stations,
which include private, public and
community stations. The Ministry
of Agriculture and Food Security’s
Department of Agricultural Extension Services is a collaborating
partner for content generation and
reflective practice at both national
and community levels. Throughout the radio campaign period, the
broadcasts have triggered demand
for extension services to the extent
that the community extension
workers reported to have started

reading more widely on agricultural
technologies than in the past, as
farmers are asking them questions
based on the broadcasts. Farmers
have also started sending requests
through the chiefs for extension
workers to go to specific communities and demonstrate what they
have heard on radio. Farmers have
become proactive, in line with the
extension policy for a pluralistic,
demand-driven extension service
in Malawi. The radio producers
have also involved extension workers to provide information during
broadcasts, which has resulted in
them being more accountable for
their advice and activities on the
ground. The broadcasts have also
challenged the extension services
for standardisation of agricultural
information, as farmers compare
what they hear on air with what
other stakeholders have told
them.

KNOWLEDGE, NETWORKING AND DIVERSITY –
OPPORTUNITIES FOR
AGRICULTURAL
JOURNALISM IN AFRICA
Mr David Mowbray, BBC World
Service Trust, UK
That agriculture has been neglected
in media coverage throughout
Africa has been recognised, but
until now has gone largely uninvestigated. The International
Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI) commissioned the BBC
World Service Trust to conduct a
research study to understand the
underlying causes of the paucity of
media coverage. We present initial
results of that study.

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES
FOR IMPROVING ACCESS
TO AGRICULTURAL
INFOR-MATION – CASES
AND APPLICATIONS
Dr O. I. Oladele, University of
Botswana
This paper examines innovative
approaches for improving access
to agricultural information. This

is based on the premise that the
dissemination of information has
been responding to the changing
social, economic, cultural, technological and political challenges in
many countries, with agriculture
as the mainstay of the economy.
Among the approaches covered
are determination of agricultural
and non-agricultural information
needs; journalists’ attitudes to
agriculture and rural development
news; gender targeting; multimedia communication strategies;
enhancement of feedback provision; multi-ligualism of information sources; use of video and
other information communication
technologies to supplement faceto-face contact with extension
agents; and partnership with information service providers. These
approaches, based on the extension needs of clients and effective
research–extension–farmer links
leading to the evolution of agricultural innovations, have increased
information access among agricultural stakeholders. This paper
covers innovative approaches
that have been applied in Nigeria,
Botswana and other parts of the
world, presented as case studies.
The paper concludes with suggestions for application of these innovative approaches in other parts of
the world.

OBSTACLES TO THE USE
OF MEDIA IN EXTENSION
AND LEARNING IN THE
RURAL SET-UP
Mr Charles Oduor Ogada, Ugunja
Community Resource Centre,
Kenya
Agriculture remains the major
economic mainstay of the developing economies in Africa. In
Kenya, 80% of the population are
employed in the agriculture sector,
the majority being the rural population (Kenya Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Plan, 2006–2010).
Despite its importance, agricultural
production has not recorded significant growth in the past 10 years.
However, the agriculture sector
remains vital in realising Africa’s
potential and attaining the Millennium Development Goals, particu-

larly that of eliminating extreme
poverty and hunger by 2015.
The agriculture sector has faced
numerous challenges: bad governance, lack of access to information, inadequate extension,
lack of markets and unreliable
weather conditions. The media
have been proven to be a powerful tool that is very effective in
transforming the sector. The use
of media is becoming more popular, and there are many successful
case studies demonstrating how
the media have helped to inform,
mobilise and educate farmers. At
Ugunja Community Resource Centre (UCRC), we have employed a
mix of media tools including audio
broadcasts, print media and traditional media to help disseminate
and package farmers’ technologies
in a friendlier way for storage and
sharing.
Although the use of media to promote agriculture extension and
leaning has proven to be effective,
it is not easy, and many obstacles hinder its full exploitation at
the rural level. The most notable

challenges include inadequate
infrastructure, lack of content,
communication policies and costs.
UCRC strives to overcome these
problems by creating “community
learning resource centres” to help
facilitate information sourcing and
sharing at the rural levels, and to
promote networking.

changing climatic conditions, and
farming practices that do not give
back to the environment. In addition, government extension services are not adequately equipped
to help farmers deal with these
challenges. It is important that
practical, expert and scientific
information on sustainable practices reaches the farming community in a timely manner.

THE ROLE OF MEDIA
IN DISSEMINATING
SUSTAINABLE FARMING
PRACTICES TO SMALLSCALE FARMERS IN KENYA

This paper describes the experiences of The Organic Farmer (TOF)
magazine and radio programme in
Kenya in building up partnership
with farmers’ groups to improve
access to information on sustainable farming practices, in order
to boost farm income and food
security. The paper suggests that
media practices that allow farmer
participation encourage more
information-sharing between individual farmers and groups, while
speeding uptake of appropriate
technologies to boost production
and environmental conservation.

Mr John Cheburet, The Organic
Farmer, Kenya
Kenya is an agricultural country
whose economic development
depends on this sector, which
employs over 70% of the population. However, Kenya is faced
with dire food insecurity compared
with its neighbours Tanzania and
Uganda. This situation is caused by
a number of factors, chief among
them the high cost of inputs,

Media and climate change
MEDIA COVERAGE OF
CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE
SADC REGION: THE CASE
OF MOZAMBIQUE,
SWAZILAND AND ZAMBIA
Mr Parkie Mbozi, PANOS Institute
Southern Africa, Zambia
Mass-mediated messages, when
properly planned and systematically executed, contribute to shaping and affecting science and policy
discourses as well as increasing
public understanding and action.
The public learns a large amount
of science through consuming
mass-mediated messages. Questions have, however, been asked
about the effectiveness of the
mass media in creating awareness
of climate change. This prompted
Panos Southern Africa to commission a study to investigate media
coverage, community awareness

and national responses to climate
change and change adaptation. It
aimed to examine how the media
in southern Africa handle the
issue of climate change, focusing
on current trends, strengths and
weaknesses in print and electronic
media.
The results show that the knowledge base of journalists in climate
change and climate change adaptation is limited. Their attitudes
towards featuring climate change
in their media are not very supportive: the media (editors and
journalists) do not consider climate change a sellable topic.
There is neither specialisation on
the subject, nor journalists specifically assigned to report on it.
The media also indicated a lack of
incentives and support to cover climate change issues. This leads to
limited coverage of climate change
issues in the media, yet the pub-

lic relies on the media for both
news and information. The public
understanding of climate change
and climate change adaptation
is limited. The countries studied (Mozambique, Swaziland and
Zambia) had yet to finalise policies and legislation that directly
address climate change and climate change adaptation. There
was also limited co-ordination on
climate change issues in all three
countries.

CLIMATE CHANGE
AND THE MEDIA
IN THE PACIFIC
Mr Samisoni Pareti, Islands 	
Business International, Fiji
This paper provides an insight into
work currently being undertaken
in the Pacific to progress media

27

outreach and media reporting of
issues relating to climate change.
It emphasises the unique position
of climate change in that it cuts
across all sectors – rural development, forestry, fisheries, health
and socio-economic development
of people in the Pacific – and why
it is important to involve journalists to champion these issues.
The paper discusses a set of objectives that journalists in the Pacific
have developed, and hope will be
implemented by media organisations, to ensure continuous and
consistent coverage, awarenessraising and community outreach
programmes to ensure climate
change is placed at the top of
a g e n d a s , d e ve l o p m e n t s a n d
strategies at local, national and
regional levels.
The presentation then focuses on
constraints the media faces when
addressing issues regarding climate change. These include lack of
resources, lack of funding to support the media, and lack of partnership and collaboration between
media, governments, partners in
development and regional technical and scientific organisations.
Also, there is a need for media
reporting guidelines, and for information sharing with stakeholders.
And importantly, there is a need
to use credible sources of information when dealing with data and
statistics.

28

The paper raises issues in relation
to the lack of capacity-building
programmes, such as training
and workshops, for both media
and stakeholders (including government officials, scientists and
experts) on understanding each
other’s work and roles. Additionally, it recognises the need for
networking and the important
roles the media play in educating,
informing and empowering people on climate change issues and
issues that affect their livelihoods,
earning capacities and, significantly, their lives in islands in the
region. Finally, it outlines a programme currently being developed
in the Pacific to increase communication outreach work in relation
to environmental issues including
climate change.

THE CONTRIBUTION

RADIO SCRIPTWRITING

OF COMMUNITY RADIO

COMPETITIONS PROMOTE

TO UNDERSTANDING

LEARNING FOR AFRICAN

THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE

BROADCASTERS ON

CHANGE ON AGRICULTURE

TOPICS OF RELEVANCE TO

IN KOUTIALA, MALI

SMALLHOLDER FARMERS

Mr Moctar Niantigui Coulibaly,
Alliance des Radios 		
Communautaires, Mali

Ms Blythe McKay, Farm Radio
International, Canada

Climate change is a major handicap to the sustainable development process in general and, more
specifically, to agricultural development. According to weather
predictions, the Malian climate
is becoming warmer, drier and
more variable, with mean temperatures perhaps reaching 45°C
by the year 2025. These climate
changes seriously threaten agricultural activities and food security
for the people of Mali, especially as
the people depend totally on agriculture, and agriculture depends
totally on climate – this dynamic
of life is becoming more and more
precarious. Climate change is
affecting people’s right to development.
Farmers living in essentially rural
areas such as Koutiala have little
knowledge about the new national
and international directives on the
subject. Yet their communities are
the most vulnerable, and their lifeline activity is compromised by climate change.
ARCOM, the Alliance des Radios
Communautaires du Mali, via its
member radio stations, has led a
radio campaign on this subject.
Several interactive broadcasts
have been produced. Each one
contributed at three levels: (i)
intermediation to develop relations
and active synergy among the
various actors; (ii) investigation
to make certain that the vulnerability of the local communities is
well understood; and (iii) advocacy
to support appropriate concerted
actions that help local communities adapt to climate change. The
ultimate goal of this campaign was
to allow farmers to talk with specialists, and to be given the opportunity to express themselves.

Since 2005, Farm Radio International, in collaboration with other
partners, has held three scriptwriting competitions for radio broadcasters across sub-Saharan Africa.
The first competition focused on
the Millennium Development Goals;
the second was on smallholder
farmers’ strategies for adapting to
climate change; and the current
competition highlights smallholder
farmer innovations. The competitions aim to strengthen the capacity of organisations and individuals
that work with radio to develop
scripts and radio programmes on
the specific competition topic, and
also to increase quality broadcasts
on that topic across sub-Saharan
Africa.
An evaluation of the climate change
competition concluded that:
• t he resources developed to
assist the scriptwriters were
well received and appreciated
as offering useful support;
• t he competition was a great
opportunity to provide coaching
to radio practitioners in scriptwriting and farm radio programming;
• t he competition increased the
availability of high-quality scripts
on climate change;
• the learning potential of script
competitions is perceived by
stakeholders, including competitors, to be better achieved if it is
a recurrent event;
• the scripts are extensively used
and appreciated by the broadcasters who receive them;
• the radio programmes produced
on the basis of the scripts are
popular;
• anecdotal evidence suggests that
radio programmes produced on
the basis of the scripts have
changed local farming practices.
The current competition is experimenting with online training to

assist competition participants in
developing their scripts. The panel
presentation will focus on the evolution of the script competition
model as a tool for learning.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF REPORTING
AND COMMUNICATING
AGRICULTURAL AND
RURAL ISSUES
Mr Gerald Businge (Mr Risdel
Kasasira, Presenter), Ultimate
Media Consult, Uganda
The limited coverage of agricultural issues in Africa has been
well documented (see Sowing
the Seeds, International Women’s Media Foundation, 2008).
The pressure to cover audienceattracting issues, and the belief
that “agriculture does not sell”
(used in media circles to refer to
attracting sales or audience interest), have contributed to limited

interest by journalists and media
houses in covering agriculture and
rural development issues (whether
by reporting and publishing via
print or online media, or airing via
broadcast media). Yet agriculture,
which employs more than 75% of
Ugandans (Uganda National Housing and Population Census, 2002,
Uganda Bureau of Statistics) and
contributes more than 67% of
Uganda’s gross domestic product
(Background to the 2009/2010
National Budget, April 2009,
Ministry of Finance Planning and
Economic Development), is – or
should be – an issue of interest to
the majority of Ugandans.
For the past 10 years, “The New
Vision” (www.newvision.co.ug)
has been publishing two pages of
farming every Wednesday. News
and best practices in agriculture
are the major content. In 2008 the
newspaper added another series,
“Harvesting Money”, which profiles
farmers who are marking large
earnings from agriculture. These

efforts were started by the newspaper as an internal initiative. Early
this year, the Daily Monitor (www.
monitor.co.ug) started to dedicate
four to eight pages to covering
agricultural issues. This initiative
is a result of partnership with the
International Women’s Media Foundation (www.iwmf.org) on reporting agricultural and women issues
in Africa (see www.huffingtonpost.
com/2009/02/24/profound-disconnect-betwe_n_169647.html).
What outputs, in terms of quality and quantity of coverage,
have been achieved by the media
houses’ initiatives? What lessons
can be learned from these initiatives to inform greater coverage
and communication of agriculture
and rural development issues?
How can this increased coverage
be enabled to reach the grassroots, given the access limitations
of newspapers, television, online
and radio? This research attempts
to answer these questions.

Media and gender equality
PROMOTING GENDER
EQUALITY IN ARD
THROUGH INFORMATION
AND COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGIES –
A MYTH OR REALITY IN
BOTSWANA?
Dr Bantu Morolong, University 		
of Botswana, Botswana
In 2007, women made up about
41% of total employment in agriculture globally, while in Africa
they performed 80% of the work
associated with ARD. In both the
Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa,
women produce up to 80% of
basic foodstuffs. Despite this and
their most important contribution
to food security, in many African
countries women’s access to infrastructure, specifically the media,
for effective performance of their
agricultural tasks is still not equal

to that of their male counterparts.
This paper acknowledges, in this
information age, the central role
of ICTs in agricultural development in Africa. It seeks to assess
the extent to which application of
these technologies in this sector,
with the aim (among others) of
improving productivity, access to
markets, quality of products and
access to information for effective
decision-making, has contributed
to gender equality in Africa generally, and in Botswana in particular.
The paper uses documented and
field experiences to show that agricultural programme-planners in
Africa still have the perception that
farmers are male. As a result, the
increasing use of the media in this
sector continues to target men,
thus under-serving the gender
equality agenda. This disservice
has been accentuated by several
factors, key among which is the

persistent under-representation of
women in science and technology
in schools, in the media, and in
technology policy decision-making
and leadership.
While upholding some of the
inroads made to remedy the situation, this paper concludes by
suggesting that this era of great
growth in ICT is an opportune time
systematically to integrate into the
gender equality debate the issue
of ICTs as one of the key vehicles
for gender equality in ARD.

29

AGRICULTURAL AND
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
IN THE PACIFIC –
CONNECTING GENDER
EQUALITY AND THE MEDIA

ORGANIC FARMING,
CLIMATE CHANGE,
LITERACY AND LOCAL
FOOD NEEDS – WHAT
ROLE FOR MEDIA?

Ms Bernadette Masianini, 	
Secretariatof the Pacific
Community, Fiji

Ms Dorienne Rowan Campbell,
Networked Intelligence, Jamaica

The SPC/EU “Development of Sustainable Agriculture in the Pacific”
(DSAP) project, implemented in 16
Pacific island countries and territories, promotes and implements
sustainable agriculture targeted
at improving food production,
thereby enhancing food security
and income generation in the
Pacific. The DSAP project uses participatory methods and is gendersensitive to the implementation of
its activities.
Pacific island countries and territories have shown different gender roles in all areas of activity,
including agricultural production;
these roles are capitalised upon
when planning the implementation
and monitoring and evaluation of
activities in the participating countries.
Equal participation and gender sensitivity promoted by the
project ensured that the information getting to the target groups
was relevant to their agricultural
production needs. Using participatory methods, the project worked
within the cultural and traditional
settings of the Pacific island community, providing an enabling
environment for connecting gender equality and the media.

30

Through our work with a network
of women farmers in the Caribbean
region (the Knowing and Growing
– K&G – network), it is apparent that an increasing number
of women farmers are looking to
re-learn farming methods, and
to apply the principles of organic
farming to their farm activities,
lifestyles and livelihood choices.
Health concerns, the overall benefits of multi-cropping, the conservation of biodiversity, and the care
of soil health and water systems
have become even more critical
factors for farmers in the context
of climate change. Mono-cropping
and slash-and-burn methods run
counter to protecting the land.
Secondary to the network’s main
thrust, but increasing in importance, is the realisation that, contrary to many prevailing myths
about organic farming, the yields
from inter-cropping and biofarming can sustain regional food
needs and contribute maximally to
regional food security. What began
as a network of farmers seeking to
become organic has now broadened to farmers concerned about a
healthy and resilient food economy
in a context of climate change and
environmental stress. The role of
the media is key in countering
mainstream thinking about these
interrelated and complex issues.
This case study presentation illustrates how organic farming provides a viable response to climate
change prevention, mitigation and
adaptation, with examples from
organic farms in the Caribbean,
and speaks to what needs to be
done to support organic farm
development in the region. Building on our experience of running
five training workshops for over
150 women in the region, it makes
the case for increased media
engagement, with a view to supporting the needs of small-scale
farmers and the particular strate-

gic interests of women farmers.
Three primary roles for the media
are described.
(i) Media stories and realities –
“what’s happening on the farm”,
using a range of media, from programmes for local radio stations,
to hand-held video production
on the farm, to use of Facebook
groups by K&G members. The
media play a critical role in public
awareness and knowledge about
production practices and sharing
of local and regional information.
Constraints to mainstream media
coverage mean that alternative
approaches need to be used to
share information that is not necessarily “headline-grabbing”. Climate change adaptation needs to
be incorporated and mainstreamed
into national budgets and broader
development efforts. This can be
successful only if there is sufficient
understanding of local livelihood
realities and contexts, and how
these relate to local climate variability and change. In this context,
media capacity-building for Caribbean
women farmers is urgent. While
the K&G workshops have consistently engaged the media to interview farmers and highlight their
perspectives, much more needs to
be done to ensure these farmers
are able to articulate their issues
in a media-friendly way. We need
to provide national, regional and
independent media with a range of
field-based messages and stories
to promote organic farming in the
region.
(ii) Media as an advocacy tool
to influence policy-makers – the
development of local audio-visual
training tools specifically for farmers and public campaign materials
for the general population needs
to go hand-in-hand with the sensitisation and briefing required for
policy-makers and champions of a
robust and viable food economy
in the region. In the context of
climate change, women need to
find those individuals within government bodies and institutions
who understand and champion
smallholder farm interests. These
institutions often function at a policy-making level, not at the grassroots level, and do not involve or
engage farmers. This includes

those responsible for solid waste
management, national security
forces, national water commissions, forestry, meteorological
offices, climate risk insurance
bodies, tourism, aqua and fisheries development, coastal lands
management and environmental
legislature. The policy context,
while still evolving, needs strong
and vocal advocacy from and for
women farmers, and the media
are important tools in this.
(iii) Media’s function as a climate
change literacy tool – specialist journalists need to be trained
and supported in sector-specific
issues relating to climate change
and agriculture. Climate change
literacy will require sustained and
comprehensive activities in the following aspects.
• B asic climate change literacy,
awareness and understanding of
global and local climate change
issues among farmers and consumers.
• Further development of digital
networking and electronic access
to climate-change information
and networks.
• Inspiration and affirmation from
what farmers have been able to
do to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and what can be
done locally in the Caribbean;
women’s voices need to be promoted too.
• A range of technical know-how
encompassing permaculture,
organic farming and “beyond
organic” needs to be made readily available to counter mainstream agro-industry (such as
easily available GMOs, fertilisers
and pesticides).
• A n awareness of issues that
farmers do not often get to hear
about, such as access to information about on-farm and processing energy use and options;
maximising carbon sequestration on farm and minimising carbon emissions; trends in biofuel
production; practical actions to
collect weather data; and future
plans for climate risk insurance
and reduction in the region.
• U nderstanding their farming
roles in reducing carbon emissions and the farm’s role in carbon sequestration.
• Understanding the key aspects

of water systems management
for the farm and beyond.
•U
 nderstanding links with forestry
departments and possible partnerships there; a systemic shift
away from current single-species
monoculture model (whether in
crops, livestock, aquaculture or
forestry) towards a more integrated, closed-cycle polyculture
system.
•B
 eginnings of an understanding
of traditional means of farm protection in hurricanes.

GENDER PRINCIPLES IN
THE MEDIA IN GUINEA
Ms Mama Adama Keita, 	
Radio Nationale, Guinea
The media in Guinea have been
going through a period of change
since 20 August 2005, when
m e d i a l i b e ra l i s a t i o n b e c a m e
effective through the installation
and operationalisation of private
radio stations (now 20 of them).
Before that time, the country had
several newspapers and many
online information sites, in addition to the community and rural
radio services that were relays
of Radio Télévision Guinéenne
(RTG). Besides these two public
sector media, there are also Radio
Kaloum Stéréo (RKS) and Channel
2 on national television.
The public media cover the whole
country, and broadcast in various
national languages and in foreign
languages including Arabic, English
and French. As Guinea has its own
journalism training facility, students can choose this profession;
women, especially young girls, are
actively joining in. Until recently,
most young girls and boys showed
interest in journalism as a career
only when they could not get jobs
as civil servants or somewhere
else after completing their university studies. Another reason for
joining the media now is the ease
of recruitment; standards are not
imposed. The founders of private
stations hire young people without
legal guarantees, training or due
processing.
Journalism as a career is attracting
more and more girls and boys, who
are anxious to get ahead – but,

unfortunately, they face numerous constraints when exercising
this profession in the field. Girls
are always relegated to the back
seat concerning initial and continued access to school. This situation can be traced to stereotypical
discrimination in traditional societies. According to statistics in the
Guinea Country Report, Global
Advocacy Project 2004–2005, in
the community stations 29% of
male agents have higher education diplomas, compared with 3%
of the women; 71% of those working as journalists have an average level that shows professional
training, and the majority (55%)
are women.
When political, economic, scientific
or juridical subjects or wars are
assigned as feature stories, men
are often selected because the station heads feel that current events
can only be covered well by male
journalists. The advancement of
women in this profession is also
held back by insufficient computer
literacy and by sexual harassment.
This is a problem in terms of women’s emancipation and their social
and administrative vulnerability.
Insufficient training is also a problem, as it often turns women into
potential victims, especially those
fortunate enough to have a household (with all that that entails).
Reconciling field work and household work is difficult for women
with a family, and women who do
not have a partner are generally
ill-considered by the people around
them. Despite the problems listed
above, Guinean women stand out
in this sector, where they are given
senior positions such as minister,
director or chief editor, or are
tasked with creating newspapers
or private radio stations.

31

THE MULTI MEDIA 		
RESOURCE KIT
Ms Sylvie Siyam, Cameroon 	
(Ms Melanie Hughes, Presenter),
Protégé QV, Canada
The Multi Media Resource Kit
(MMRK) provides information relevant to the creation, improvement
and management of micro-enterprises in Cameroon in one document, with elaboration through a
CD-ROM, website and hardcover
book. Users of the MMRK are radio
professionals who develop distance
training programmes designed to
reinforce the capacities of women
micro-entrepreneurs. The MMRK
can be used as the main resource,
or as a complementary resource,
in the development and elaboration of radio broadcasting programmes.
Based on research carried out in
2005 on “Small Business Training for Women using Radio Programmes”, PROTEGE QV identified
what type of information microentrepreneurial woman need, as
well as their radio listening habits.
From the data gathered, the MMRK
was elaborated and organised into
seven main themes related to
micro-entrepreneurship:

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

starting a micro-enterprise
financing
taxes and duties
management of an enterprise
training and information
improving production
product sales.

A first draft was elaborated and
tested through a pilot phase with
Radio YEMBA and Rural Radio
FOTOUNI in the Western Province
of Cameroon. The pilot phase also
involved six “Common Initiative
Groups” (GICs), composed mainly
of women agricultural workers, who carefully monitored the
broadcast programmes to evaluate the relevance of the content.
The goal was to identify the issues
involved in assembling radio programmes with the MMRK, and to
discover the MMRK’s impact on
women’s work in the field. The difficulties raised at this preliminary
stage were taken into account to
improve the MMRK and to prepare
the final draft.
The final draft was presented to the
public on 3 September 2007. For
this event, PROTEGE QV organised
a workshop with approximately
20 radio stations from both urban
and rural areas, as well as several
groups of micro-entrepreneurial

women, to participate in a day-long
workshop to learn how to use the
MMRK. The workshops consisted
of creating an online account for
radios and showing them how to
use the tool online. Each radio left
with the hard-cover copy of the
MMRK.
In November 2007, field research
was conducted with the two pilot
radio stations and the six GICs of
the project. The objectives were to
follow up on the use of the MMRK;
collect information to make web
pages dedicated to the work and
progress of the women, as well as
the relevance of the MMRK to their
work; and reinforce the radio stations’ and GICs’ ability to use the
tool on the web.
The MMRK enables women to have
access to important information
that is otherwise difficult to obtain,
through the commonly used communication medium of radio. With
increased access to valid, concrete and pertinent information,
women can manage their learning
by knowing precisely what type of
information they need, and request
further information or training to
improve their work.

Media funding in ARD
IS CLOSER COOPERATION
THE ANSWER TO THE
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS 	

ways of breaking through these
barriers, citing examples from
various regions of the world.

OF ACP MEDIA HOUSES?
Mr Hans Determeyer, 		
Free Voice Programme, 		
The Netherlands

32

This paper examines some of the
key challenges of media finance,
credit and investment. It discusses
the “hostile environment” in which
the media operate, and highlights
the often limited technical support services and the difficulties of
retaining trained and experienced
staff in ACP media. The paper further examines the issue of limited
capital. It concludes by suggesting

FUNDING FOR MEDIA 	
AND ARD
Mr Michael Waigwa, 		
Cooperative Insurance Company,
Kenya
Funding is a key issue for strengthening the role of media in ARD.
This paper examines the funding
challenge specifically from the
perspective of the importance of
“demand-driven media” for ARD.
On one hand, the paper argues
that many different agencies may

be willing to fund stronger media
for ARD, from manufacturers to
banks and insurance companies
to government and research institutions. On the other hand, the
paper discusses the need for selffunded media that respond to the
demands of farmers themselves.
The paper highlights examples,
including the dairy industry in
Kenya.

AGRICULTURE, WOMEN
AND THE MEDIA – 		
CRITICAL INVESTMENTS
Ms Cece Fadope, International
Women’s Media Foundation, USA

This presentation highlights an initiative by the International Women’s Media Foundation to invest
specifically in the area of women,
media and ARD. The project
“Reporting on Women and Agriculture: Africa” is described. Its
goals are to increase and sustain
accurate, consistent, and more
rigorous news media reporting on
agriculture and rural development;
to incorporate women’s roles, stories, needs and solutions in the
coverage of agriculture and rural
economies; and to create more
gender equality in newsrooms. The
paper presents examples from the
project, and concludes with a list
of indicators of success.

KEY TRENDS IN FUNDING
THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN
AGRICULTURAL AND 	
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr Helen Hambly Odame, 	
University of Guelph, Canada
There are several key trends
apparent in the role played by
the media in ARD. This poster
highlights the wavering pattern
of funding in recent decades that
affects investment in media in ARD
in ACP countries and regions.
The poster also identifies some
key research and development
projects that underlie the funding trends. Of specific importance

is the decline in public funding of
agricultural extension that has
adversely affected media funding
in ARD since the mid-1980s; the
continuing challenges faced by
community media to fund their initiatives in print, radio and participatory video; and the increasing
importance of private foundations
in media for ARD during the past
five years. The poster recommends improved partnerships
among funding agencies to share
information about their initiatives,
to exchange knowledge about
both successes and challenges in
media for ARD, and to harmonise
the quality and quantity of media
in ARD.

Media and arid and semi-arid zones
STUDY AND ANALYSIS
OF THE IMPACTS OF
AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS
AND LIVESTOCK FARMS
LOCATED AROUND
PROTECTED AREAS –
THE CASE OF THE “W”
PARK OF NIGER REPUBLIC
Ms Teresa Fernandes Pereira da
Veiga Tavares, Cape Verde
The “W” Park experiences significant anthropogenic pressure due
to population growth and agricultural, pastoral and hunting activities. Its effective and sustainable
management strategy requires the
consideration of medium- and longterm problems posed by human
activities, particularly through
land use. To understand the
impacts, a study on the dynamics
of interactions between biophysical and socio-economic systems
is needed. This understanding will
make it possible to obtain indicators on resource degradation and
to develop decision-support tools
for sustainable management of
these resources. In this context,
agro-pastoral uses and practices
are considered to be disrupting the
natural environment.

The aims of the initiative are to: (i)
contribute to the biophysical characterisation of the area in order to
help with concerted agro-pastoral
resource management and the
prevention of conflicts around the
“W” Park; (ii) study and analyse
the impact of human activities on
the environment through land use
around the Park; and (iii) determine a useful area and a mode
of sustainable natural resource
management for the agro-pastoral
activities of the communities living
around protected areas.
The project includes a literature
review, analyses of maps, utilisation of remote sensing and GIS,
and surveys and interviews with
the authorities of the “W” Park of
Niger, livestock service and villages, local authorities, farmers,
livestock breeders, representatives
of farmers’ and livestock breeders’
associations and NGOs. Zoning of
the Park periphery based on the
various anthropogenic pressures,
and the socio-economic activities
and resource utilisation in riverine villages around the Park, are
known.
The pressure on resources and the
environmental impact resulting
from agro-pastoral practices in and

around the Park, and the strategy
adopted for managing the lands
around the Park, are described.
Proposals for better management
will be submitted to the authorities and will be used for other such
parks in the country.

TAKING STOCK OF THE
REHABILITATION OF
DEGRADED SOILS IN THE
SAHELIAN DRY REGIONS
USING THE ZAÏ
TECHNOLOGY (BURKINA
FASO, MALI, NIGER)
Ms Delphine Droux, France
In the dry regions of Sahel, soil
degradation reduces the extent of
arable land and reduces agricultural production, leading farmers
to poverty and migration. Zaï is an
indigenous technology, traditionally manual, that allows farmers to
produce on degraded lands and to
restore their fertility [by concentrating runoff water and organic
matter in basins dug during the dry
season]. Despite the efficiency of
this technology in Sahel, its adoption is challenged by the quantity
of labour required (approximately

33

500 hours per person per ha) in
the harsh conditions of the dry
season. Mechanised zaï drastically
reduces the labour requirement
and its drudgery, and improves
agricultural production. Perspectives opened by mechanised zaï
justify the current scientific interest in the method.
This work takes stock of existing
results and experiences on both
versions of zaï technology, manual and mechanised, to build up
scientific knowledge prior to its
wide dissemination. It is based
on a critical review of the available literature and a survey of
60 farmers located in 12 villages
scattered over five departments of
Zondoma Province, in the northern
part of Burkina Faso. In this semiarid zone, annual average rainfall
ranges between 500 and 700 mm,
soils are ferric lixisols 50–80 cm
deep, and the main crops grown
are cereals (sorghum and millet). All farmers surveyed practice
manual zaï, but only a few have
adopted mechanised zaï, which is
currently practised only in northern Burkina Faso, mainly within
development schemes of the
International Fund for Agricultural
Development, and is the subject of
only limited research.

34

Manual zaï is a common farmers’
practice in Burkina Faso, Mali, and
Nige. It has been investigated
largely in Burkina Faso; access to
the results of investigations carried out in Mali and Niger is difficult. When practised in the same
conditions, the performance of
mechanised zaï is said to be higher
than that of manual zaï, due to the
higher soil humectation allowed by
mechanised zaï. The field survey
showed a large diversity in farmers’ practice of manual zaï. The
functioning of zaï and its impacts
on soil water, organic matter, biology and nutrients, and induced
changes in soil properties (pH,
exchange complex and texture)
have been little investigated. Field
evidence confirms that there are
situations where zaï undoubtedly
aggrades lands that were initially
degraded and unproductive. It
remains necessary to understand
(i) in which soil, slope and crop
situations zaï is efficient; (ii)

when one can consider the major
soil functions restored, and what
the indicators are; and (iii) which
agricultural practices or cropping
systems can be advised as a follow-up to zaï. Responses to these
questions will help in considering
the integration of zaï in innovative
cropping systems that may favour
ecological intensification. Zaï in
its manual and mechanised forms
deserves a substantial research
investment.

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
OF THE EFFECT OF 		
VARIETY TRAITS ON THE
ADOPTION OF IMPROVED
PIGEON PEA VARIETIES

ability to fetch a price premium.
Early maturity was not a significant variable explaining farmers’
adoption decisions, in contrast
to the short-duration varieties
responsible for the rapid technology uptake in Africa’s largest producer, Malawi. The implications of
this are twofold: varietal development and promotion must include
consumption and market characteristics in addition to production
traits when determining which
varieties to promote; and nonyield production characteristics
such as taste and ease of cooking
are significant factors in farmers’
assessment of the value of a new
variety.

IN KENYA’S DRYLANDS –
A CASE STUDY OF TAITA

AN ANALYSIS OF FARMER

DISTRICT

GROUPS IN CONSERVA-

Ms Zipora Otieno, University 		
of Nairobi, Kenya
In principle, farmers view improved
seed as a derived input embodying production and consumption attributes, and decide on
its adoption and the intensity of
adoption. This paper proposes a
holistic approach to plant breeding policy in developing countries.
Drawing on the theory of duality, which explicitly incorporates
variety traits into the household’s
optimisation process, this study
sought to investigate the drivers
of the AIDA project’s success story
in Taita District.
The paper summarises the results
of research into factors contributing to the rapid adoption of
improved pigeon pea varieties in
Kenya’s drylands, with a focus on
variety traits. Empirical analysis
was based on a double-hurdle
model using data collected from
200 households in Taita District in
2009. A multitude of production
and consumption traits valued by
farmers, as well as an array of
household socio-economic characteristics, were considered. Both
probit and multivariate probit
results indicate that the variety
traits significantly influencing the
rapid adoption of improved pigeon
pea varieties were drought tolerance, pest tolerance, yield, ease
of cooking, taste, and the variety’s

TION AGRICULTURE IN
DRYLAND AREAS OF 	
MALAWI: CHINGULUWE
EPA IN SALIMA AND
NKOMBA MODEL VILLAGE
IN BAZALE EPA, BALAKA
DISTRICT
Mr Mavuto Mdulamizu, Malawi
This study on farmer groups’ management of land and water in the
drylands of Malawi was undertaken to understand the factors
within farmer groups that are crucial to the successful implementation of conservation agriculture.
Data were collected from farmers
implementing conservation agriculture, and analysed using both
qualitative and quantitative methods. Results revealed that social
factors, such as group leadership,
social networks, structures and
systems, competencies and skills,
purpose and values, beliefs and
the identity members attach to
the group, contribute to groups’
effective performance in implementing conservation agriculture. Issues of resources and the
environment in which the groups
operated were not significant for
the groups’ effective performance.
Further results showed that farmers’ perceptions on the various
conservation technologies were
dependent on the performance of

the technologies, considering the
biophysical and socio-economic
environments. It is recommended
that social factors of groups should
be considered if farmers’ groups
are to be effective and successful in implementing conservation
agriculture technologies. It is further recommended that bottom-up
approaches must be pursued when
recommending technologies.

AFRICA’S DRYLANDS –
“AN OUNCE OF
PREVENTION IS WORTH
A POUND OF CURE”
Judith Ann Francis, CTA, 	
The Netherlands
Danièle Clavel, AIDA coordinator,
France
Yodit Kebede, CTA, 		
The Netherlands
Africa is extremely dry, 43% of the
continent’s landmass being classified as drylands, and is under con-

tinuous threat from erosion and
nutrient mining. Climate change
may aggravate this situation further. Several major regions are
affected, and more than 40% of
the continent’s population, 268
million people, live in dryland
areas. Dryland people are resilient, having developed adaptation strategies to cope with the
very variable environmental and
climatic conditions. Yet drylands
are often seen as non-productive
lands and their importance and
contributions to the livelihoods of
millions of people are not given
sufficient attention. The perception exists that little can be done
to raise productivity sustainably.
However, Africa’s drylands have
high potential for development,
and can provide multiple goods
and services. Within the EU-INCO
“Agricultural Innovation in Dryland Africa” (AIDA) project, 22
case studies were evaluated, and
surveys were conducted among

policy-makers and researchers to
identify key drivers for success,
and policy options that can promote investment in Africa’s drylands.
Results show that there is need
for harmonisation of policies and
interventions in drylands, which
should reflect realities that dryland
people face; ensure compatibility
with land tenure issues; reduce
resource-based conflicts; and pave
the way for more trade exchange.
Traditional users and owners of
drylands must be involved in policy
development, programme planning
and research design. Research in
support of drylands agriculture
should be participatory and reflect
the diversity of indigenous adaptation strategies. Communication
is key to success and for dissemination of existing practices for the
development of local innovation.

Communication between media and
other ARD players
PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN
AGRICULTURAL AND
NATURAL RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT TRAINING
AND RURAL RADIO IN
THE SOUTHERN AND
SOUTH-EAST REGIONS
OF SENEGAL
Mr Madior Fall, USAID Wula
Nafaa-Senegal
USAID/Senegal encourages media
coverage of American aid programmes in Senegal in order to
increase understanding and support for its objectives and interventions. USAID/Senegal has asked its
partners to give positive publicity
to their joint activities by efficiently
planning events and involving the
media, the beneficiaries of its
activities and programmes, as
well as US government officials
and officials from the host coun-

try’s government. USAID/Senegal
expressed this will strongly in the
second phase of the Agriculture
and Natural Resources Management Programme by establishing
a policies and communications
branch, in which communication
involves both information dissemination and communication used as
a political tool to enlighten public
debate. Communication is a tool
needed for promoting fruitful dialogue in favour of political change
that promotes economic growth,
and for better natural resource
management.
Communication should also be a
tool that allows people at grassroots level to express constraints
encountered in implementing forest and agricultural policies.
Rural radio is considered as:
•a
 n extremely powerful technology for transmitting knowledge
with a potentially enormous outreach at local level;

• a practical, creative channel for
facilitating the dissemination of
information in rural areas;
• a tool for reaching all categories
of the community through the
use of local languages;
• a local development tool that
promotes the exchange of information, knowledge and skills
within the community, thanks to
the “neighbourhood effect”.
T h e A g r i c u l t u r e a n d N a t u ra l
Resources Management Programme
is developing a partnership with
the rural radios network installed
in its area of intervention. Field
officers, called facilitators, are
creating and producing broadcasts
on themes and activities related to
agriculture (support to agricultural
and forestry sectors) and natural
resources management (including
local natural resource management).

35

ROLE OF RADIO IN AGRI-

SURFACING THE

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

STRENGTHS OF LOCAL

IN THE PACIFIC

CONTENT THROUGH

Ms Rita Narayan, Regional Media
Centre, SPC, Fiji

COMMUNICATION

This paper discusses the importance of radio in agricultural development in the Pacific. It highlights
the challenges faced in disseminating agriculture and extension
information in the Pacific island
countries and territories, and
the need for capacity-building of
stakeholders, including extension
officers, journalists and agriculture
information officers, in the production of effective radio programmes
on agriculture. The paper discusses the lack of resources and
funding to support radio training
in the Pacific, and the lack of partnership and collaboration between
radio broadcasters, governments,
development partners, researchers and technical stakeholders.
The presentation also looks at the
need for agriculture networks to
support journalists and producers
of radio programmes. These networks should also support the dissemination of information in local
languages. Also, there is a need
for minimum quality standards
of broadcasting on agriculture,
to enable radio broadcasters to
provide quality agriculture communication to their respective target audiences in a manner that is
effective in achieving the planned
objectives.

36

Finally, the paper discusses the
need to use community radio as a
means of effectively sharing information with rural communities and
the outer islands of the Pacific.
This supplements work carried
out by mainstream radio stations
and communication outreach work
in relation to agriculture and rural
development.

PARTICIPATORY

organisations with sincere respect
for the views of rural people are
critical for the success of this rural
development-centred media strategy.

Mr Charles Dhewa, Knowledge
Transfer Africa, Zimbabwe

INNOVATIVE FARMER

In Southern Africa, the mainstream media do not satisfy the
needs of rural people. The voices
of farmers, innovators, artisans,
traditional medical practitioners
and rural industries are rarely
featured in the media. With more
than 80% of people eking out a
living in rural areas, developing
countries are not fully exploiting
the potential of rural communities
whose practices have deep roots in
indigenous and local knowledge.

USING ICT

In Zimbabwe, the creation of
“community knowledge centres”
is already showing fruitful results.
Through community knowledge
centres, conservation agriculture
practices are being integrated with
the vast quantities of knowledge
that exist in rural areas, locked
away in the collective memory of
the people as inherited knowledge
and personal experience. Knowledge centres are also documenting locally created information, and
linking up with the mainstream
media. A lot of information comes
from rural communities, but few
community members know about
it. Information collected by extension workers, NGOs and researchers is often sent to higher officials
at head offices, not back to the
community structures, perhaps
because there are no structures
to store and continuously evaluate such knowledge. Community
knowledge centres are making
sure local information becomes
the basis for raising awareness
about development issues in rural
communities. Community knowledge centres are demonstrating
that participatory communication
should be embraced because it
emphasises “listening”, compared
with mainstream communication, which focuses on “telling”.
This effort can enrich media content with grassroots indicators of
knowledge-sharing and climate
change. Champions, people and

ADVISORY SERVICES
Mr Francois Stepman, Forum for
Agricultural Research in Africa
(FARA), Ghana
The FARA Inventory on Innovative Farmer Advisory Services is
the result of an online consultation
with the FARA Regional Agricultural
Information & Learning System
(RAILS) held during the month of
October 2008, and a desk study.
The inventory was an attempt
to document all known innovative farmer advisory services or
systems currently in design, in
existence or recently completed
in Africa. Entries include projects
using ICT solutions or implementing ICT-based activities; institutions/groups providing services
using ICTs; and ICT solutions software providers, at both national
and regional levels. While many
of the entries are projects with a
definitive beginning and end date,
providing one or two services, others are national or regional information systems providing many
agricultural services using ICTs.
The conclusion of our study is
that there will probably never
be a “one-fit-for-all” system. But
the inventory suggests that systems which use a voice platform
or audio files provide an innovative and promising entry point
for farmer information, while the
other platforms (SMS and webbased) remain essential to provide
a back-end offering more detailed
information. In order to answer the
question “how can we monitor the
impact?”, we need to look into the
broader innovation opportunities
of farmers. To monitor the impact
of the tool, we need to look into
the most effective ways of reaching farmers with timely agricultural
information and knowledge (indigenous and external); mechanisms
for harnessing the potential of FM
radio stations and digital telephony

as technologies for communicating
agricultural information; options
for repackaging agricultural information and knowledge for smallscale farmers; and the potential
role of an e-repository (of local
agricultural content) in Africa for
purposes of disseminating local
agricultural content.

BRIDGING THE GAP –
WRENMEDIA’S APPROACH
TO SUPPORTING BETTER
SCIENCE REPORTING BY
JOURNALISTS AND
BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS
BETWEEN MEDIA AND THE
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
COMMUNITY
Ms Susanna Thorp, WRENmedia,
UK
A pilot initiative to provide training to African radio and print

journalists alongside major international conferences is helping to
strengthen links between scientific researchers and the media.
Selected international science
events have provided journalists
with a focus for their reporting
and the opportunity to improve
their understanding of issues presented. To improve technical skills
in science reporting, sessions on
content gathering, photography,
news and feature writing, as well
as digital editing, were provided.
In addition, the WRENmedia team
and the journalists held a “Making the most of the media” session
at each venue for interested conference delegates to learn more
about interacting with the press.
This valued, interactive event
offered conference participants the
chance to discuss the importance
and challenges of making the most
of the media, to get tips on how
to perform well and deal with the
difficulties that journalist’s interest
may present, as well as to learn

ways to develop good, clear messages appropriate to particular
audiences.
The sessions not only provided
valuable advice to the researchers,
but also helped to stimulate the
important process of building partnerships between the media and
the agricultural research community. The confidence of journalists
in capturing and sharing science
stories was increased, and their
contribution to communicating
science was recognised and taken
more seriously.
This DFID-supported initiative for
training African journalists builds
on previous WRENmedia experience in working alongside journalists to communicate agricultural
research in Kenya (with the horticulture industry) and in Uganda
(raising awareness on sleeping
sickness).

Contribution of the media to
agricultural policy, programming
and knowledge management
The SIST tool and
access to information
for agricultural and
rural journalists
Mr Helmer Thierry, CIRAD,
France
SIST, a Scientific and Technical
Information System, is a project
for Africa funded by the French
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and operated by
the French Agricultural Research
Centre for International Development (CIRAD). The main aim of
the SIST project is to make African
research less isolated and, at the
same time, to reduce the scientific
digital divide between North and
South. This stand-alone, innovative scientific and technical infor-

mation tool has been installed in
six countries in Africa.
Problems with access to new ICTs
are making it slower for African
communities to emerge from
their isolation and enjoy greater
visibility on the information highways. Furthermore, the diversity
and complexity of modern tools
make it difficult to appropriate
and share them. The SIST project
aims to provide a complete, intuitive, pragmatic work platform. The
scope of this project goes beyond
the scientific communities and
can be used by any community
that consumes or produces information. Journalists, for instance,
should have easy access to agricultural and rural information in
both the North and the South.
Research results that have been

capitalised through publication on
the internet or inclusion in a database of results, or through any
other route, constitute a resource
that journalists should be able to
access.
There are several tools to meet
these needs, enabling users to:
• access e-information available
on the internet or via networks,
regardless of form (useful for
the construction of agricultural
and rural information portals, for
instance);
• popularise access to new ICTs,
enabling scientists to communicate, create and share (useful for
the construction of a joint work
platform among journalists);
• publish on the internet without
computer skills (be able to construct an information website

37

quickly and manage it without
being an IT expert);
• collect and structure information and
make it accessible (co-construction
and co-management of various
databases among journalists).

MWANA ALIRENJI (FOOD
SELF-SUFFICIENT) RADIO
MAGAZINE TURNS
MALAWIAN FARMERS
INTO RESEARCHERS,
INNOVATORS AND
SELF-SUFFICIENT FOOD
PRODUCERS
Mr Gladson Elemiya Makowa,
Story Workshop, Malawi
This paper highlights the impact
of Mwana Alirenji, a farmers’
radio magazine programme that
I produce for Story Workshop,
Malawi. Mwana Alirenji, a common Malawian expression meaning “there is nothing a child can
cry for when food is plenteous”,
aims to attain food self-reliance
among small-scale farmers in rural
Malawi. The programme features
both local farmers who are still
struggling to become food self-sufficient, and those who experienced
similar challenges but have managed to overcome them through
the use of innovative farming
methods. The latter category act
as our programme models. We
use Radio Research Gardens, our
brainchild radio-listening methodology, where we encourage
members to “listen, learn and
try” from the solutions and innovations aired in the programme
(farmer-to-farmer concept). The
trials are then implemented in a
group using a designated model
farm, and the group share their
monthly progress with other farmers on the radio programme. The
technical experts are only included
to supplement the model farmers’
innovations and experiences.
38

The EU-funded project began in
1999 and has so far undergone
three phases; the current fourth
phase runs from 2008 to 2011.
To assess impact, we ask farmers
to write us letters explaining how
the information they receive from
the programme has helped them.

We also use reporters’ interviews,
and obtain more substantiated
data from our monitoring visits to
farmers.
The results show that Mwana
Alirenji has inspired and benefited many people through the
networking forum that it offers.
Although the programme is oriented towards farming, farmers
have also used this forum to discuss issues related to food management, nutrition, health and
the environment. Due to this, we
have seen some farmers practising diet diversification, and others
trying out various types of manure
to maximise their yields. Mwana
Alirenji also encourages farmers to become more innovative
and to explore new farming techniques and inputs, such as organic
manures that are friendly to the
environment. Mwana Alirenji has
therefore proved to be a reliable
source of new agricultural technologies for both field assistants
and farmers in Malawi.
The major challenge, however, is
lack of advocacy for positive findings. The adoption level of innovations by the Ministry of Agriculture
is low because there are weak
links between the media and the
Ministry, so there is limited circulation, and a knowledge gap of new
innovations and findings within
agricultural extension structures.
There is a need to strengthen relations between programme reporters/producers and policy-makers.
Special follow-up mechanisms are
needed to allow a wider distribution of innovative ideas, and for
government to ensure replication
of best practices in other areas.

THE VALUATION OF
BROADCAST RADIO IN
RURAL DEVELOPMENT –
A QUESTION OF
TRANSACTION COSTS
Mr Chris Yordy, Consultant with
Community Development Service
in Egypt, Canada
This presentation examines factors
that have prevented fishers and
fish traders from accessing price
information in two artisanal fishing communities in the Ada region
of Ghana. Previous studies have
found that high search costs have
led to market failure and product
spoilage, as part of a broader theoretical framework of transaction
cost analysis that allows for the
classification of both physical and
information barriers within a rural
economy. Despite the high costs of
searching for market information
implied by distance and a lack of
communication infrastructure in
rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa,
in this study we found that community radio stood out among
ICTs in reach and accessibility, and
was helpful in reducing barriers
to price information, particularly
among women as fishmongers and
traders in Ghana’s wholesale fish
industry. This type of market analysis has implications for how radio
and ICTs are valued and evaluated
as part of the process for securing investment in communication
for development initiatives, and in
agricultural and fisheries investment in sub-Saharan Africa more
generally.

KEY CAPACITIES FOR
COMMUNITY RADIO
Mr Oumar Seck N’diaye, 	
AMARC-Africa, Senegal
This poster highlights the importance of capacity-building for
community radio. It identifies the
challenges of the current context of
community radio stations in Africa.
It suggests ways to address these
challenges, including institutional
changes that implicate organisational structures and funding. The
poster also highlights key themes,
levels and formats of training to

build the capacity of community
radio in Africa.

BUILDING UNIVERSITY
CAPACITY FOR MEDIA AND
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Professor Bénédict Mongula and
Ms Langa Sarakikya, University
of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
The media are very important
tools for rural development, but
have often been overlooked in
development discourse and initiatives. Many rural challenges – in
the form of food and nutrition,
access to and quality of rural social
services such as health, water,
energy and education, livelihoods
and economic conditions, human
rights, gender, local power relations and constraints, and cultural
setbacks – are not known to policy-makers and the general public.
In a project with the Maasai community in four villages of Monduli
District, by University of Dar es
Salaam and Huron University College, Canada, the villagers were
clearly concerned about making
their situation known to the wider
Tanzanian public and to policymakers. They wanted critical problems relating to their livelihoods
– difficulties in accessing veterinary services, markets for cattle
and milk, health services, water,

and fuelwood – to be made known.
Equally, they were concerned
about knowing of national and local
government policies affecting their
lives, including opportunities in
different programmes. Despite the
fact that Tanzania has numerous
newspapers, radio and television
stations, coverage of and access
to rural areas has been extremely
limited. Furthermore, the media in
Tanzania face critical problems in
terms of research capacity (data
collection and analysis); ability
to articulate information, including creative writing and packaging of information for a local rural
audience; a lack of basic and specialised training and therefore of
in-depth understanding of issues;
as well as limited ability to identify the most critical, relevant and
important problems to report.
Transportation constraints, low
access to technology, poor media
literacy among rural populations,
and editors’ and reporters’ lack of
interest in travel to and reporting on rural local issues (closely
related to media financing), only
serve to compound the problem.
The local community radio of the
Maasai is no exception.
While several higher-level education institutions in Tanzania have
programmes relating to media
training (including the Institute
of Journalism and Mass Commu-

nication of the University of Dar
es Salaam, St Augustine University, Tumaini University and Dar
es Salaam School of Journalism),
these face critical staff problems.
For example, there are very few
PhD-holders to take up postgraduate training in media, and as a result
the existing programmes are very
new and urgently need strengthening. Humanities programmes,
too, have often overlooked the
importance of communication
for rural development. Moreover,
the existing media training curriculum is too general and theoretical, and lacking in experiential
learning. The university-based
radio and television stations at
the universities, for example, can
only engage few students and are
themselves still to be adequately
developed. Existing initiatives,
such as the Tanzania Media Fund,
the Media Institution of Southern
Africa (MISA-TAN), and attempts
to introduce courses on development and communication in existing humanities programmes, are
steps in the right direction to try
to cover the gaps left by the existing media training system. In view
of the above, there is a need for
government and development
partners to support media training at both basic and postgraduate levels, and staff development
in training institutions.

Institutional environment:
building the capacity of media
in agricultural and rural development
THE AFRICAN MEDIA
DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
Mr David Mowbray, BBC World
Service Trust, UK
Media can be a powerful agent for
change in Africa but an extensive
survey in 17 African countries
through the African Media Development Initiative (AMDI) shows
serious deficiencies in the capacity of media at all levels from basic

journalism to management skills.
The BBC World Service Trust has
adopted a new capacity building
model using highly trained in-station mentors with backstopping
by a senior international trainer to
address this problem while at the
same time facilitating the creation
of the new African Media Initiative
(AMI), a ‘made in Africa’ solution
to the funding and development of
professional African media.

MEDIA TRAINING IN THE
CARIBBEAN
Dr Maria Protz, Caribbean 	
Institute for Media and 		
Communication (CARIMAC), 	
Jamaica
This paper discusses a Caribbean
approach to building media capacity for the agricultural sector. To
start, the presentation describes
the work of CARIMAC, the

39

Caribbean Institute for Media and
Communication of the University
of the West Indies, located on the
Mona Campus, Jamaica. Media
training for agriculture and natural resource management has
involved CARIMAC staff in partnership with a range of agencies,
including the new Communication
for Sustainable Development Initiative (CSDI) collaboration with the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). “Pieces” of sustainable capacity-building within
the CSDI include mainstreaming
communication and development
in three ministries of agriculture
in the region, supporting community-based organisations in communication for development, and
professional training for extension workers in communication
for development for agriculture.
Other elements include published
case studies, new ICT applications
linking farmers and extension
staff, a professional association for
communication for development,
new academic offerings, and a
web platform focused on climate
change adaptation.

THE EXPERIENCE OF
GAINS WITH COMMUNITY
RADIO
Mr Joel Sam, INSTI, Ghana

40

This paper discusses the Ghana
Agricultural Information Network System (GAINS) – a network of agricultural libraries and
information centres in Ghana,
which was established in 1991
under the Government of Ghana/
World Bank National Agricultural
Research Project. The presentation explains the efforts of GAINS
to revitalise library and information systems in the agricultural
sector, to make information easily available and accessible to
research and academia, and to
provide information on demand
to research scientists, lecturers,
research managers, policy-makers and students. In its second
phase, GAINS has been working
to support the information needs
assessment of extension agents
and provide information provision
through agricultural information
centres.

In its third and fourth phases, the
system is placing emphasis on
information services for farmers,
fishermen and extension workers,
including involvement with community-based FM radio stations
and their agricultural programme
producers to create question-andanswer service radio programmes
in local languages. The presentation ends with reflections on the
challenges experienced by GAINS
and the importance of collaboration with community radio in
Ghana.

CAPACITY-BUILDING AND
KNOWLEDGE-SHARING
THROUGH COMMUNITY
RADIO
Dr Marcelo Solervincens, AMARC,
Canada
This paper describes the experience of AMARC in networking and
working with community radio stations in ACP countries and regions
around the world. From a community radio perspective, it highlights
several challenges to the role of
the media in ARD. A key element
in increasing the effectiveness of
community radio involves adopting a learning, knowledge-sharing
and capacity-building model that
(i) strengthens the appropriation
of the media by local communities
and individuals; and (ii) reinforces
radio literacy and content literacy
through exchanges between local
and expert knowledge.

CHALLENGES IN AGRICULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT
– REPORTING IN MALAWI
Mr Levi Zeleza Manda, 		
University of Malawi, Malawi
For decades, Malawi has been
an agricultural economy. Despite
occasional food shortages over
the years, the country has generally been able to feed itself. Most
recently, Malawi has outshone all
its neighbours by realising bumper
yields, particularly of maize (the
country’s staple), tobacco and
cotton. The key to Malawi’s food
security success is threefold:
focused government agriculture
policy (such as agriculture input
subsidies); determined leadership (President Mutharika is his
own Minister of Agriculture); and
prudent prioritisation of resources
(agriculture is national development priority number one).
Focused policy, prudent allocation of resources and determined
leadership aside, the media have
played a critical role in promoting agriculture and food security
in Malawi. However, the Malawi
media has faced a lot of challenges.
Recent research studies indicate
that Malawi lacks an agriculture
reporting/communication policy
and training; there is no specialisation in agricultural reporting;
agriculture and rural development
in do not feature highly as a news
value in Malawian news media,
which are instead dominated by
elitist and Eurocentric news values. This paper shares both the
successes of Malawi media involvement in agriculture and the challenges the media face.

Media, emerging new media service
and ICTs
ICTS AND RURAL COMMUNITIES – FROM FERTILISER TO DROPLETS FOR
AFRICAN AGRICULTURE
Mr Souleymane Ouattara, 	
African Journalists for 		
Development Network (JADE),
Burkina Faso
In Sissili Province (Burkina Faso),
M. Korogo, an agricultural adviser
at the Fédération des Professionnels
Agricoles de la Sissili (FEPPASI),
stands for change. He visits Moumouni Nébié, another ICT buff,
on his farm. Nébié owes a lot to
ICTs. On the internet in 2005, he
found a producers’ organisation in
Benin specialising in yam production techniques. He learnt from
them, and now produces his own
yam seed. Another ICT aficionado
in Sissili is Joseph Dagano, the
President of FEPPASI. Early, he
understood the enormous potential of ICTs to improve production,
post-harvest conservation and
marketing.
His association is a member of
the ‘TIC et Agriculture’ network.
This is a Burkina ICT promotion
association, created as a platform
for sharing ideas, experiences and
resources in agriculture-oriented
ICTs as a source of progress for
rural communities. An approach to
ICTs is to focus on the production
of training modules, funding, calls
for tender, and also to report plant
diseases to research institutes so
that they can look for solutions.
ICTs are also useful as tools of
transparency in producers’ choices.
Reporters record the information
on their portable telephones and
send it by text message to websites, or even for broadcasting on
national radio and television.
FEPPASI members can rightly
exclaim that “digitisation gives
a boost to agriculture”. But their
success, paradoxically, proves that
access to ICTs will, for a long time
to come, be nothing but an inaccessible dream for thousands of
Burkina farmers.

THE USE OF WEB 2.0
TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE
AGRICULTURE – A CASE
OF SMALL-SCALE FARMERS
IN UGANDA

LINKING RADIO WITH
ICTS TO ENHANCE INTERACTION AND “RADIO ON
DEMAND”

Ms Maureen Agena, Women of
Uganda Network (WOUGNET),
Uganda

Ms Margaret Nana Kingamkono,
African Farm Radio Research 	
Initiative, Farm Radio 			
International, Tanzania

In the modern era, both public
and private sectors need fully to
utilise and appreciate the effectiveness and efficiency of new
media such as web 2.0 tools in
processing, storing and retrieving
agricultural information. In Africa,
particularly Uganda, web 2.0 tools
are a development that is new to
many people, especially among
small-scale farmers. Awareness
and application of web 2.0 tools
to their agricultural practices is
minimal. Using the Citizen Journalism in Africa project, WOUGNET
has equipped some of its members
with skills in using social networking tools (such as blogs, wikis, RSS
web feeds, Flickr and Skype), as
well as writing articles, developing audio, video and digital stories,
and online publishing.

Radio has long been recognised as
an excellent tool for reaching rural
populations with low literacy levels. Access to radio is much greater
than access to any other medium
and, because it disseminates
sounds rather than printed words,
it benefits all listeners. However,
the traditional weaknesses of radio
have been that it is usually a oneway medium; and that it is available only at the time and on the day
it is broadcast. The first weakness
has made it an imperfect tool for
dialogue, discussion, feedback and
interaction; the second has meant
that intended audience members
(particularly rural women) may
miss key broadcasts, or that more
complicated information cannot be
listened to repeatedly to ensure
comprehension.

This initiative has helped some
rural farmers to use and interact
with various forms of media to help
them maximise their communication strategies in agriculture. The
Citizen Journalism in Africa project
aims to build the capacity of civil
society organisations to use online
and offline citizen journalism as a
means of publication, lobbying,
networking and knowledge-sharing, with a focus on both traditional
and new media. This presentation
focuses on the potential and challenges of applying web 2.0 tools
in agriculture.

Farm Radio International, through
the African Farm Radio Research
Initiative (AFFRI), has been learning about creative ways to use
ICTs to address both weaknesses.
Interactivity with listeners can
be increased through the use of
mobile phones, SMS, and low-cost
recording devices. Phone-in and
phone-out shows, SMS management software, and MP3 players
are being used by AFRRI’s radio
partners to put the voice of farmers on the air and allow dialogue
between and among farmers,
extension workers and researchers. Wind-up MP3 players, interactive voice-recording systems and
other ICTs offer the potential to
provide more farmers with “radio
on demand”, with repeat listening at any time of convenience to
farmers.

41

CONNECTING RURAL
AFRICA USING MOBILE
DEVICES
Mr Dion Jerling, Connect Africa
Services, South Africa
This presentation is based on a
CTA-sponsored project in Central
Zambia that uses ICT and mobile
devices to deliver multiple public and private sector services to
deep rural communities. The success of the mobile phone in Africa
is universally acknowledged and
well documented – but it remains
largely an urban success. Rural
Africa has yet to benefit from
these sometimes spectacular
advances in mobile communications. Connect Africa sets out to
address this challenge by combining a unique combination of social
enterprise and entrepreneurship to
build a deep rural service network
that cooperates with government
and the private sector to deliver
multiple services directly to rural
communities.
With access to all ICT solutions
currently available, Connect Africa
is using a strategy of “fit for purpose” technology provision to
ensure optimum service delivery
can be sustainably maintained.
This presentation touches on the
technology solutions used and currently being trialled; the real and
often underestimated challenges
facing service providers in rural
areas; who the key stakeholders should be to ensure optimum
service levels are provided; and
the all-important requirement of
ongoing sustainability.

42

INFORMATION,
RESOURCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND MEDIA
ENVIRONMENT
FOR AGRICULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT IN
TANZANIA
Mr Jabir Jabir, Sokoine National
Agricultural Library, Tanzania
The media houses in Tanzania
lack information resources such
as libraries, internet connectivity,
information collection, and well
trained staff to serve and meet
journalistic desires and needs. This
also includes the issue of multidisciplinary media staff in the area
of agriculture and its allied fields.
With a multidisciplinary component among media practitioners,
the current move by policy-makers
in Tanzania, Africa and the world
in general to make agriculture
a number one priority can be
achieved successfully if the media
play a major role.
The democratisation process in
Tanzania continues to make it
possible for more mass media
houses to become involved in the
information dissemination process.
Currently, most are concentrating
more on political and profit-oriented information. They provide
little regarding the agricultural
sector, which employs about 75%
of Tanzanians. With a lack of public
broadcasting services, the existing
media (both government and private) concentrate on stories that
favour and protect their institution, instead of translating, analysing and evaluating the policies
with regard to the current development outlook.
To make the mass media more
effective in the development
of agriculture and other socioeconomic issues, changes in the
curriculum and the introduction
of information literacy training in
journalism studies will be needed.
Media houses should be able to
enrich their collections, have reliable connectivity, have qualified
staff to manage their information
resources and centres, and also
have assigned sections for agricultural information packaging

and processing – not forgetting
the involvement of agricultural
stakeholders in providing not only
techniques, but also success stories from work in which they are
currently involved.

NAKASEKE TELECENTRE
UGANDA
Mr Peter Balaba, Nakaseke 	
Telecentre, Uganda
This poster highlights the work of
the well known Nakaseke Telecentre in Uganda. It was established
as one of five telecentre projects
supported by UNESCO, the International Development Research
Centre (IDRC) and the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) (the others being located
in Benin, Mali, Mozambique and
Tanzania). The telecentre provides
information services to mainly illiterate farmers in subjects such as
farm inputs, post-harvest handling,
market price information, environmental protection, soil management, commodity value addition,
credit schemes, and commercial
farming skills. The telecentre has
innovated with many different
kinds of service since it was first
opened in 1997. It has set up a
community radio (FM102.9), operates a library, offers internet and
wireless services such as phone
charging, and provides computer
training, repair and maintenance,
secretarial services, video coverage, and information on HIV/AIDS,
along with an outreach programme
and a “Book Box” service.

Working group recommendations
	 Radio
•R
 eview previous capacity-building work that has already been
done by all relevant players in
the media industry in Africa to
maximise what already exists,
rather than duplicating efforts.
• Enable each country/region to
determine how training will take
place in terms of accreditation or
time frame.
• E n c o u r a g e d e m a n d - d r i v e n
capacity-building that embraces
different radio stakeholders,
actors and institutions.
• E nsure capacity-building for
radio is rooted at the local level
and is needs-driven.
• Ensure capacity-building is comprehensive, with generalised
standards to include technical,
production, radio station management and content development.
• Adapt capacity-building for different types of radio station and
their programming.
• E stablish a small, competitive grants programme [e.g.
€10,000–15,000, similar to the
Gender, Agriculture and Rural
Development in the Information
Society (GENARDIS) programme]
to focus on radio stations’ innovation and learning; focus grants
on cooperation of listeners and
listener representation in ARD.
• Strengthen monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in radio stations,
and identify methods to measure inputs, outputs, outcomes
and impacts.
• Provide training opportunities in
planning and M&E for radio stations.
• D evelop internal M&E in radio
stations as much as possible,
recognising that if the radio is
government-funded or has to
dovetail M&E with government
ministries of agriculture or extension, it is important that the
government provides sufficient
guidelines to conduct M&E.
• E ncourage radio stations to

•

•

•

•

have an M&E work plan from the
inception of each programme,
and an annual work plan.
E ncourage radio stations that
started under external (e.g.
UNESCO) funding to request the
donor institution to assist in conducting M&E.
A
 ssist radio with the skills to
fund-raise, conduct quantitative
evaluations, and ensure listener
involvement.
E
 nsure sustainability with a strategic/business plan from the
inception.
A
 dvocate for a conducive legislative environment for community
and independent radio.

Television, video
and film
• I dentify existing training needs
assessment studies for video/
television and address priorities
for capacity-building.
• Produce a glossary of agricultural
terms for journalists/media practitioners in ACP countries.
• P rovide a clearing house for
(short) videos on agricultural
and related rural issues at a professional level in ACP countries.
• Assist governments in developing policies that support visual
communication on ARD issues.
• M obilise and support existing
networks, regional organisations and farmers’ platforms to
disseminate video programmes
developed by multiple sources.
• Organise regional and in-country
workshops with multiple stakeholders and media practitioners
to articulate demand for new
agricultural video productions.
• P rioritise film/video in ARD as
a powerful tool that crosses
boundaries of distance, language
and season, and provides new
and relevant opportunities for
analysis, learning and reflection
with all stakeholders.
• Improve the quality of film/video
in ARD by distinguishing between
the roles of everyone involved

(even when they are combined
in one or a few people): commissioners, producers, film-makers,
process facilitators and communication specialists.
• E laborate strategic choices
regarding the level of professionalism being in line with
expected outputs, feasibility of
expectations raised, and ethical
considerations.
• P r o f e s s i o n a l i s e f i l m / v i d e o
through a peer-reviewed event
such as a film festival (conference) – professionals watch, discuss and learn from their peers
and improve the quality and
impact of video as a product and
a process.
• Strengthen capacities and inform
stakeholders of the importance
of defining intellectual property
rights, and of mutual respect
among different actors in filmmaking.

P
 rint			
Newspapers, 	
magazines and 	
supplements
•B
 uild capacity by offering print
media scholarships and exchange
programmes.
• Provide information about possible funding agencies for travel
and fellowship grants within ACP
regions.
• Mainstream ARD in print media
through multi-stakeholder workshops.
• Create competitive seed grants
for internal ARD training exercises, internal capacity-building
and mentoring.
• C onvene an annual ACP print
media conference.
• Establish a print media award to
stimulate excellence in reporting ARD, networking and sharing ideas.
• Translate CTA’s portal of success
stories in ARD into book form,
to be released annually by print
and made available in ACP languages.

43

•P
 rovide guidance on fundraising and circulate proposal templates.

Other printed 	
materials 		
(newsletters, 	
posters, brochures,
comics, banners)
•P
 rovide training in citizen journalism.
• Identify appropriate M&E tools
(such as surveys and questionnaires).
• Provide learning materials about
audits, financial management,
stocktaking of equipment, etc.
• S upport internships, secondments and apprenticeships for
print production.
• Develop exit policies to hand over
actions to the ACP regions.
• Continue e-discussions and the
print portal of success stories on
CTA’s website.
• Identify possible models for the
establishment of an ACP Print
Media Networking Forum.

•

•

•

•

•

•
•
•
•

•

•

Community media
• I nvolve the community in the
planning, operation and evaluation of community media.
• U se a participatory approach,
and include all members in the
community.
• Set up a multi-stakeholder platform to support community

44

•
•

•

media, including expertise that is
not present in the community.
A
 ddress institutional constraints,
such as easing the licensing
procedure for community radio
stations and making it more
affordable.
D
 evelop and adopt the use of
agreed principles, ethics and
guidelines for community media
governance.
D
 ocument the required policy
and regulatory environment for
community media.
D
 evelop guidelines for engaging
policy-makers and raising the
profile of community media.
S
 upport capacity-building for
community media on management issues.
I dentify models for sustainability
in community media.
I nclude women in management
as well as in production.
I dentify ways to motivate and
retain volunteers.
P
 romote networking among community media locally, nationally
and across countries.
D
 evelop content based on local
needs, understanding and languages.
C
 opyright/protect local content
and respect intellectual property
rights.
E
 ncourage documentation of
local content using ICTs.
P
 romote the use of appropriate,
affordable ICTs, and build on
existing infrastructure, experience, availability and the community’s level.
I ntegrate ICTs with other community media tools and resources.

•P
 rovide continuous training on
emerging ICTs as needed.
• I dentify ICTs and examples of
best practices.
• Engage communities in the entire
M&E process.
• P lan and fund M&E from the
beginning of community media
processes and communication
strategies.
• Use M&E results to revise practices as needed.
• C ommunity media capacitybuilding must be inclusive of
age, gender, ethnicity, class, etc.
in the community itself.
• Work with partners across ACP
countries to exchange best practices and share experiences.
• Offer training in management,
production and programme
M&E.
• Continuously build institutional
capacity to integrate emerging
development challenges.
• E ncourage capacity-building
through a system of awards and
recognition.

VI – Annexes
6.1 Programme
		
09:00–12:00	

Monday 12 October 2009
Registration of participants (Bedford Hotel)

10:00–12:00	Briefing meeting with steering committee members, panellists, moderators, participants and
rapporteurs
12:00–13:00	Lunch (Bedford Hotel)

		BRUSSELS BRIEFING NO. 14:
		
ACP AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:
		WHY MEDIA MATTER?
13:10–13:30	

Departure from Bedford Hotel to Borschette Centre

13:00–14:30	

Registration to Brussels Briefing

14:30–15:00	Introductory remarks:
		Mr Ian Barber, European Commission, Sir John Kaputin, ACP Secretariat, 			
Dr Hansjörg Neun, CTA
		Report on CTA Seminar 2009 e-discussions:
		
Ms Susanna Thorp and Ms Laurence Lalanne, WRENmedia, UK
15:00–16:15	 Panel 1: MAINSTREAMING MEDIA IN DEVELOPMENT: THE WAY TO GO?
		
		

Moderator:
Ms Tumi Makgabo, Africa Broadcasting and Media, South Africa

		
		
		
		

Panellists
• Her Excellency Ndisale Brave, Ambassador of Malawi
• Hon. Ignatius Jean, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
• Mr Thozi Gwanya, Director-General, Department of Rural Development and Land Reform,
South Africa
• Mr Jean-Philippe Rapp, Director of the International Media North South Forum, 		
Switzerland
• Dr Kris Rampersad, Media and Literacy Consultant, Trinidad and Tobago
• Dr Hansjörg Neun, Director of CTA, The Netherlands

		
		
		

16:15–16:45 	 Coffee break (EU Commission)
16:45–18:30	 Panel 2: HOW CAN MEDIA BETTER SERVE RURAL COMMUNITIES?
		
		

 oderator:
M
Dr Eugenia Springer, Director of Eugenia Springer Productions, Trinidad and Tobago

		

Presentations and panel discussion

		• The needs and challenges in strengthening media capacities in ACP countries: 		
Mr Sayouba Traoré (RFI) and Ms Violet Otindo, KBC-CNN Award Winner, Kenya
		• Linking media with local communities: Dr Helen Hambly, University of Guelph, Canada
		• ACP media and global challenges: bridging the gap: Ms Tumi Makgabo, 			
African Broadcasting and Media, South Africa

		

Conclusions

19:00		

Reception (EU Commission)

20:15		

Departure Borschette Centre to Bedford Hotel

45

	Tuesday 13 October 2009
09:00–09:20	Presentation of the structure and the objectives of the seminar: Dr Helen Hambly, University
of Guelph, Canada; Mr André Vugayabagabo, CTA, The Netherlands

		Session 3: MEDIA AND ARD ISSUES (plenary session)
		
		

Moderator: Professor Chris Kamlongera, University of Malawi

		

Discussant: Mr Kole Odutola, University of Florida, USA

9:20–10:10 	Oral presentations
		• Video in Development – Filming for Rural Change (CTA book launch): 			
Dr Rico Lie and Mr Andreas Mandler, University of Wageningen, The Netherlands
		• Sourcing information by the Pacific media on ARD: 						
Ms Viola Ulakai, Tonga Broadcasting and Television Corporation, Tonga
		• The voice of the visual – visual learning strategies for problem analysis, social dialogue
and mediated participation: 									
Dr Loes Witteveen, IRDT, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
		• Developing a love affair between rural agriculture and the media: 				
Dr Eugenia Springer, Trinidad and Tobago
		

Posters

		• Media treatment of ARD issues – challenges and problems: 					
Ms Matho Motsou Anne, Jade, Cameroon
		
• Sim-info ANOPACI: Mr Kouao Sylvain, ANOPACI, Côte d’Ivoire
		• Media in agriculture – we are not second best: Mr Phil Malone, 			
Countrywise Communications, UK
		• The use of multi-media to promote agriculture and rural development – 		
“CABI’s Secret Service”: Ms Janny Vos, CABI, UK
10:10–10:40	

Panel discussion

10:40–11:00	

Coffee break

11:00–11:30	 Media and agricultural extension and learning
		

Moderator: Dr Kris Rampersad, Media and Literacy Consultant, Trinidad and Tobago

		

Discussant: Mr Riccardo del Castello, FAO, Italy

		Oral presentations
		

 La Voix du Paysan/The Farmer’s Voice and agricultural information extension work 		
•
in Cameroon: Ms Marie Pauline Voufo and Aude Ehlinger, Cameroon
		• Role of media in bridging the distance between lab and farm: 				
Mr Sunil Kumar Singh, USP, Fiji
		• Farm radio – a trigger for demand-driven extension services in Malawi: 			
Mr Rex Chapota, AFRRI, Malawi
		• Knowledge, networking and diversity – opportunities for agricultural journalism in Africa:
Mr David Mowbray, BBC World Service Trust, UK
		
46

Posters

		• Innovative approaches for improving access to agricultural information – cases and 		
applications: Dr O. I. Oladele, University of Botswana
		• Obstacles to the use of media in extension and learning in the rural set-up: 			
Mr Charles Oduor Ogada, Ugunja Community Resource Centre, Kenya
		• The role of media in disseminating sustainable farming practices to small-scale farmers in
Kenya: Mr John Cheburet, Radio Manager, The Organic Farmer, Kenya
11:30–12:30	

Panel discussion

12:30–14:00	

Lunch

	Session 3 continued: MEDIA AND ARD ISSUES (parallel sessions)
Parallel session:
1. Media and
climate change

2. Media and
gender equality

3. Media funding
in ARD

4. Media and
arid zones

Moderator

Dr John Fitzsimons,
UoG, Canada

Ms Oumy Ndiaye,
CTA

Ms Jacqueline
Sluijs, KIT, the
Netherlands

Mr Rabah Lahmar,
CIRAD, Burkina
Faso

14:00–14:40

Presentations

Presentations

Presentations

Presentations

14:40–15:30

Discussion

Discussion

Discussion

Discussion

15:30–15:50

Coffee break

Coffee break

Coffee break

Coffee break

Parallel session 1: MEDIA AND CLIMATE CHANGE
		

Moderator: Dr John Fitzsimons (University of Guelph, Canada)

14:00–14:40	Oral presentations
		

• The Climate Change Media Partnership: Mr Parkie Mbozi, PANOS, Zambia

		• Climate change and the media in the Pacific: Mr Samisoni Pareti, 			
Islands Business International, Fiji
		• The contribution of community radio to understanding the impact of climate change 		
on agriculture in Koutiala, Mali: Mr Moctar Niantigui Coulibaly, Alliance des Radios 		
Communautaires, Mali
		• Radio scriptwriting competitions promote learning for African broadcasters on topics 		
of relevance to smallholder farmers: Ms Blythe McKay, Farm Radio International, Canada
		

Posters

		• Challenges and opportunities of reporting and communicating agricultural and rural issues:
Mr Risdel Kasasira, Uganda
14:40–15:30	

Panel discussion

15:30–15:50	

Coffee break

Parallel session 2: MEDIA AND GENDER EQUALITY
		

Moderator: Ms Oumy Ndiaye, CTA, The Netherlands

14:00–14:40 	Oral presentations
		• Promoting gender equality in ARD through information and communication technologies:
a myth or reality in Botswana? Dr Bantu Morolong, University of Botswana, Botswana
		• Agricultural and rural development in the Pacific – connecting gender equality and the
media: Ms Bernadette Masianini, Fiji
		• Organic farming, climate change literacy and local food needs – what role for media? 	
Ms Dorienne Rowan Campbell, Networked Intelligence, Jamaica
		

Posters

		• Gender principles in the media in Guinea: Ms Mama Adama Keita, 				
Radio Nationale, Guinea
		• The Multi Media Resource Kit: Ms Melanie Hughes, Protégé QV, Cameroon
14:40–15:30	

Panel discussion

15:30–15:50	

Coffee break

47

Parallel session 3: MEDIA FUNDING IN ARD
		

Moderator: Ms Jacqueline Sluijs, Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), The Netherlands

14:00–14:40 	Oral presentations
		• Is closer cooperation the answer to the financial problems of ACP media houses? 		
Mr Hans Determeyer, Free Voice Programme Manager Media Finance, the Netherlands
		• Media funding in the Pacific: Mrs. Ruci Mafi, SPC, Fiji
		• Funding for media and ARD: Mr Michael Waigwa, 						
Cooperative Insurance Company, Kenya
		• Agriculture, women and the media – critical investments: 					
Ms Cece Fadope, International Women’s Media Foundation, USA
		

Posters

		• Key trends in funding the role of media in agricultural and rural development: 		
Dr Helen Hambly Odame, University of Guelph, Canada
14:40–15:30 	 Panel discussion
15:30–15:50	

Coffee break

Parallel session 4: MEDIA AND ARID AND SEMI-ARID ZONES
		

Moderator: Mr Rabah Lahmar, CIRAD, France

14:00–14:50 	Oral presentations
		

 ote: In this session the presentation titles reflect the dryland scientists’ area of research.
N
The round table discussion in this session focused on how to strengthen the role of media
in drylands research.

		• Study and analysis of the impacts of agricultural holdings and livestock farms located
around protected areas: the case of the “W” Park of Niger Republic: 				
Ms Teresa Fernandes Pereira da Veiga Tavares, Niger
		• Taking stock of the rehabilitation of degraded soils in the Sahelian dry regions using the
zaï technology (Burkina-Faso, Mali, Niger): Ms Delphine Droux, France
		• An economic analysis of the effect of variety traits on the adoption of improved pigeon
pea varieties in Kenya’s drylands – a case study of Taita District: Ms Zipora Otieno, Kenya
		• An analysis of farmer groups in conservation agriculture in dryland areas of Malawi: 		
Chinguluwe EPA in Salima and Nkomba Model Village in Bazale EPA, Balaka District: 		
Mr Mavuto Mdulamizu, Malawi
14:50–15:30 	 Panel discussion
15:30–15:50 	 Coffee break

Session 4: COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MEDIA AND
OTHER ARD PLAYERS (plenary session)
48

		

Moderator: Mr Phil Malone, Countrywise Communications, UK

		

Discussant: Dr Kerry Albright, DFID, UK

15:50–16:20 	Oral presentation
		• Partnership between agricultural and natural resource management training 			
and rural radio in the southern and south-east regions of Senegal: 				
Mr Madior Fall, USAID WULA NAFAA-Senegal

		• Role of radio in agricultural development in the Pacific: 					
Ms Rita Narayan, Radio Producer, Regional Media Centre, SPC, Fiji
		• Surfacing the strengths of local content through participatory communication: 		
Mr Charles Dhewa, Managing Consultant, Knowledge Transfer Africa, Zimbabwe
		

Posters

		• Innovative farmer advisory services using ICT: Mr Francois Stepman, FARA, Ghana
		• Bridging the gap – WRENmedia’s approach to supporting better science reporting by journalists and building partnerships between media and the agricultural research community:
Ms Susanna Thorp, WRENmedia, UK
16:20–17:10 	 Panel discussion

17:10–18:00 POSTER SESSION (ALL PARTICIPANTS)
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Session 5: CONTRIBUTION OF THE MEDIA TO AGRICULTURAL POLICY,
PROGRAMMING AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (plenary session)
		

Moderator: Ms Helene Michaud, BARN, the Netherlands

		

Discussant: Dr Abibtou Diop-Boare, CIRES, Université Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

9:00–09:40 	Oral presentations
		• The SIST tool and access to information for journalists working in the agricultural 		
and rural sector: Mr Helmer Thierry, CIRAD, France
		• Mwana Alirenji (food self-sufficient) radio magazine turns Malawian farmers into 	
researchers, innovators and self-sufficient food producers: 					
Mr Gladson Elemiya Makowa, Story Workshop, Malawi
		• Highway Africa: Dr Chris Kabwato, Rhodes University, South Africa
		

Posters

		• The valuation of broadcast radio in rural development – a question of transaction costs:
Mr Chris Yordy, Canada
		• Key capacities for community radio: Mr Oumar Seck N’diaye, AMARC-Africa, Senegal
		• Building university capacity for media and rural development: Professor Benedict Mongula
and Ms Langa Sarakikya, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
09:40–10:30 	 Panel discussion
10:30–11:00 	 Coffee break
11:00–12:00 	 Set-up for the special broadcast TV (only for participants involved in TV session)

Sessions 6 and 7
Session 6 : Poster Session

Session 7: TV programme “Media
and agriculture: a marriage of necessity?”

12:00–13:30

Francophone group

Anglophone group

12:30–14:00

Lunch

14:00–15:45

Anglophone group

16:30	 Departure from Bedford Hotel to Palais des Colonies

Francophone group

49

Session 8: CTA’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY
18:00–21:30	

CTA’s 25th Anniversary Ceremony and CTA Media Awards 2009

Thursday 15 October 2009
Session 9: INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF MEDIA: BUILDING THE
CAPACITY OF MEDIA IN AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(plenary session)
		

Moderator: Mr Stephen Hazelman, SPC, Fiji

		

Discussant: Professor Chris Kamlongera, University of Malawi

9:00–9:40 	Oral presentations
		• The African Media Development Initiative: Mr David Mowbray, 				
BBC World Service Trust, UK
		• Media training in the Caribbean: Dr Maria Protz, CARIMAC, Jamaica
		• IAALD – capacity-building for linking libraries and media partners: 				
Mr Joel Sam, INSTI and IAALD, Ghana
		• Capacity-building and knowledge sharing through community radio: 				
Dr Marcelo Solervicens, AMARC, Canada
		• Capacity-building in the Caribbean: Dr Arlington Chesney and Mrs Diana Francis, 		
Caribbean agricultural research and development institute and IICA, Trinidad and Tobago
		

Posters

		• Challenges in agriculture and development – reporting in Malawi: 				
Mr Levi Zeleza Manda, University of Malawi, Malawi
9:40–10:20 	

Panel discussion

10:20–10:40 	 Coffee break

Session 10: MEDIA, EMERGING NEW MEDIA SERVICE AND ICTS 		
(plenary session)
		

Moderator: Dr Hansjörg Neun, Director, CTA, The Netherlands

		

Discussant: Mrs Oumy Ndiaye, CTA, The Netherlands

10:40–11:20 	Oral presentations
		• ICTs and rural communities: Mr Souleymane Ouattara, JADE, Burkina Faso
		• The use of web 2.0 tools for sustainable agriculture: a case of small-scale farmers in
Uganda: Ms Maureen Agena, WOUGNET, Uganda
		• Linking radio with ICTs to enhance interaction and “radio on demand”: 			
Ms Margaret Nana Kingamkono, African Farm Radio Research Initiative, Tanzania
		• Connecting rural Africa using mobile devices: Mr Dion Jerling, Connect Africa Service,
South Africa
50

		• New communication and information technologies in the agricultural sector in Haiti: 		
M. Talot Bertrand, MICT, Haïti
		

Posters

		• Information, resources, multidisciplinary and media environment for agricultural development in Tanzania: Mr Jabir Jabir, Sokoine National Agricultural Library, Tanzania
		• Nakaseke Telecentre Uganda: Mr Peter Balaba, Nakaseke Telecentre, Uganda
11:20–12:00 	 Panel discussion

Session 11: WORKING GROUPS ON MEDIA – WORKING TOGETHER FOR
ACTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
12:00–13:00	

Radio (Moderator: Rex Chapota, AFRRI, Malawi)

		

Television and video (Moderator: Riccardo del Castello, FAO, Italy)

		Print media (Moderator: Howard Williams, Union of Environmental Journalists, 			
Sierra Leone)
		Media and rural communities (Moderator: José Felipe Fonseca, CTA, The Netherlands)
13:00–1400	Lunch
14:00–15:30	

Radio

		

Television and video

		

Print media

		Media and rural communities
15:30–16:00	

Coffee break

16:00–18:00	

Radio

		

Television and video

		

Print media

		Media and rural communities

Session 12: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS – 			
CLOSING CEREMONY AND PRESS CONFERENCE
18:00–18:45	

Conclusions and recommendations

		

Closing ceremony

18:45–19:30	

Press conference

19:00		

Refreshment

Friday 16 October 2009
9:00–10:30	

Departure of participants

		

Visits to institutions in Brussels (for those leaving on Friday evening or Saturday)

51

6.2 List of participants
Last name First name

Organisation / address

Telephone

E-mail

Abdoulaye

Ibbo Daddy

Director
Les Echos du Sahel
Villa 4012 – Cité 105
Logements, Niamey
Niger

+22 720 743 217

ibbo_daddy@yahoo.com

Adolph

Serge

Accountant
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 123

adolph@cta.int

Agena

Maureen

Information Officer
WOUGNET
PO BOX 4411
Plot 55, Kenneth Dale,
Kamwokya
Uganda

+256 782 807 709
560 414 532 035

info@wougnet.org

Daniel

Aghan

National Co-ordinator
Media for Environment,
Science, Health and
Agriculture (MESHA)
PO Box 1285, 0100 Nairobi,
South Gate Centre,
South B, Mukoma Road
Kenya

+254 728 27 99 66 meshakenya@yahoo.com
daghan@handicap-international.or.ke

Albright

Kerry

Research Communication
+44 20 7023 0035
Manager
Research Uptake Team
DFID Research & Evidence
Division
Department for International Development
1 Palace Street, London
SW1E 5HE
United Kingdom

K-Albright@dfid.gov.uk

Amédé

Louis

General Co-ordinator
+22 520 370 666
Réseau des Journalistes de
l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du
Centre pour l’Agriculture
(REJAOCA)
01 BP 1807, Abidjan
Côte d’Ivoire

louisamede@yahoo.fr

Andriessen Wim

DGIS-Wageningen UR
Partnership
Wageningen UR
PO Box 88, 6700 AB,
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 486 810

wim.andriesse@wur.nl

Audigier

Ariane

Consultant Development
Communication Projects
6, Rue Rampal, 75109
Paris
France

+33 6 60647756

aaudigier02@yahoo.fr

Masese
Azael

Winsley

Journalist / Correspondent/
Writer
G The standard group
Kisumu
Kenya

+254 734 549 140

wmasese@eastandard.net

52

Bafana

Busani

Media Consultant
Food, Agriculture and
Natural Resources Policy
Analysis Network
64961 Tshabalala,
Bulawayo
Zimbabwe

+263 912 755 553

busani.bafana@gmail.com
bafana@netconnect.co.zw

Balaba

Peter

Manager
Nakaseke Telecentre
Uganda

+256 782 902 991

balapet2001@yahoo.com

Baluku

Rev. Nason

Chairman
SATNET Board
PO Box 346, Kasese
Uganda

+256 782 309 778

nasoncanon@yahoo.com

Barber

Ian

Head of Unit Information
& Communication
European Commission
DG DEV/SC 153-39
European Commission,
1049 Brussels
Belgium

Barro

Albert

Agricultural machinist /
Soil scientist
INERA/SARIA Programme
GRNSP
BP 10 Koudougou
Burkina Faso

+22 50 44 65 10

altbarro@yahoo.fr

Barry

Abdoulaye

Journalist
RTS
BP 1765, Triangle
Sud Dakar
Senegal

+221 33 849 12 21 bary_sn@yahoo.fr

Bel

Sarah

Communications Officer
Microinsurance Innovation
Facility, International
Labour Organization
4, route des Morillons,
CH-1211 Genève 22
Switzerland

+41 22 799 82 97

Bengaly

Oudou

Financial Officer –
+223 21 622 450
IT Support Technician
KENETIC4DEV
TIC pour le développement
dans le Kenedougou BP
215
Mali

oudoubeny@yahoo.fr

Bertrand

Talot

Head – Planning and
Resource Mobilisation
Direction de la Protection
Civile (DPC)
Ministère de l’Intérieur
et des Collectivités
Territoriales (MICT)
310, Route de Bourdon,
Port-Au-Prince
Haïti

+50 937 335 953

talotbertrand@yahoo.fr

Director
Radio Sauti ya Mkaaji
53, avenue LAMBA ,
Kasongo
DRC

+243 81 31 36 043 sautiyamkaaji@yahoo.fr or
modesteshabani@yahoo.fr

Shabani
bin Sweni

Modeste

bel@ilo.org

53

Blenman

Rose

Senior Project/
Communications Officer
CARICOM Secretariat
PO Box 10-1089, Lot
18, Brickdam, Stabroek,
Georgetown
Guyana

Boto

Isolina

Head of CTA Brussels Office +32 2 513 74 36
Rue Montoyer 39, Brussels
Belgium

boto@cta.int

Boulc’h

Stéphane

Publication Officer –
Studies officer
COTA
7 rue de la révolution
B – 1000 Brussels
Belgium

+32 2 250 38 36

stephane.boulch@cota.be

rblenman@caricom.org

+32 2 218 18 96

Boutin

Jean Fritz

Executive board of CTA
c/o Secretary to the
Executive Board, CTA

+5 092 463 202

jfritzb@hotmail.com

Burguet

Jean-Claude

Head
Administration, Budget
and Human Resources
Department
CTA PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 125

burguet@cta.int

Chapota

Rex

National Research
Co-ordinator
AFRRI
PO Box 30268
Lilongwe 3
Malawi

+265 09 99 899 489 rex@wuscmw.org

Executive Director
Caribbean Agricultural
Research and
Development Institute
PO Bag 212, University
Campus, St Augustine
Trinidad and Tobago

+1 868 6451205/7

Chevouline Thilda

Intern
Communication Services
Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 186

Clarke

Kevin

Writer/Producer/Presenter +18 769 291 269
Jamaica Information Service Direct line
– Radio Department.
+1 876 484 9721
Jamaica Information Service,
58A Half-Way-Tree Road,
Kingston 10
Jamaica

kclarke@jis.gov.jm
koclarke@gmail.com

Clavel

Daniele

AIDA project co-ordinator +33 4 67 61 59 70
CIRAD-BIOS
(Bat 1, bureau 34)
TA A-08/01, Av Agropolis
34398 Montpellier cédex 5
France

daniele.clavel@cirad.fr

Chesney

54

+592 222 0001/75

Dr Arlington

+265 01 771 823

executive@cardi.org

+1 868645-3573

chevouline@cta.int

Coulibaly

Moctar
Niantigui

Executive Director
Alliance des Radios
Communautaires du Mali
Djelibougou Doumanzana
Rue 251 Porte 370 BP E
1539 Bamako
Mali

+223 76 23 69 94

radioscommunautairesdumali@yahoo.fr

Dardagan

Colleen

Journalist
The Mercury Newspaper
PO Box 47549, Greyville
4023, KwaZulu-Natal
South Africa

+27 31 08216

colleen.dardagan@inl.
co.za

de Sousa

Professor
Raul Bruno

Executive Board of CTA
c/o Secretary to the
Executive Board, CTA

+351 213 653 427

brunosousa@isa.utl.pt

Del
Castello

Riccardo

Communication Officer
FAO, Research and
Extension Division
Via delle terme, Rome
Italy

+39 657 054 051

riccardo.delcastello@fao.
org

Determeyer

J. E. J.
(Hans)

Programme Manager –
Media Finance
Free Voice
Sumatralaan 45,
Hilversum
The Netherlands

+31 356 250 110

hans.determeyer@antenna.nl

Dhewa

Charles

Knowledge Transfer Africa
30 Shortson, Derbyshire
Waterfalls, Harare
Zimbabwe

+263 4 759695

dhewac@yahoo.co.uk

Diagne

Falilou

Chairman
Union des Groupements
Paysans de Meckhe
(UGPM)
BP 43 Meckhe
Senegal

+221 33 955 51 13 ugpm@sentoo.sn

Touré
Diallo

Haby

Director and Programme
Officer
Radio Communautaire
Bèlèkan
BP 133A Kati Immeuble
Sériba Sidibé Noumorila
Mali

+223 21 27 28 84

Dieye

Papa Oumar

Head of Communication
and Information
Centre Regional AGRHYMET, CILSS,
PO Box 11011, Niamey
Niger

+22 793 930 626
+227 203 153 016

habiba_dl@yahoo.fr

+223 66 76 42 75

P.Dieye@agrhymet.ne
admin@agrhymet.ne

Diop-Boaré Abibatou

Associate Director
CIRES, Université Abidjan
08 BP 1295, Abidjan
Côte d’Ivoire

adiopboare@yahoo.fr

Doudet

Head of Department
+31 317 467 127
Information Products and
Dissemination Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

doudet@cta.int

Thierry

55

56

Droux

Delphine

AIDA project
Université de Paris 12,
CIRAD /INERA
01 square Boileau
78150 Le Chesnay
France

+33 1 67 97 34 20

Ebeda

Xavier

Consultant
Glasshouse
25 rue Dauphine, 75006
Paris
France

+33 6 16960597

Ehlinger

Aude

Partnerships officer
(Burkina Faso et
Cameroon)
SOS Faim Luxembourg
88, rue Victor Hugo,
L-4141 Esch/Alzette
Luxembourg

+352 49 09 96 24

aude.ehlinger@sosfaim.
org

Fadope

Cece

Africa Program Manager
International Women’s
Media Foundation
1625 K Street NW,
Suite 1275
Washington, DC 20006
USA

+1 202 567 2602

cfadope@iwmf.org

Fall

Madior

Communication Officer
USAID WULA NAFAASenegal
BP 45 Tambacounda
Senegal

+221 33 939 80 16 salabigue@hotmail.com

Faye

Ibrahima
Lissa

Publication Director
www.pressafrik.com
Sicap Liberté 6 no. 8117
Dakar BP 30018
Senegal

+221 33 867 92 83 ilf@pressafrik.com

Fitzsimons

Dr John

Professor
School of Environmental
Design & Rural Development, Ontario Agricultural
College
University of Guelph 1
Stone Road, Guelph,
Ontario, N1G 2W1
Canada

+1 519 824 4120

jfitz@uoguelph.ca

Fonseca

José Filipe

Senior Programme
Co-ordinator
Communication Services
Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 133

fonseca@cta.int

Francis

Judith

Senior Programme
Co-ordinator
Planning and Strategic
Services Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 190

francis@cta.int

delphine.droux@laposte.
net

Francis

Diana

Regional specialist, Policy
and Trade NegotiationsCaribbean region
IICA
3 Herbert Street Newtown,
Port of Spain
Trinidad and Tobago

+1 868 284 4403

diana.Francis@iica.int

Goutier

Hegel

Head Chef ACP – Press
communication
Le Courrier
45 rue de Trèves, 1040
Brussels
Belgium

+3 222 374 392

hgoutier@acp-eucourier.
info

Hackshaw

Karen

Programme Co-ordinator
+31 317 467 157
Information Products and
Dissemination Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

hackshaw@cta.int

Hailu

Michael

Head of Information
Services, Communication
and Publication
CGIAR
Ethiopia

M.Hailu@cgiar.org

Hamidou

Djibo

AIDA project
Centre Regional
AGRHYMET, CILSS,
PO Box 11011, Niamey
Niger

hdjibo@agrhymet.ne

Hanschke

Oliver

Public Awareness
Networks and Knowledge
Management for Rural
Development
Division 45 – Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food
Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
PO Box 5180
65726 Eschborn
Germany

+49 6196 79 3293

Oliver.Hanschke@gtz.de

Hazelman

Stephen

Co-ordinator
SPC
Private Mail Bag, Suva
Fiji Islands

+6 793 370 733

stephenh@spc.int

Helmer

Thierry

Head of SIST project
CIRAD/DSI
TA 383/05
Avenue Agropolis
34398 Montpellier Cedex 5
France

+33 4 67 61 44 10

thierry.helmer@cirad.fr

Hughes

Melanie

Volonteer
PROTEGE QV
7488 avenue de l’épée
Montreal, Quebec
H3N 2E5
Canada

+1 514 475 3394

melhugs@gmail.com

57

58

Jabir

Jabir A.

Principal Library Assistant
Sokoine National
Agricultural Library
PO Box 3217
Morogoro
Tanzania

+255 773 718 725

jjjbjaj@yahoo.com

Jama

Charles

Communications Officer
Common Fund for
Commodities
Stadhouderskade 55
1072 AB, Amsterdam
The Netherlands

+31 20 575 49 56

Charles.Jama@commonfund.org

Jean

Ignatius

Representative IICA
Inter-American Institute
for Cooperation on
Agriculture
PO Box 10-089
Lot 18, Brickdam,
Strabroek – Georgetown
Guyana

+592 2 268 347
+592 2 268 835

ignatius.jean@iica.int

Jerling

Dion

Co-ordinator
Connect Africa Services
Postnet Suite 96, Private
Bag X9, Melville, 2109
Johannesburg
South Africa

+27 82 487 8354
(South Africa)
+260 97 686 0113
(Zambia)
+27 82 487 8354

dion@connectafrica.net
melanie.malema@connectafrica.net

Johnrose

Johnson

Communications officer
Caribbean Tourism
Organization
One Financial Place,
Collymore Rock, St
Michael
Barbados

+1 246 427 5242

jjohnrose@caribtourism.
com

Kaah

Aaron Yancho

Producer/Journalist
Radio Oku
PO Box 214 Bamenda
Cameroon

+23 799 280 196

aaronkah@yahoo.co.uk

Kabwato

Chris

Director
Highway Africa
Rhodes University,
Grahamstown
South Africa

+27 8 25829534

c.kabwato@ru.ac.za

Kamlongera

Chris

Director
SADC Centre for
Communication
and Development
Malawi

Karamagi

Ednah

Executive Director
BROSDI
PO Box 26970
Kampala
Uganda

+256 772 506 227

comdev@fanr-sadc.co.zw

+256 392 963 527

ednahkaramagi@brosdi.
or.ug

Kasasira

Risdel

Editor
Ultimate Media Consult
PO Box 36665
Kampala
Uganda

+25772627676
+256 751 627 676
+256 782 308 901

risdel.kasasira@gmail.com
kasasira@ultimatemediaconsult.com

Kayula

Frank

Regional Programme
Director
PANOS Southern Africa
PO Box 39163, Lusaka
Zambia

+260 211 263 258

frank@panos.org.zm
fmkayula@yahoo.co.uk

Kazadi

Carine

Young Professional Officer
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 142

kazadi@cta.int

Kebede

Yodit

Junior Consultant
Planning and Strategic
Services Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 145

kebede@cta.int

Keita

Mama
Adama

Journalist
Radio Nationale
BP 4334, Conakry
Guinea

+224 60 28 14 12
/ 64 54 31 87

ananconakry@yahoo.fr

Khadar

Ibrahim

Head of Department
Planning and Strategic
Services Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 159

khadar@cta.int

Kindembe

Kanza Tito

Editor
C retro magazine
39 avenue Houba de
Strooper
1020 Brussels
Belgium

+32 488 602 782

contact@c-retro-actuel.net

Kingamkono

Margaret
Nana

African Farm Radio
Research Initiative
PO Box 105110
Kiko Avenue, Mikocheni,
Plot no. 247/248
Dar es Salaam
Tanzania

+255 784 695 028
+255 222 701 840

margaret.kingamkono@
afrri.net

Kleinbussink

Debbie

Senior Administrative
Assistant
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 150

kleinbussink@cta.int

KodaTraoré

Aboubacar

Programme Co-ordinator
Communication Services
Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 138

koda@cta.int

Kojane

Mogogi

Director of Agricultural
Information and Public
Relations
Ministry of Agriculture
P/Bag 003
Gaborone
Botswana

+2 673 689 475

mkojane@gov.bw

Project Leader
ANOPACI
01 BP 8089 Abidjan 01
Côte d’Ivoire

+2 550 782 928

Kouao

Sylvain

59

skouao@gmail.com

60

Lahmar

Rabah

KASSA project
co-ordinator
CIRAD, Départment
Cultures Annuelles,
Programme Gestion des
Ecosystèmes Cultivés
Avenue Agropolis,
FR-34398, Monpellier
Cedex 5
France

+33 4 6761 5641

LalanneDevlin

Laurence

Consultant
WRENmedia
99 High Street, Wheatley,
Oxford OX33 1XP
United Kingdom

+44 18 65 87 40 03 laurence@lalanne.fsbusiness.co.uk

Lie

Rico

Assistant Professor
Wageningen UR
Department of Communication Science – Communication and Innovation
Studies Group
PO Box 8130, 6700 EW,
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 482 599

Mafi

Ruci

Pacific Way Reporter
Regional Media Centre
SPC
3 Luke Street
Nabua, Suva
Fiji Islands

Makgabo

Tumi

Journalist and Consultant
African Broadcasting and
Media
PO Box 307, Bromhof,
2154
South Africa

+27 82 859 9190

Makowa

Gladson
Elemiya

Manager Media and Communications
Story Workshop Private
Bag 266
Blantyre
Malawi

+265 888 208 130 gladson@africa-online.net
+265 1 821 335/657

Malone

Phil

Director
Countrywise
Communications
103 Main Road, Wilby,
Northants NN8 2UB
United Kingdom

+441 933 272 400

media@countrywise.com

Manda

Levi Zeleza

University of Malawi
P/Bag 303 Chichiri
Blantyre 3
Malawi

+2 659 991 156

lmanda@poly.ac.mw

Mandler

Andreas

Consultant
50122 Florence
Italy

+393 346 194 460

andreas.mandler@googlemail.com

Masianini

Bernadette

Agricultural Information
Officer
SPC/EU Development of
Sustainable Agriculture in
the Pacific
Fiji Islands

+31 20 5688259

berni@connect.com.fj

rabah.lahmar@cirad.fr

Rico.Lie@wur.nl

rucim@spc.int

ronniewhit@wol.co.za

Mbozi

Parkie

Executive Director
PANOS Southern Africa
PO Box 39163, Lusaka
Zambia

+260 21 1 263258

+16 137 613 652

McKay

Blythe

Development
Communication
Co-ordinator
Farm Radio International
1404 Scott Street,
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada

Mdulamizu

Mavuto

AIDA project

parkie@panos.org.zm

+260 978 506 945
bmckay@farmradio.org

mavutomdula@yahoo.com

Université du Malawi
Malawi
Michaud

Hélène

Africa Producer senior
BARN
PO Box 222, Hilversum
The Netherlands

+31356724272

Helene.Michaud@rnw.nl

Mikenga

Samuel

Programme Co-ordinator
Communication Services
Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 101

mikenga@cta.int

MinderhoudJones

Marilyn

Consultant
Benedendorpseweg 1267,
6862 WH, Oosterbeek
The Netherlands

+31263391126

marilynminderhoud@
yahoo.co.uk

Mitchell

Damion

Journalist
Jamaica Gleaner
Newspaper
7 North Street, Kingston
Jamaica

+1 876 773 7474

+31 652 053 495

mitchell.damion@gmail.
com
damion.mitchell@gleanerjm.com

Mongula

Benedict

Professor
Institute of Development
Studies, University of
Dar es Salaam
PO Box 35169, Dar es
Salaam
Tanzania

Fax: +255 22
2410078.

mongula@uccmail.co.tz

Morant

Philippe

Technical Advisor of CEO
Centre Régional AGRHYMET
PO Box 11011, Niamey
Niger

+227 20 31 53 16
(poste 265)

morant@cirad.fr

Morolong

Dr Bantu

University of Botswana
Private Bag UB 00707
Gaborone
Botswana

morolongbl@mopipi.ub.bw

Mowbray

David

Director Africa
+442 075 572 702
BBC World Service Trust
301 NE Bush House, The
Strand, London WC2B 4PH
United Kingdom

david.mowbray@bbc.co.uk

Consultant
+31 30 2443005
Rua Design
Laan van Nieuw Guinea 55
3531 JC, Utrecht
The Netherlands

tony@ruadesign.org

Murray

Tony

61

Narayan

Rita

Radio Producer
+679 3370 733 ext ritan@spc.int
Regional Media Centre
358
SPC
Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji
3 Luke St, Nabua, Suva
Fiji Islands

Ndiaye

Oumy

Head of Department
Communication Services
Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 140

ndiaye@cta.int

N’diaye

Oumar Seck

Chairman of AMARC Africa
and Vice Chairman of
AMARC International
Scat Urbam lot 68
appartement B2 – Dakar
Senegal

+221 77 6779090
+221 77 5531978

oumar_seckndiaye@
yahoo.fr

Neun

Dr Hansjörg

Director
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 131

neun@cta.int

Hambly

Professor
Helen

Associate Professor
School of Environmental
Design & Rural
Development
Capacity Development
and Extension, University
of Guelph, Room 119
Landscape Architecture,
Ontario
Canada

+1 519 824 41 20

hhambly@uoguelph.ca

Odutola

Kole

Instructor
Yoruba, African & Asian
Languages and Literature
Dept
University of Florida,
Gainesville
2601 NW 23rd Blvd. #173
Gainesville, FL 32605
USA

13 522 732 959

Odutola@scils.rutgers.edu

Ogada

Charles
Oduor

Programme Co-ordinator
Ugunja Community
Resource Centre
PO Box 330 – 40606,
Ugunja
Kenya

+225 22 41 65 4
+225 22 41 54 83

charlesogada@swift-mail.
com

Oladele

Professor
O.I.

Professor
Education and Extension
Botswana College of
Agriculture
University of Botswana
P/Bag 0027 Gaborone
Botswana

+26 774 658 247

oladele20002001@yahoo.
com

Paul

Intern
Communication Services
Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 185

62

Onana

+2 673 928 753

onana@cta.int

Ong’an’a

Dr Obiero

Director
Lake Victoria Center for
Research and Development (OSIENALA Friends
of Lake Victoria)
Dunga Beach – Kisumu
PO Box 4580 – 40103
Kisumu
Kenya

+254 572 023 487

goganda@yahoo.co.ke

Onyango

James

Executive director
KAIPPG
PO Box 2448 Kakamega
50100
Kenya

+254 56 641004

kaippg@africaonline.co.ke

Otiendo

Zipora Awuor AIDA project
University of Nairobi,
Faculty of Agriculture,
Department Agricultural
Economics
PO BOX 19301-40113
Kisumu
Kenya

+254 721 848 785

ziplindah@yahoo.com

Otindo

Violet

KBC-CNN Award Winner
K24 Television
3rd Floor, Longonot Place,
Kijabe Street Nairobi
00100
Kenya

+254 2124800/1/2

violet.otindo@K24.co.ke

Ouangraoua

Boukari

Journalist/Development
Communicator/Trainer
Inades Formation Burkina
01 BP 1022
Avenue Conseil De
l’Entente Secteur 9
Ouagadougou
Burkina Faso

+226 50 38 28 29

ouaboukari@yahoo.fr

Ouattara

Fatouma
Sophie

Reporter/Journalist
Edition Sidwaya
01BP 5O7,
Ouagadougou 01
Burkina Faso

+2 270 690 870

Sofifa2@yahoo.fr

Ouattara

Souleymane

Journalist
Jade Productions
01 BP 6624
Ouagadougou
Burkina Faso

Ouédraogo

Roukiattou

Reporter
Burkina – NTIC
09 BP 1170,
Ouagadougou 09
Burkina Faso

+226 76 64 97 42
+226 50 38 82 74

roukiattou@yahoo.fr

Pareti

Samisoni

Senior Writer
Islands Business
International
PO Box 12718, Suva
Fiji Islands

+6 799 930 873

paretis@gmail.com

Executive Director
Farm Radio International
1404 Scott Street,
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada

+16 137 613 652

Perkins

Kevin

souattara@fasonet.bf

63

kperkins@farmradio.org

64

PompigneMognard

Nicolas

Secretary General
African Press Organization
MCM – 1, rue du Grand
Chêne – Case 574, 1001
Lausanne
Switzerland

+41 22 534 96 97

sg@apo-opa.org

Protz

Maria

Co-ordinator for the
Caribbean Communication
for Sustainable
Development Initiative
CARIMAC Caribbean
Box 291 St Anns Bay
Jamaica

+18 768 785 326

mariaprotz@cwjamaica.
com

Raghubir

Nazima

Journalist
TV/CTA Video, Guyana
Press Association,
PRIME NEWS Inc.
302 Church Street,
Queenstown, Georgetown
Guyana

+5 922 317 188
+5 922 371 787

nazimaraghubir@gmail.
com

Rambaldi

Giacomo

Senior Programme
Co-ordinator
Communication Services
Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 174

rambaldi@cta.int

Rampersad Dr
Krishendaye

Media and Literary
Consultant
20 Bedaissie Street,
St Augustine South,
Trinidad and Tobago

+18 683 909 367
+18 687 525 067

krislit2@gmail.com
kriscivica@yahoo.com

Richards

Peter

Journalist
CMC – Caribbean, Radio
TV Internet
28 Turquoise Drive,
Diamond Vale,
Diego Martin
Trinidad and Tobago

+1 868 764 5745

stlucian@tstt.net.tt

Rodgers

Josephine

Director
Countrywise
Communications
103 Main Road, Wilby,
Northants NN8 2UB
United Kingdom

+441 933 272 400

media@countrywise.com

Rodriguez

Merche

Assistant

+31 317 467 163

rodriguez@cta.int

+12 126 559 525
+1610144

dorienne.rowancampbell@
gmail.com

Communication Services
Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands
RowanCampbell

Dorienne

Consultant/organic farmer
Networked Intelligence for
Development
552 Westminster Ave.,
Ottawa, Ontario K2A 2V3
Canada

Ruquet

Robin

Consultant
Glasshouse
25 rue Dauphine, 75006
Paris
France

+33 6 16960597

robin@glasshouse.fr

Salm

Mundie

Co-ordinator and Editor,
Farming Matters
LEISA Magazine, ILEIA
PO Box 2067, 3800 CB,
Amersfoort
The Netherlands

+31 33 467 3878

m.salm@ileia.nl

Sam

Joel

GAINS Co-ordinator
CSIR/INSTI
PO Box M 32, Accra
Ghana

+233 21 76 48 22

egy28@yahoo.co.uk

Sanou

Issouf

Programme Co-ordinator
Fédération Nationale des
Organisations Paysannes
(FENOP)
09 BP 977 –
Ouagadougou 09
Burkina Faso

+226 76 60 90 52

sissoufou1@yahoo.fr

Sarakikya

Langa

Professor
Institute of Development
Studies, University of
Dar es Salaam
PO Box 35169,
Dar es Salaam
Tanzania

Fax: +255 22
2410078

langasarakikya@googlemail.com

Schaap

Mirjam

Web-supported Communication and Learning
Wageningen UR
PO Box 88, 6700 AB,
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 481 408

mirjam.schaap@wur.nl

Singh

Ranbeer

Journalist
Fiji Television Limited
PO Box 5511, Lautoka
Fiji Islands

+6 796 665 444
+6 799 990 233

rsingh@fijitv.com.fj
ranbeer_singh@hotmail.
com

Singh

Sunil Kumar

Course Development
Assistant
The University of the
South Pacific
Private Mail Bag
Laucala Bay Road
Suva
Fiji Islands

+6 799 045 758

singh_su@usp.ac.fj

Sluijs

Jacqueline

Sociologist
KIT
Postbus 95001
1090 HA, Amsterdam
The Netherlands

+31 20 5688259

j.sluijs@kit.nl

Solervicens

Marcelo

Secretary General
AMARC
705 Bourget, suite 100,
H4C 2M6 Montréal
(Quebec)
Canada

secgen@si.amarc.org

65

66

de Sousa

Raul Bruno

Executive Board
c/o Secretary to the
Executive Board, CTA

+351 21365 3427

brunosousa@isa.utl.pt

Songa

Dr Wilson A.

Chairman of CTA
Executive Board
c/o Secretary to the
Executive Board, CTA

+254 202 718 870

wsonga@africaonline.
co.ke

Springer

Dr Eugenia

Director
ES Productions
98 Eastern Main Road,
Suite #1, Tunapuna
Trinidad and Tobago

+868 663 6009

dreugenia.springer@
gmail.com

Stepman

François

Communications and
+233 21 772823
Public Awareness Specialist
FARA
PMB CT 173 Cantonments,
Accra
Forum for Agricultural
Research in Africa,
Ghana

fstepman@fara-africa.org

Tadegnon

Noel Kokou

Journalist
De Reuters
S/C Maison de la Presse
Tokoin Trésor, Lomé
01 BP 2539
Togo

+228 905 38 35
+228 225 50 03
+228 225 03 50

tadenoe@yahoo.fr

Talatala

Hon.
Blondeau
Talatala

Member of Parliament of
Cameroon – Co-ordinator
of UNGC-REPADER
BP 3410 Yaoundé
Cameroon

+237 994 84 48

btalatala@yahoo.com

Tavares

Teresa
Fernandes
Pereira da
Veiga

AIDA project
Centre Regional AGRHYMET, CILSS,
PO Box 11011, Niamey
Niger

Teyssier

Laurent

Consultant
Glasshouse
25 rue Dauphine, 75006
Paris
France

Thomas

Larry

Co-ordinator
Regional Media Centre
SPC
3 Luke Street, Nabua,
Suva
Fiji Islands

Thorp

Susanna

Director
WRENmedia
Gulls Green, Fressingfield,
Eye, Suffolk IP21 5SA
United Kingdom

+441 379 586 787

s.thorp@wrenmedia.co.uk

Tollens

Professor
Eric

Executive Board of CTA
c/o Secretary to the
Executive Board, CTA

+32 16321616/
1614

eric.tollens@biw.kuleuven.
be

tavarest_1@yahoo.com.br

+33 6 16960597

larryt@spc.int

Treinen

Sophie

Knowledge Management
Officer
FAO Knowledge Exchange
and Capacity-building
Division
Viale delle Terme di
Caracalla, 00153 Rome,
Italy
Room A111 int
Italy

+39 06 5705 4297

Sophie.Treinen@fao.org

Ulakai

Viola

Journalist
Tonga Broadcasting and
Television Corporation
PO Box 36
Nuku’alofa
Kingdom of Tonga

+676 23 555

violavlaka@yahoo.com

Van Mele

Dr Paul

Program Leader, Learning
& Innovation Systems
Africa Rice Center
(AfricaRice)
01 BP 2031, Cotonou
Benin

+229 21 35 01 88

p.vanmele@cgiar.org

Van Velden Annelies

Programme Manager
Voices of Africa Media
Foundation
Jansweg 42-E, 1011 KN,
Haarlem
The Netherlands

+31 235 428 366

annelies@voamf.org

Vos

Edwin

Vice-chairman of CTA
Executive Board
c/o Secretary to the
Executive Board, CTA

+33 603 321 808

edwin.a.vos@gmail.com

Vos

Dr Janny

Business Development
Manager Europe
CABI Nederland
Kastanjelaan 5 , 3833 AN,
Leusden
The Netherlands

+31 33 432 1031

j.vos@cabi.org

Vugayabagabo

André

Senior Programme
Co-ordinator
Communication Services
Department
CTA
PO Box 380, 6700 AJ
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 467 158

vuga@cta.int

Waigwa

Michael

Agricultural Underwriter
The Co-operative
Insurance Company
of Kenya Ltd
CIC Plaza, Mara Road,
Upper Hill,
PO Box 59485-00200,
Nairobi
Kenya

+254 202 823 106

michael.waigwa@cic.co.ke

Senior Advisor
Communication for
Development
PANOS London
9 White Lion Street,
London N1 9PD
United Kingdom

+44 20 7239 7603

Warnock

Kitty

67
kitty.warnock@panos.org.
uk

Werner

Sandra

Journalist
Radio Kankan
41 Rue James Ensor,
1070 Anderlecht, Brussels
Belgium

+32 4 71192333

sandra.werner@vision-s.
org

Witteveen

Loes

Professor
Van Hall Larenstein,
University of Applied
Sciences
PO Box 411, 6700 AK
Wageningen
The Netherlands

+31 317 486 301

loes.witteveen@wur.nl

Journalist
C retro magazine
39 avenue Houba de
Strooper
1020 Brussels
Belgium

+32 488 602 782

contact@c-retro-actuel.net

YalalaewaBonkele

68

Yoda

Françoise
Bibiane

President
Association Pugwisenga
09 BP 359
Ouagadougou 09
Burkina Faso

+226 70 10 03 78

frbibiane@gmail.com

Yordy

Christopher

Consultant
Community Development
Service (Egypt)
c/o 1011 Kenning Place
Elmira/Ontario/N3B2Z1
Canada

+20 19 50 87 456

chris.yordy@gmail.com

Zangrond

Fenny
Adeline

Journalist
Suriname Newspaper
Malebatrumstraat 7-9,
Paramaribo
Suriname

+597 472 823

fennyvd@yahoo.com

Zulu

Brenda

Journalist
c/o MISA Zambia
PO Box 32295,
Plot No. A343 Mandevu,
Lusaka
Zambia

+260 977 891 431

brendazulu2002@gmail.
com

6.3 25th Anniversary
CTA’s 25th Anniversary
Palais des Colonies in Tervuren, Brussels
14 October 2009
18:00–21:30

Programme
Official opening ceremony
	Master of Ceremonies:
	
HE Mrs Marcia Yvette Gilbert-Roberts, Ambassador of Jamaica

Speeches
	

Dr Wilson Songa, President of CTA’s Executive Board

	
	

HE Dr Mrs Brave R. Ndisale, Co-President, ACP Committee of Ambassadors ACP-EC,
Ambassador of Malawi to the EU

Musical interlude

	Mr Ola Sohlström, Second Secretary, on behalf of HE M. C. Danielsson, Co-President, 			
EU Committee of Ambassadors ACP-EC, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom 			
of Sweden to the EU
	Mr Luis Riera Figueras, Director, European Commission DG Development, 				
Environment and Rural Development

Musical interlude

	HE Ambassador Olukorede Willoughby, on behalf of Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, 			
Chief Executive Officer, NEPAD
	

Dr Hansjörg Neun, CTA Director

Dinner

Testimonials
Introduction of the CTA Media Awards 2009 by Mrs Judith Francis, CTA
	

Presentation of Media Awards for Journalism

	

Presentation of Media Awards for Community Communication Projects

Vote of thanks by Dr Hansjörg Neun

69

6.4 Media Award Winners
Best Journalism Award
Best Community Communication Award

And the Winners Are…
After months of planning, calls for
consultants, for nominees, and
finally for clarification, the winners of the CTA Journalism and
Community Media Awards were
announced during CTA’s 25th Anniversary Ceremony Celebration.
Out of a total of 105 entries and an
eventual shortlist of 14, the final
six names were called.

Category A:
Journalism
Journalism published or broadcast through print, radio, TV or
online outlets

Category B:
Community communications process

Front (l-r): Modeste Shabani bin
Sweni, Gladson Makowa

Community-level communication
projects (any medium)

— 1st prize —
Aaron Kaah (Cameroon)
Plant a Tree, Save a Bee

— 2nd prize —
Rev. Nason Baluku (Uganda)
Banana wilt campaign

— 3rd prize —
Modeste Shabani bin Sweni
(Democratic Republic of Congo)
Sauti ya Mkaaji

— 1st prize —
Gladson Makowa (Malawi)

— 2nd prize —

local or community level – raising
awareness or creating a debate,
sharing important information
or contributing to change. Topics included agriculture or related
environmental, social, political or
economic topics.
Category B, Community-level communication projects, sought initiatives that have used participatory
communication (through any medium, including face-to-face communication) to strengthen communities’ agriculture
or their capacity to
manage related issues such as natural
resources.

Colleen Dardagan (South Africa)

The Awards

— 3rd prize —

First prize in each
category: €2,500 and
a 2-week opportunity for training, study
or research (location and terms to be
agreed between CTA
and the winner).

Rambeer Singh (Fiji Islands)

Rev Nason Baluku, Aaron Kaah,
Modeste Shabani bin Sweni

More about
the competition

70

Back (l-r): Ranbeer Singh,
Rev Nason Baluku, Colleen Dardagan
and Aaron Kaah

Winners of the award for journalism (l-r): Rambeer Singh,
Gladson Makowa and Colleen
Dardagan

The competition, managed by
Panos London, was open to professional and non-professional
journalists, media houses and
community-level communication
projects from ACP countries. A
panel of judges comprising representatives from Africa, Europe,
the Caribbean and the Pacific was
convened to judge the shortlisted
entries.

Second prize in each category:
€1,500 and a 2-week training,
study or research opportunity as
above.
Third prize in each
category: €500 and
a 2-week training,
study or research
opportunity as
above.
All three winners in
both categories also
participated in the CTA
seminar in Brussels (all
costs covered).

For Category A, Journalism, the
competition looked for journalism
that has had an impact at national,
The award which was specially
designed for the CTA.

6.5 More about the Media Award Winners
Winners – Journalism Award

Gladson Makowa

Colleen Dardagan

Ranbeer Singh

I was born from a father who
was a Field Agriculture Extension
Assistant on 10 September 1974
in Lilongwe in a family of seven
children, two boys and five girls.
I learnt many farming technologies from him. Because I never
liked farming, he encouraged me
to work hard in class to avoid becoming one of the local farmers.

Born on a farm in the Eastern Cape
region of South Africa in 1958, I
have loved to write since my school
days. Married young and with two
daughters, it was only in my later
years that my dream to become a
journalist was finally realised.

I was born in Lautoka, the second
City in Fiji Islands in 1977. My late
father worked for the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji, at the Nadi
International Airport as a communicator, while my mother stayed
at home. Both my late father and
mother’s parents came to Fiji from
Punjab, India in the 1930s.

Due to limited places at government secondary schools, I went
to Malawi Correspondence Distance Education (MCDE) centre
and finished secondary education
at Dedza Night Secondary School.
I was selected to the University of
Malawi, Chancellor College where
I did my Bachelor of Education in
Humanities from January 1995 to
1999.
I worked part-time at the Story
Workshop as a researcher and radio drama script writer while still
at University from 1997. Having
majored in geography (environmental studies, rural development
and urban studies) and because of
my knowledge of agricultural issues I became an Agricultural Programmes Production Researcher
soon after graduating. Ms Pamela
Brooke, the American owner of
Story Workshop, had registered
it as a non-governmental media
organisation. With assistance from
Pamela, I conceptualised the format of Mwana Alirenji (food selfsufficiency) to make farming easier
and more interesting.

Ten years ago I was employed as
an editor for a tabloid industrial
publication, which focused primarily on the manufacturing sectors
in KwaZulu-Natal, a province on
the eastern seaboard of South
Africa. Five years ago I was employed as a business reporter at
the 157-year-old newspaper The
Mercury, the main morning newspaper in KwaZulu-Natal, headquartered in the port city of Durban.
For the past 4 years, one of my
specific responsibilities has been
the issue of post-apartheid-era
land-reform policies and their
impact on food security and the
economy of the region.

I am the second eldest in my family of five: two brothers, one sister
and parents. My elder brother is a
sports reporter with the Fiji Times,
while my sister is a high school
teacher.
I started my journalism career
soon after leaving high school in
early 1996, as a cadet sports reporter with Fiji’s Daily Post. I was
offered the position after I had met
the Editor of the newspaper during
a rugby match in Nadi, when he
asked me if I would be interested
in covering sports events at the
weekends. I was offered a fulltime position the following year
and I was based at the company
head office in Suva, Fiji’s capital
city.
I was transferred to Lautoka in
mid-1998 and remained with the
company for a few more months
before I received an offer from the
Fiji Times for a similar position. I
was employed at the Fiji Times for
4 years, covering both sports and
news events.
I received an employment offer from Fiji Television Limited in

71

2003. I made the jump to TV in
March 2003, and have been based
at the Lautoka office since then. I
am the sole reporter based at the
office, and work with two cameramen. Our work involves covering
news and current affairs activities
for the entire western division of

Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, which
comprises one city, five towns and
a township. The total population
in this division is approximately
250,000.

news and current affairs, both local and overseas, outdoor activities such as gardening and going
to the beach. I am married.

My hobbies include travelling,
meeting people, watching sports,

Winners – Best Community Media
“Plant a Tree,
Save a Bee”
Aaron Kaah – Cameroon
“Plant a Tree, Save a Bee” is a radio programme that encourages
fruit and honey tree nurseries,
transplanting, conservation and
protection. These trees include
species such as Acacia, Calliandra,
Schefflera, manni croton and other tropical trees such as Prunus
africana and shrubs that provide
nectar for bees as a means of increasing honey production for the
150,000 inhabitants of the slopes
of the Kilum/Ijim mountain forest in Bui Division of north-west
Cameroon.
The weekly programmes, featuring
dramas, debates, spots, roundtable discussions, field interviews,
radio quizzes and monthly meetings with farmers’ groups, advocate and promote bee farming in
a bid to improve the pollination
of food crops, as honey bees are
pollinators for many food crops in
the area.
By effectively integrating honey
bees into the various agroforestry schemes in the Oku area, the

72

project has become a live wire for
farmers, especially the women and
youths who have eagerly involved
themselves in agroforestry, bee
farming, wood carving, honeyprocessing techniques, and the
conservation and protection of
their environment. This engagement has led to an improvement
in forest protection, production of
honey and crop yields in the Oku
area. The recommendation of sustainable strategies via the radio,
and the institutionalisation of the
villages into community forest
zones, have involved some opinion-leaders, and the expertise of
local forest extension workers and
some external NGOs to keep the
project afloat. To date, the ‘Plant a
Tree, Save a Bee’ project has produced over 126 bulletins with the
technical support of the Oku honey cooperative society. With over
60% of farmers having access to
radio sets, the future of the project
and that of the Okus, their forest
and environment is bright.

SATNET (SUSTAINABLE
AGRICULTURE TRAINERS’
NETWORK) BANANA
BACTERIAL WILT
CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
2008)
Rev. Nason Baluku,
Uganda
SATNET (Sustainable Agriculture
Trainers Network) is a network of
community-based organisations,
NGOs and faith-based organisations aiming to promote food
security at household level and
promoting household economic
empowerment through training
farmers about modern agricultural
methodologies.
The Rwenzori region is comprised
of five districts: Bundibugyo,
Kabarole, Kasese, Kamwengye
and Kyenjojo districts, in western
Uganda. The region is named after Rwenzori Mountain, which is
the second highest mountain in
Africa.
There was a need to address the
effect of banana bacterial wilt on
banana plantations in the Rwenzori
region. In January 2008, SATNET

member organisations organised a
symposium through which methods to fight banana bacterial wilt
were developed. The symposium
brought together stakeholders at
national, regional and local levels.
The content was based on knowledge from research institutions
on how the disease spreads and
what needed to be done to prevent its future spread. Task forces were established at all levels
of leadership, different materials
were developed and translated in
various languages, and local community/farmer training was organised by various local authorities.
The use of radio to communicate
to farmers contributed much to
the campaign against the spread
of banana bacterial wilt. Community meetings and the involvement
of farmers in causing awareness
have greatly contributed to eliminating this disease in most parts
of the region.
The Rwenzori region, in the western part of the Uganda, is in the
most fertile land of the country,
where much of the banana production had been affected. Having applied all the methods recommended by the researchers,
banana bacterial wilt has been
controlled in this region. Both men
and women are fully aware of the
disease, and the whole community
has doubled its efforts in both conserving the environment through
practical soil conservation, and being sensitive about any pest that
can encroach on their crops.

Radio Sauti ya Mkaaji
Modeste Shabani
bin Sweni,
Democratic Republic
of Congo
This project on creating awareness for rural self-promotion covered two areas of Sud Maniema:
Kasongo and Kabambare. It was
created and implemented by Radio
Sauti ya Mkaaji, a community radio station based in Kasongo with
funding from the United Nations
Development Programme’s Unit
for Community Recovery (UNDP/
COMREC). The area has a population of 900,000, who depend mainly on agriculture. Like the other
regions of DRC, Sud Maniema has
suffered badly from the wars with
all-round harmful consequences,
thus plunging the local population
into great poverty.
The overall objective of the project
was to make the people of Sud
Maniema more amenable to rural
self-promotion, and specifically to
contribute to reducing the food crisis by increasing agricultural production in the region and to train
moderators of radio Sauti ya Mkaaji radio clubs or listener groups on
rural self-promotion through farming, cropping techniques, rural
activities and micro-programme
production techniques.

Eighty radio club facilitators were
trained, including 27 women. As
part of the rural self-promotion
efforts, 225 radio club facilitators
were trained (87 women), with
costs covered by the radio clubs
themselves.
In addition to radio broadcasts,
awareness building and extension
activities also included cropping
techniques, which the network of
radio clubs carried out through
door-to door and village-to-village
contacts.
Now, in each village there are between one and 10 or even more
farmers’ or fishers’ groups and
committees […] to work the fields
or make fish ponds, build brick
houses, buy household goods, provide schooling for war orphans […]
thus making a very effective contribution to improving their living
conditions. Moreover, this has led
to the creation of an association
dedicated to rural self-promotion.

A 3-month project was carried
out. Afterwards, the radio had to
extend it by producing and broadcasting programmes composed of
testimonies on the success of various farm groups; the fight against
the food crisis became a permanent, cross-cutting theme at Radio
Sauti ya Mkaaji.

73

6.6 A long road, but well worth it
Panos London won the market consultation to manage the Awards.
In consultation with CTA staff and
members of the seminar steering
committee, Panos wrote the competition announcement, terms
and conditions for two categories
of entry – Category A, Journalism
and Category B, Community communication projects.
The announcement was posted
on the Communication Initiative
website on 2 August, and was the
top item in issue 504 of the Communication Initiative’s Drumbeat
electronic magazine on 10 August.
It was also disseminated by e-mail
through the Panos Institutes in
London and the ACP regions, and
to CTA contacts. Panos drew up
criteria for the judges, and members of the seminar steering committee suggested names of possible candidates.
By the 1 September deadline, 105
entries had been received in Category A, Journalism.
15 entries were received for Category B, Community communication projects. Of these, two were
from the Pacific and the rest from
Africa. Five were in French (33%),
10 in English.

Entries for the journalism media award
(Total= 105 entries)
Print
By media

Television
Africa
By ACP region

74

Caribbean
Pacific

By gender

Women
Men

By language

English
French
Percentage (%) 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Entries for the community communication project award
(Total= 15 entries)

English

Per language

Panos developed templates for
scoring and reviewed all the entries to compile shortlists of eight
entries in Category A and five in
Category B. All shortlisted candidates were invited to participate in
the Brussels seminar.
The shortlisted entries were translated and sent to the judges,
mainly electronically, along with
the scoring templates. During a
conference call chaired by the consultant, the five judges selected
the final list of three winners in
each category, and the names of
the winners were communicated
to CTA.

Radio or Multimedia

French

Africa

Per ACP region

Pacific

Percentage (%) 0

10

20

All six winners were invited to attend the Seminar. The names of
the winners were not released until the presentation of the awards
during the 25th anniversary celebrations on 14 October.

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

CTA takes this opportunity to thank
the co-ordinators and the judges,
and to congratulate the winners on
their well deserved achievement.

6.7 Articles from the pre-seminar blog
1. Introduction
Are the media contributing
to rural development?
Marilyn Minderhoud

2

The simple answer, of course, is
often, no. At least, if you confine
yourself to the conclusions of the
lengthy reports and articles pointing to the professional and technical weakness of the media in
ACP countries. But such conclusions overlook the reality of those
journalists and media practitioners who have left their city desks
to report and broadcast stories
of agricultural life from small rural centres and community radio
stations. They also overlook the
efforts being made within civil society, international agencies and
pubic organisations to strengthen
media capacity in ACP countries.
Yet it cannot be denied. The column
inches in the national press devoted to issues that help and guide
farmers in no way compare to the
page-long reports on crime, celebrity activity and government news.
And the endless music broadcast
on local radio? Well that’s simply
the result of programme makers
having no other material.
Power failures, unstable equipment, expensive internet connections, unreliable transport, poor
salaries and the interventions of
unsympathetic editorial boards
and commercial sponsors determine how effectively ACP media
practitioners can contribute to the
development process.
CTA recognises these constraints,
as well as the crippling affects
that war, civil conflict and political dictatorship can have on the
capacity of the media to contrib-

ute to development. Lobbying for
the rights of journalists to provide
factual and critical comment on rural affairs is essential. CTA’s own
strategy focuses on encouraging
the professional and technical development of ACP media while ensuring that materials essential for
ARD reach those policy-makers,
trainers and agricultural practitioners who determine the course of
development.
Legislation and regulatory frameworks supporting an open and
public media are needed to ensure
all stakeholders contribute to the
development debate. This alone
is not enough. Media practitioners
must be trained in innovative and
development-oriented approaches
to information collection and dissemination, so they can work with
rural communities to generate content and ideas. Listening groups,
citizen journalists, farmer video
as well as community radio and
community press are among the
ways in which increasing numbers
of rural communities are accessing information and getting their
voices heard.
Journalists who are concerned
with agricultural and environmental issues are often at the
forefront of these developments.
However, more could be done to
enable them to benefit from the
experiences of other like-minded
media professionals. Contact and
exchange through formal associations, as well as websites, blogs
and other forms of digital networking, enable journalists and broadcasters concerned with analysing and assessing the impacts of
globalisation, climate change and
food security to access and verify
information.

2
Marilyn Minderhoud first came into contact with the problems of agricultural
development when she worked in the History Department of the University
of Zambia. Much of the Department’s research and teaching centred on land
and livelihood issues, and these have been recurrent themes throughout
her career. In particular, the years she spent documenting and publishing
the experiences of small-scale farmers as editor of LEISA magazine and the
Biotechnology Monitor made it clear that development-oriented journalists
and editors face serious problems in trying to reach rural communities and
provide farming households with the knowledge they need to improve rural
livelihoods.

Challenges and opportunities for
development-oriented reporting
vary from one ACP country to the
next. Recent international agreements encouraging the development of independent and pluralistic media and stressing the need
for freedom of expression have
tried to provide guidelines for media development. However, at the
regional and international levels,
media development attracts little
attention. Critics suggest that past
investments in small-scale, ad hoc
projects by donor agencies have
had little impact. Often unrelated
to local needs, they could not be
sustained when funding came to
an end, and efforts to scale-up
potentially promising interventions
have been hindered by the lack of
collaboration between projects.
Can anything be learned from
these interventions? Do they provide insights into how new media,
for example, can change the way
poor rural communities consume
information? Are there examples
of innovative approaches that facilitate the use of radio, mobile
telephony and the internet? Are
ICTs facilitating networking and
cooperation among farmers?

Summary
In the Pacific, lack of funding,
training and supportive ICTs
hinders the flow of critical information between researchers,
media practitioners and farmers. In many African countries,
poor media access in rural communities, and journalists and
broadcasters who do not have
the means to reach rural villages, have led to poor coverage of
local realities.
By linking rural farming and
fishing communities, the media
can stimulate the flow of information and ideas and create
an environment that enables
appropriate and effective rural
development. ICTs have a strategic role to play in this process,

75

both by empowering the media
and by encouraging rural communities to contribute their own
news, opinions and knowledge
to a digital audience.
The approach and judgement
of journalists, broadcasters
and webmasters was called into
question by a contributor from
the Caribbean. Training was
needed to enable journalists to
approach rural development issues in a more holistic way and
to ensure they recognised the
importance of reporting on agricultural practices that mitigated
the impact of ecological and climate change.

2. Media and
new technologies
Ibbo Daddy Abdoulaye

3

“It is not only a matter of giving
fish or teaching someone how to
fish, questions also need to be
asked about what to do with the
catch ...”

76

Useful information, at the right
time, for the people who need it
most, i.e. the peoples of Africa,
Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean,
the Pacific and Oceania ... most of
them are poor and live in remote
or landlocked rural areas, where
the traditional channels of communication are scarce. This situation has always been a problem for
development officers. Wind, sun,
satellites, cell phones, computers,
radio, television – there has never
been a better time than now, in
this era of abundant technologies
and resources. Phenomenal results
are being obtained from equipment that is becoming increasingly efficient, practical and often
less expensive, in other words a
“marriage of reason” is occurring
in areas vital to underendowed
populations, e.g. food and nutritional security, human and animal
health, protection of the environment and natural resources, bringing about considerable change in
the media landscape. These results can be traced to contents
(access to a worldwide information
network, speed of data transmission, etc.) as well as to the mode
of dissemination (digital chains,

satellite, radio, television, online
newspapers, archiving, etc.).
Judge for yourself: in India, video conferences are used to allow
farmers, who do not know each
other and who live thousands of
miles apart, but suffer the same
trials and tribulations, to meet,
share their viewpoints and explain
their problems to a community of
research scientists who, otherwise,
would be unable to grasp such a
large range of problems. This case
goes beyond sight and sound responses, it goes to the farmers’
urgent problems. It illustrates all
the possibilities that new technologies can offer to make communications more fluid and improve
interactions between agricultural
specialists, who are usually based
in the cities, and farmers, who
are miles apart. This experience
is instructive from all angles. It not
only offers us better coverage and
better impact, it also allows the
experts to make their analyses and
give the most appropriate advice
by closely examining the samples
brought in by the farmers.
In Niger, a wise “marriage” of community radio and internet enabled
the marginalised communities to
emerge from their isolation and to
download data stored in a common orbital attic and fed by the
development community, as well
as to produce programmes (especially on AIDS awareness and
preventive measures) and provide
distance learning (literacy training,
agriculture, etc.).
In Indonesia and the tsunami
zones, a simple cell phone is used
for receiving and sending risk and
warning messages and all other
useful and practical information
from everywhere, at all times and
under all conditions. Elsewhere,
being able to read maps on fodder
or resources enables local popula-

3

tions to go straight to the target,
or to be able to interpret forthcoming events on the basis of a combination of empirical knowledge,
scientific tools and facts.
These examples are nothing
more than illustrations, of course.
Around the world there are interesting and innovative initiatives
under way to convey information
ever faster, ever further and ever
less expensively to the people who
need it most. Incredible. Since this
wealth of tools is paving the way
to media expansion and better circulation of information and ideas,
and hence is serving as a catalyst
for economic and social development, why is it taking so long to
get things going? Why is it so difficult to replicate an Indian subcontinent model in sub-Saharan
Africa? Why is poverty growing,
instead of shrinking?
Some people blame the lack of
information, or lack of access to
information, on time-tested technologies, but we have to be careful
not to throw the baby out with the
bathwater. A poor artisan will always complain about his tools. The
question is, how many of the final
users know how to use and care
for tools that are often placed at
their disposal free of charge? And
what can we say about the relevance of the contents, which very
often have not been designed for
“off-the-rack” use? This does not
get the State, the funders or the
NGOs off the hook, for they very
often are the ones who installed
the technological tools without any
pre-studies, or capacity-building
efforts for the beneficiary populations ... walking off without saying a word about maintenance or
spare parts. In the field of technology, just like the field of development, the wise old saying still
applies: “It is not only a matter

An accomplished professional with over 18 years’ experience in the field of
journalism and communications, Ibbo Daddy Abdoulaye has a broad background in strategic communications for development. As Director of a communications agency that produces the magazine Les Echos du Sahel, he leads
a small team to increase the sahelian rural communities’ visibility, and to capture and convey stories about their needs and challenges and the importance
of agriculture and rural development in the development priorities. An awardwinning and investigative journalist, generally interested in complex stories or
those neglected by mainstream media organisations, Ibbo Daddy Abdoulaye
is primarily focused on development issues in the Sahel, and is committed to
providing the vital information and news that affect people’s lives.

of giving fish or teaching someone
to fish, questions also need to be
asked about what to do with the
catch...”

Summary
A contributor working for a large
Kenyan NGO raised a serious
question this week when she
queried the wisdom of introducing expensive communication technology in areas dominated by small-scale farming
communities. She pointed out
that the introduction of such
technology in places where it
was not a priority meant added
expense and responsibility, and
this could lead to less money
and manpower being available
for more essential activities. To
what extent is this experience
true of other ACP regions, and
are there positive examples of
ICTs being introduced in such
sustainable and effective ways
that they can provide support to
even the poorest rural household?

3. Media impact
Catching the imagination
– farm programmes that
change lives
Michael Waigwa

4

During the 1990s, in my primary
and high school years, one programme on national radio stood
out. “Tembea na Majira” – loosely
translated as “Walk with the Seasons”. Tembea na Majira was an
interactive Swahili play with hilarious, down-to-earth characters
that depicted the happenings in
an average village. It had several
themes, most of which revolved
around best farming practices to
boost food production; malaria
and HIV Aids control; and retrogressive cultural practices such as
wife inheritance and female genital
manipulation. It was a programme
I couldn’t afford to miss, especially
because of its emphasis on farming as a business that rural households could use to escape poverty.
The programme excited my interest in agriculture, and we often
applied what we heard on our family farm (e.g. use of maize varieties appropriate for our area, crop
spacing). This culminated in my
studying agriculture in high school
through to university. Over time,
the programme went off air, and
being a public good, it meant that
only the government was keen to
fund it. The collapse of the public
agricultural extension programmes
in the 1990s spelled doom for our
ability to produce competitively, as
new skills were not being imparted
to farmers. Using the media as
a distribution channel for agricultural information removes the high
administrative costs associated
with conventional extension programmes. Radio remains the most

accessible medium for the majority of farmers as it is affordable
and does not require the extensive
electrical network needed to support TV. Radios are also portable
and programmes can now be accessed via mobile phones. The
Kenyan Government – through
the national broadcaster KBC –
has started radio programmes to
educate farmers using vernacular
languages. These are targeting the
production of staple foods, mainly
maize, necessary to attain food
security. Farmers in different regions are advised on when, how
and what varieties of crop to plant.
This effort is an attempt by government to avert recurring food and
water crises. Fortunately, the proliferation of vernacular FM stations
in recent years has brought great
opportunities within the reach of
farmers at all levels, even uneducated rural folk. These stations
have come up with very effective
programmes that speak directly
to farmers. The programmes are
very popular and have increased
radio listenership. An example of
such a programme is “Mugambo
wa Murimi” which loosely translates as the “Voice of the Farmer”.
This morning programme engages agricultural specialists who are
interviewed on air by listeners
through phone calls. I wouldn’t
miss catching up on developments
in my field while fighting the traffic
to get to work. Experts are invited
in response to callers’ requests for
information. These specialists are
mainly drawn from leading agroinput companies, who in turn
sponsor such programmes. This
type of sponsorship is motivated
by the desire to drive sales, and
thus may not be geared to sharing
the much broader range of agricultural information needed by the
majority of rural folks. Overall, the
media have not come out well in

4
Michael Waigwa (28) was born in Laikipia, a village in one of the driest parts
of Kenya, and grew up among families for whom life was a continual struggle.
As the weather became increasingly unreliable and rivers dried out, he saw
livelihood opportunities decline and came to realise that these environmental
changes had wider implications. Determined to understand and alleviate these
conditions, he decided to study agriculture at the University of Nairobi. There
– as Chairman of the Agricultural Students Association – he established an
outreach and extension programme so students could share their knowledge
with farmers. He also became involved in several national and international
forums that aimed to stimulate the interest of youth in agriculture. Today he
works as an agricultural underwriter for the Co-operative Insurance Company
of Kenya Ltd.

77

championing agricultural entrepreneurship. However, there is a
strong case for the media to contribute towards the realisation of
food security and the growth of incomes in rural areas. Sponsors are
needed to increase the number of
quality programmes on radio and
TV. The government alone is not
able to address all segments of the
market, so there is an urgent need
for private–public participation.

Summary
What is the role of the media in
extension? This was the question raised by a contributor
from Nigeria, who pointed out
that low pay and lack of training
were hampering the effectiveness of agricultural extension in
his country. It would be interesting to hear from others involved
in ACP extension services what
they think the role of the media should be in supporting ARD
activities.
On another note, the positive
impact that well packaged and
targeted agricultural radio programmes can have in encouraging young people to enter
the agricultural sector was confirmed by a contributor from
Niger. His experience was similar
to that of Michael Waigwa, and
suggests that those concerned
with agricultural development
should intensify their efforts to
use the media to reach young
listeners and viewers.

4. Political and corporate
interests
The struggle for media
professionalisation in
Kenya is a rural
development issue
Aghan Daniel

5

Poor pay makes journalists, editors and media house directors
vulnerable to bribes and biased
reporting that favours (potential)
sponsors, advertisers and investors more interested in the urban
economy than rural development.
Meanwhile, in the rural areas crime
and politics continue to dominate
the headlines.
A leading Kenyan newspaper pays
Ksh1500 (€12) for a one-page feature. Some journalists earn just
Ksh6000 (€50) a month, with no
provision for pension or sickness.
Worse still, “well paying” media
houses still use a ruler to measure stories, and news stories often
earn as little as Ksh300 (€2.50).
This makes it difficult for journalists to be impartial and balanced
in their reporting and refuse the
Ksh2000 (€18) offered by politicians wanting favourable press
coverage. Such journalists have
little incentive to report on rural
poverty. After all, poor farmers
have little extra to offer.
City-based manufacturers and
industrialists control the media,
and although much of their profit
is based on the labour of the rural
poor, it is business not rural development that pays. The media
and media publicity have become
essential for the continued prosperity of the urban elite.

nored in the newsroom? Many
media houses are no longer concerned with the business of informing and educating their audience. Rather, they have become
cash cows whose main objective
is to make profit for their owners.
Journalists working under such
conditions find it increasingly difficult to maintain their objectivity
and – knowing that it is income
from urban sponsors and advertisers that keeps them in business
– do not push stories dealing with
the problems of the impoverished
rural sector unless a bribe is involved.
The proliferation of media houses,
poor supervision by the formal
watchdogs, and a lack of interest
in building a career in journalism,
together with greed and materialism, have made it difficult for journalists to maintain standards and
ethics in their profession. Many
journalists are on the payroll of
business, government and political interest groups who want to
get news syndicated and planted
in the media.
Little wonder, then, that journalists have become cash-for-story
agents. Some journalists are simply unaware of what constitutes
minimum standards of conduct
and professionalism, and have little understanding of rural development issues. Increased emoluments for journalists will make
them less susceptible to bribes,
but this will not necessarily improve the coverage of rural issues.
The media are largely profit driven
and focused on the interests of a
predominantly urban audience.
More rural development stories are
unlikely to increase readership or
listener demand.

Can journalists be expected to
maintain ethics if these are ig-

78

5
Aghan Daniel possesses a wealth of experience as a contributor to major
local and international media specialising in agriculture, health, environment
and development reporting. He is a regular contributor to newspapers based
in Tanzania and Kenya on agriculture and development issues. He began
writing on science issues 12 years ago by contributing to local newspapers in
Kenya as a correspondent. His career spans spells at the regional weekly The
East African (a Nation Media Group publication) and The Daily Nation. Before
helping to found Media for Environment Science Health and Agriculture (MESHA),
which is an association of science journalists in Kenya, he worked for 5 years
at the Biotechnology Trust Africa – a regional NGO – as Information Officer.
For the past 3 years he has been coordinating MESHA activities, where he
writes and edits the organisation’s website on agricultural issues. He also
trains journalists on documenting and writing about agricultural issues.

How can this situation be rectified? First, we have to look at the
calibre and background of those
who call themselves journalists.
In Kenya, we often make cynical
jokes about the fact that few citybased journalists ever think about
the crucial role of rural journalism
because they have no experience
of rural life, and have been trained
exclusively in urban institutes and
media houses.
We need programmes to sensitise
journalists on rural development
and the effective reporting of agricultural issues. But to be successful, journalists need to publish or broadcast their stories. It is
therefore essential that specialised
media outlets are established in
the rural areas to deal with agricultural and development issues.
Such services would ensure the
timely collection and appropriate
packaging of relevant information. Efficiently disseminated, this
information would help strengthen
networks of information exchange
and involve rural communities
more closely in identifying local
concerns. As commercial sources
are unlikely to fund such development, financial support will be
needed from development-oriented organisations and other public
institutions.

Summary

5. Sourcing information

In his article, Aghan Daniel
makes a strong case for the
further professionalisation of
the media in his home country
Kenya. He argues that poor pay
and conditions undermine the
motivation of many journalists
and broadcasters and prevent
them from investigating stories
relevant to rural development.
These factors also make some
media practitioners vulnerable
to handouts and bribes.

Getting information from
government on rural
issues is like trying to
break into State secrets

Contributors to the blog largely
supported this analysis. They
suggested that the impoverished working environment of
many journalists created a barrier to their reporting on agricultural issues – especially issues that affected small-scale
farming communities.
In the Pacific, however, it was
claimed that journalists are not
so susceptible to bribes. But
low salaries remain a problem
and continue to undermine the
quality of development-oriented
reporting. One possible way out
of this impasse was suggested
by Huub Ruijgrok. He proposed
that research institutes should
make a specific allocation for
communication and working
with the media in their annual
budget. In this way, a sustainable link could be established
between research findings relevant to agricultural households, journalists and farmers
themselves.
What options exist for making
the most of the limited amount
of money available for agricultural reporting – especially
stories that focus on the local
information needs of the “peasant” farmer? We welcome your
ideas.

Ruci Mafi 6
When I was asked to write this article, I wondered just how many of
my mainstream media colleagues
would feel strongly enough about
the topic to answer the two questions posed. “What has been
your experience as a journalist or
broadcaster in gathering information from the field and from official and scientific sources in the
Pacific? And what resources do
you regularly use for agricultural
and development information?” I
sent out a note to two networks
of journalists as well as individual
reporters, seeking their views on
the challenges they face sourcing
information on agriculture. After
1 week I had only received five
responses but – as my deadline
was approaching – I had to start
writing.
I had been taken aback by the
observation of one senior journalist who had spent over 35 years
in the Pacific media. “Journalists
are lazy”, he wrote “They lack
the skills to cultivate and nurture
TRUST. They rely almost entirely
on press releases from government, the private sector and individuals.” His observation was,
however, vigorously denied by
another veteran journalist. “I beg
to differ” he wrote “and shoot me
if I ever become as cynical as you.
I find your comments insulting and
perhaps after 35 years in the profession, it’s time you got out.”
My training as a journalist forced
me to give my colleagues the benefit of the doubt. Maybe journalists are far too busy with the daily
dissemination of news to worry
about agriculture and rural development. One thing is certain, journalists face many challenges when
gathering information to report in
a balanced, fair and accurate way
on agriculture and rural development.
Netani Rika is editor-in-chief of the
largest newspaper in the South Pa-

79

cific. He finds obtaining information from officials and scientific
sources problematic. “Most people
do not want to give information,
and extracting information from
government is extremely difficult”,
he said. Scientific sources are freer with dissemination. “Here the
problem is jargon and the technical terms used” says Rika. “Scientists often refuse to simplify
information, and this is a problem
for journalists faced with deadlines
but who have to interpret scientific
or technical information for their
readers.”
Samisoni Pareti is a Pacific media
trainer and foreign correspondent
who shares Rika’s sentiments.
“Agricultural departments want
me to follow their official communication channels, which amounts
to being given the run around
and usually ends in nothing.” Like
Pareti, journalists in many Pacific
island countries say getting information on rural and agricultural
development from the agriculture
department is almost as difficult
as getting hold of State secrets. “I
wanted to get a comment from the
head of dredging at the agriculture department for a story that a
town would disappear in 20 years
time because of rising sea levels”,
Partei explained. “I called his office
and was told to put my questions
through the department’s information department. I did, and faxed
them as requested. For 3 days
they told me that the official could
not speak to me. A sheer waste of
time and resources. As for scientists, they can be pedantic. They
usually ask to see my copy before
publication, but I always refuse.
I never ask to see their scientific
reports before publication, so why
should they see mine?”

80

Increasing media coverage of rural
development issues depends on
mutual understanding, trust and
respect. Effective cooperation can
be achieved only if the cloud of
suspicion overshadowing journalists and the media is dispelled. The
media must be able to access information easily, and their sources
should feel confident in the results.
Agriculture plays a major role in
driving the economy of the Pacific,
and rural people need easy access

to relevant information in simple
English or – better still – in the
vernacular.

Summary
Reactions to Ruci Mafi’s article from
Africa and the Pacific confirmed
much of what she described.
An agricultural journalist from
Tanzania gave practical examples of how his attempts to
source information from government officials were often
thwarted by a combination of
fear – “Ask my superiors” –
and an inexplicable refusal to
respond to direct questions
even when – as in one terrible
instance – these had to do with
issues that directly affected the
health of local farming communities.
From the Pacific, Jason Brown
strongly denied the accusation
that agricultural issues were being ignored because journalists
were too lazy to deal with them.
He pointed to the way in which
the rapid privatisation and corporatisation of the media has
directly and negatively affected
the flow and content of information. Drawing attention to the
fact that the media are increasingly dominated by interests
that want to ensure messages
entering the public domain are
controlled and sanitised, he
reflected on the consequences
for journalists who interface directly with local communities,
and do not have the resources
to combat this trend. We have
not heard from colleagues in the
Caribbean, and we would welcome your reactions.

6. Training
Training is the key to 	
getting agricultural issues
into the media
Johnson Johnrose

7

I was born and grew up on a small
Caribbean island where the colour
of gold was green and the gold
miners wore rubber boots and
were armed with pitch forks, picks,
hoes and cutlasses.
In this small Caribbean island
called Dominica, back then bananas – and, by extension, agriculture – were king and there were
no princes or princesses waiting to
take over the throne; and discussions about extension had nothing
to do with male enhancement and
everything to do with field (extension) officers on the farms, helping farmers develop their skills and
improve their yield. It was agriculture and very little else.
However, the thousands of farmers
who made their living from agriculture (green gold) did all they could
to stop their children from becoming “gold miners”. They wanted
their children to become medical
doctors and lawyers or anything
glamorous. Agriculture was for
the uneducated and unambitious.
So the inevitable happened and
agricultural production declined.
At the same time, several other
Caribbean countries were seeking
“gold” elsewhere, particularly in
tourism.
I can’t help thinking that, in retrospect, the media also let down
the sector. I vaguely recall one
programme named “Green Gold”
on the radio, in which the characters used humour to discuss issues affecting the banana industry, but not much else. Of course,
the challenges were many. Most
of the Caribbean countries had

Ruci Mafi was born in Lautoka City in the Republic of Fiji. The second eldest
child in a family of six, she did not know what she wanted to become until
she landed herself a job as a cadet reporter in a newspaper company. After
over 10 years working as a journalist covering politics and many other issues,
she joined the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). She is currently a
media trainer and television journalist keen on assisting her colleagues and
young journalists to realise their full potential and make changes. She is part
of a team that produces a weekly Pacific magazine-style television show that
is shown in 19 Pacific island countries and territories. She loves to write and
takes a keen interest in the environment.

government-controlled radio stations and few had their own television channel. The radio stations
were all things to all people and
had to satisfy everyone’s desires,
leaving little time to focus on key
matters.
Over the years, we have seen a
proliferation of media – particularly FM radio stations – but this
has not meant greater attention
to less sexy issues like agriculture.
This proliferation of media has instead taxed the already scant talent pool. And to compound the
problem, media owners are prepared to spend less and less on
quality professionals, so they hire
people off the streets who don’t
understand the first thing about
media. These media owners are
also unwilling to spend on “developmental” programmes.
Today’s media practitioner also
seems lost when it comes to understanding his/her role and, because it’s not a high-paying profession, there is a high turnover rate.
Sadly, few people become part of
the media with the intention of
becoming real professionals. Many
use it as a stepping stone to a job
in public relations, where the financial rewards are greater. And
for those who remain, the owners
provide few training opportunities
or training facilities. I’m not sure if
they understand that journalism is
a profession and its people ought
to consider themselves professionals. You can’t have professionals
without training and codes of ethics and behaviour. These are the
problems the media face and that
therefore have a negative impact
on the media’s abilities to influence

and shape the debate on agriculture and rural development.
But all is not lost. As citizens of
the Caribbean, our media practitioners are passionate about their
region and want to play a role in
its development. They want to
be responsible and progressive.
My organisation, the Caribbean
Tourism Organization (CTO), has
recognised this. We know that
the same issues confronting agriculture as far as the media are
concerned, also confront tourism.
Therefore we have begun offering
training opportunities to young
media practitioners. It is by training and mobilising the media, including owners, that we will encourage and influence them to
play a greater role in agriculture
and rural development.
From my dealings with Caribbean
journalists and broadcasters, it is
clear that they need training in basic media and journalism practices.
However, in order to strengthen
their contribution to agriculture
and rural development, they need
to understand the complexities of
global food systems and how to
simplify and effectively communicate information about agricultural
issues to the public. Also lacking
is the ability to research and discuss agricultural topics effectively,
as well as the ability to write in
clear, concise, organised language.
Study programmes in agricultural
journalism and communications,
including programmes on use of
the internet, particularly blogs
like this one, would most certainly
make a massive difference.

7
Johnson Johnrose is a BBC- trained journalist, broadcaster and media trainer
who also holds certificates in media management from the College of Audio
and Visual Arts in Caracas, and in news and business reporting from Reuters.
He has been a practising journalist for over 25 years, with vast experience in
reporting on a wide range of Caribbean subjects including politics, economics,
tourism and financial services issues. He has also covered international events
relevant to the Caribbean including Commonwealth Heads of Government
meetings, the Summit of the Americas and meetings of OAS and CARICOM.
Johnson Johnrose has won several awards for his work, which has been
published and broadcast within and outside the Caribbean. He has also been
a frequent contributor to BBC London Live. He began his career as a reporter
in Dominica and subsequently worked as news editor and programme director for the state-owned DBS Radio. He also worked for the Caribbean News
Agency (CANA), where he was the producer and presenter of its flagship programme “The Caribbean Today”, before becoming radio and television news
editor at the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). Currently Johnson Johnrose
is communications officer at the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) but he
continues to practice journalism as a freelancer.

Summary
Johnson Johnrose in his article
stresses the many factors that
contribute to the way agricultural issues tend to be sidelined in
the Caribbean media, including
the low status of agriculture and
the limited number of trained
and experienced journalists.
Responses from the farm community in southern Tanzania interviewed by Felix Mwakyembe
show perhaps how this trend
can be reversed. When asked
“What do farmers need from the
media?”, respondents made it
clear that they understood their
concerns and issues were often
systematically ignored by journalists in favour of the statements and activities of politicians and government officials.
But they also provided examples of how a few journalists
in their area were turning this
situation around by taking up
issues of serious local concern
and bringing them to national
attention. As a result, farmers were playing a more active
role in providing information to
journalists and the media were
increasingly seen as a source of
educative information.

81

7. Financing the media
Closer cooperation – 	
is this the answer to the
financial problems of ACP
media houses?
Hans Determeyer

8

Financial insecurity is a feature
of the media sector in emerging
economies, especially in rural areas. Many media organisations
depend on donor funds or commercial sponsorship for their operations. Experience suggests that
short-term funding and uncoordinated projects – often driven by
external agendas rather than local
needs – have a negative effect on
the establishment of sound media
companies. Subsidies may help to
establish media initiatives, but they
also create dependency and insecurity when they dry up. Commercial interests may provide the funds
for investment in equipment or for
covering part of the running cost.
However, such financial supports
from commercial businesses often
come with specific conditions.
To ensure the capacity of journalists and broadcasters to provide
full and critical coverage of ARD
issues, freedom of programming
needs to be guaranteed. However,
the financial aspect poses challenges to such independence, certainly in low-income communities.
It takes entrepreneurial spirit and
management skills to overcome
such hurdles without losing ownership of programme content. The
point is, journalists’ drive to set
up a station or create a newspaper does not always come with the
necessary entrepreneurial spirit.

82

We see there are challenges in
professional areas such as business development, financial management and marketing where
small and medium-sized media
houses are concerned. There are
institutional challenges, such as
active engagement in networking, programme exchanges, liaising with new ICT initiatives and
joint marketing. And when working with commercial investment to
cover the cost, ownership of programming and content will depend
on negotiating skills and how well

rooted the media house is in its
audience or readership. After all,
commercial investment in a media house is more likely to prosper
when it has strong roots in the local community: a potential win–
win situation.
What will trigger media houses to
meet these challenges and thus
bolster their performance? Certainly
not subsidies alone, as they only
allow the organisation to continue
trudging on a bit longer on the same
survivalist path. In other sectors,
one major trigger for the average
company to grow and prosper is access to capital for investments, via
banks or microfinance institutions.
Mind you, the relationship with a
bank demands a business plan and
sound financial management. The
pressure of interest due on loans
should keep the entrepreneur sharp
and inventive. Would this work in
the media sector?
Well, banks and media houses are
notoriously and historically not
very close as far as their relations
with each other are concerned.
Media have difficulty with the collateral demanded by banks and
other investors. Media house – in
popular perception – are generally
seen as not particularly well organised, and also as being politically vulnerable. No, the generally
high interest rates banks charge in
emerging economies (often >30%)
is unlikely to result in happy and
lasting marriages.
The Netherlands-based organisation Free Voice intends to break
this vicious circle. With a mix of
guarantees for investors (those interested in high impact rather than
high interest), networking with
the financial sector and subsidised
business development services for
media houses, it targets (networks

of) small and medium-sized media
houses in emerging economies. Together with the Media Development
Loan Fund and other partners, access to credit has thus been created in Indonesia, the Southern
Africa SADC region and Peru. Currently the establishment of similar
initiatives is under way in South
America and West Africa.
The market is enormous and growing, thanks to the flow of mobile
networks. The potential – also for
the agricultural sector – is more
than promising. The challenge
will be to bring financial institutions and (small) media houses
together and to find ways of simplifying the cost of loan management – not an easy matter, given
that small media house are often
geographically widely dispersed. A
possible solution, maybe, is closer
networking among media houses
where financial arrangements are
concerned.

Summary
Contributors confirmed that
financial sustainability was a
problem for media houses and
initiatives. Even in periods of
relative financial security, worries about how to finance the
next stage were present. While
donor funding is important,
a business-like approach was
seen as delivering more security in the long run. The experience of some community radio
stations suggests that so long
as the targeted rural audience
feels that the information being
provided is relevant and contributes to livelihood improvement,
people are prepared to pay to
help support and take part in
the activities of their local community radio station.

8
Since 2008, Hans Determeyer has led the Media Finance Programme for Free
Voice – the Dutch-based media support organisation. The programme aims to
create access to financial services for (networks of) media houses in emerging economies and young democracies. Hans has been able to bring many
years of practical field experience to managing the Media Finance Programme.
In Africa, he was involved in promoting civic engagement in good governance
and transparent policy processes. In Ghana, his team established an innovative multi-donor fund for think tanks and advocacy networks. With a team of
Cameroonian specialists he established a funding and capacity development
mechanism for communities living in the dense tropical forest zone, while in
Chad he led a multi-sectoral programme focusing on conflict management and
human rights at a time when tensions were rising around the planned exploitation of local oil reserves. He has also worked with Medecins sans Frontieres and
Amnesty International.

8. Legislation and political
constraints
Bad laws are an affront to
media growth
Parkie Mbozi

9

Media freedom in any democratic
dispensation is essential if urban
as well as rural communities are
to make informed contributions
to development. The media’s role
in relating to and accommodating
peoples’ voices – especially those
in disadvantaged, impoverished
and marginalised communities – is
critical to the democratisation and
development of our societies.
A major prerequisite to attaining
media freedom is a favourable
regulatory and legal environment.
Favourable laws are like good soil
to a seed. A positive legislative
environment will ensure a flourishing media. A bad one inhibits
all aspects of media growth – establishment (registration), programming and further diversification. Unfortunately, not many ACP
countries have regulatory and legal environments that encourage
media establishment and growth.
Problems begin with registration.
In many countries, registration is
a lengthy, tedious and frustratingly bureaucratic process involving
many different government offices
and tasks. From our experience in
Southern Africa, the process can
take up to 24 months to complete.
A number of prospective radio stations give up mid-way or even fail
to register at all. These difficulties
apply not only to Africa’s most
common medium of agricultural
communication – radio – but to
print media as well.
Besides the lengthy registration
process, the law in many ACP
countries allows governments to
decide who should be granted a
permit or licence. In some countries, statutory media regulations
allow governments to deregister “erring” media or journalists
and require all journalists be accredited to – and licensed by –
a government-appointed Media
Commission. In Zimbabwe, for
instance, the introduction of this
form of regulation resulted in the

de-registration of the Daily News,
the most vibrant privately owned
newspaper Zimbabwe has ever
had, and which was regarded as
the true voice of the people. In
Zambia, some community radio
stations have been threatened
with having their licences revoked
for airing phone-in radio programmes considered to be inciting the masses against the government. In Angola, no new radio
stations have been registered for
nearly 10 years.
Although there have been some
positive developments on the
media front in some ACP countries – particularly where media
diversity has been strengthened
by the proliferation of community
and commercial broadcasting stations – more needs to be done.
You may ask why we should worry
about media laws and regulatory
frameworks when discussing the
role of the media in rural and agricultural development? We should
be concerned because media plurality ensures that more diverse
and relevant information reaches
our people living in the rural areas, where most of our agriculture
takes place. Until recently, many
media institutions tended to be
concentrated in urban areas. Radio and TV signals and hard copies
of newspapers and other forms of
communications hardly reached
the rural areas at all. When they
did, the content was predominantly urban-oriented, and if there
was “rural content” it had been
prepared by elite, urban-based
media practitioners and “experts”
and designed for consumption by
a passive, “voiceless” rural audience. Miscommunication was
therefore inevitable, and could explain why small-scale agriculture
remains undeveloped in many ACP
countries despite years of massive
investment.

This is why we must support the
growing interest in community
media. We must do so by identifying and fighting bad laws and
regulatory frameworks through
our numerous media associations.
We must instigate media reforms
and ensure that favourable media
laws are enshrined in our constitutions. In all our struggles the local people – the “voiceless” – must
be the centre and the “end”. We
– as journalists – are merely the
“means”. In this way we will win
many hearts and turn our battle
for press freedom into a people’s
battle.

Summary
Media freedom is essential for
democracy and development.
It is also ensures that rural
households get the information they need to play an active
and informed role in the development of their communities.
Contributors from other parts
of Africa stressed that the press
has always to be alert and react strongly when governments
try to curtail press freedom in
whatever form. Contributors
emphasised that pro-media legislation was needed to ensure a
diverse and strong media capable of providing neglected rural
communities with a voice.

9
Parkie Mbozi is a specialist in communication and media for development,
having studied and worked in this field in numerous capacities for national,
regional and international organisations in Southern Africa. Some of the
notable organisations include Participatory Ecological Land-Use Management
(PELUM) Association for East and Southern Africa, World Agroforestry Centre
(ICRAF), Southern African Development Community (SADC) Food, Agriculture
and NR Directorate, University of Zambia Department of Mass Communication, Ministry of Agriculture, and others. He is holder of a BA and MA in Mass
Communication, specialising in Development Support Communication. Parkie
is currently Executive Director for Panos Southern Africa based in Lusaka, at
the regional office for southern Africa.

83

9. Technology and the media
New media technologies
alone cannot break the
rural–urban digital divide
Kevin Waldie

10

A few months ago, I was having
a meeting with the director of a
well established NGO in Southern Africa as his mobile phone
rang. There was nothing unusual in this. The director always
travelled with two mobile phones
and held sim cards for at least 10
African countries the last time I
checked. I had become used to the
fact that our conversations were
invariably punctuated with interruptions, which frequently entailed
his moving out of the office in an
effort to locate a stronger signal.
On this occasion, after the call had
finished, the director offered his
usual apology and added that it
was his mother, now over 80 years
of age, phoning from his home village, a few hundred miles away.
She had called to request him to
bring a bag of fertiliser next time
he came to visit. “She likes to keep
active”, the director explained, “…
and to check up on me”, he added
with a smile.
I clearly recall seeing my very first
mobile phones. This was during
the mid 1990s, when I was living
and working in rural West Africa.
At that time the phones were so
large, they seemed well suited to
the oversized 4x4 vehicles in which
their wealthy owners drove around.
“They are just playthings for the
rich”, I thought, “They’ll never
catch on.” How wrong I was!

84

As a result of the rapid spread of
digital technologies and new media, the world today appears a
very different and perhaps more
democratic place. For years the
BBC, Voice of America and Radio
Moscow dominated the spread
of news to distant lands. Today,
they share the airwaves with FM
radio stations, which provide local news for local people and in
local languages. Computers have
long escaped from the offices of
the corporate world, and internet cafés provide an increasing
number of people with access to

a wide range of information. And
consider the many hundreds of
thousands of vendors found selling
airtime for mobile phones on every
other street corner in the major
towns and cities around the world.
Doesn’t this indicate that we now
live in a world that is engaged in a
deep and prolonged conversation
with itself?
A firm belief in the north–south
basis of a “digital divide” framed
earlier discussions of the role of ICT
within the development process.
Technology transfer was promoted as the obvious remedy to the
“problem”. To a large extent, this
simplistic way of framing the digital
divide persists. Today, however, it
is an “urban–rural” divide.
Despite the rhetorical commitment
to participatory development, a
“We know best” attitude seems to
persist in programmes concerned
with development and the information needs of farmers. And this
is reflected in the excuses for ineffective service delivery which,
by drawing attention to factors
such as illiteracy and poor education, put the blame for inadequate
information transfer on the rural
community. Despite the undeniable potential of ICTs to bring
about radical change, there is a
distinct danger that persistence of
“top-down” ways of thinking will
undermine the relevance and effectiveness of ICT policy targeting
in rural areas.

rural tele-centres are frequently
promoted on the basis of the need
to introduce new technologies to
raise productivity and to expose
farmers to new markets. However,
they seldom yield these results.
Evidence suggests that social rather than economic benefits are usually uppermost in most people’s
minds when they initially consider
the benefits that ICTs may have
to offer. Initiatives that take wider
social interests into account and
recognise their importance to rural people are much more likely
to succeed.
Fortunately new, more sensitive
media interventions are challenging digital exclusion. For example,
the use of citizen journalists and
community radios explicitly draws
attention to the fundamental importance of empowering people by
giving them a “voice” that plays in
the development process.

We should be very cautious of
attempting to bridge the digital
divide on the basis of technical
expert-led, service-driven approaches of the kind that have
proven ineffective in the past. For
example, government concerns
over the declining contribution of
the agriculture sector to the national GDP may be genuine. However, this does not mean that a
farmer’s primary interest in owing
a mobile phone will be to access
the latest market prices. Similarly,

Kevin Waldie studied social anthropology and undertook his doctoral
research in Sierra Leone (1983–85). He then joined the UK Department for
International Development as a Social Development Adviser, and over a
period of 10 years lived and worked in Kenya, Nepal and Ghana on a series
of rural development projects. He was a lecturer at the University of Reading
(1997–2008) before leaving to pursue his interests as freelance consultant.
His personal website is at www.waldie.info.

10

Summary
The current “top-down” approaches to development fail to
take field realities into account,
especially where the introduction of new technologies is concerned. Decision-makers need
to take into closer consideration
the practical day-to-day realities
of farm households. To do this,
they need to hear from the rural
communities themselves. The
purposive use of ICTs, as one
contributor suggested, can support the media and encourage
this information exchange, but
experience showed that technologies alone cannot shape and
reshape development. Examples
were provided from community
radio stations and radio listening
clubs where media intervention
had helped communities articulate their concerns until they received a positive response from
government. It was suggested
that such experiences can lead
to other communities seeing the
value of the media as a support
in influencing agricultural and
development policy.

10. Strategies for
strengthening media 	
involvement
Growing journalists from
agriculturalists – towards
restoring culture in 	
agriculture
Kris Rampersad

11

In Trinidad and Tobago, not unlike
many other parts of the Caribbean
and the developing world, agriculture and development are inherently contradictory terms. Deeply
rooted in the region’s labour history of slavery and forced indentured labour, children are educated
away from agriculture; their ambitions nurtured to aspire to life in
industry or professional services
that are as far away from the land
as is possible, in the belief that
agriculture offers only limited life
chances.
This attitude to agriculture – as
a peripheral activity – translates
into the policies and practices of
the adult world. In Trinidad and
Tobago, where there are an abundance of alternatives to agriculture
in the country’s energy resources, policy planning ensures that
there are sufficient incentives for
the private sector to invest in the
exploitation of more oil and gas
reserves. At the same time, the
private sector is berated for not
investing in agriculture, although
it is offered little inducement to do
so. Support for farmers and agricultural interests is not viewed as
a viable and economically sound
investment. There is no real link
between the products of agriculture as core to personal survival,

as there is with the oft-reiterated
links between energy as core to
economic survival. The quantity of
food on one’s table from the outside world is believed to signify
the level of development. Import
labels imply that the household is
on its way, like the national policy
agenda, to developed status. The
household with mainly local products on its table is considered to
be on the lower rungs of the social
and economic ladder.
National media replicate and perpetuate these perceptions of and
attitudes towards agriculture with
– perhaps not deliberate – inadvertent, negative imaging of the
sector. It is not unusual to see or
hear feature and news stories in
print and electronic media that tell
of “the once sleepy agricultural village that is now awakening to development (read: non-agro-based
industries). In effect, there is no
culture of agriculture in Trinidad
and Tobago.
The media are one of the most
powerful modern engines for creating, nurturing and sustaining
tastes, perceptions, habits and
beliefs. As a creative catalyst, an
agent of culture, and a stimulant
of public opinion, the media are
recognisably best positioned to
reverse such attitudes and approaches that have worked against
the sector. But the limitations on
media as an institution in the region are not much different from
those of the agriculture sector. It,
too, views itself as disempowered
and functioning with limited capacity, resources and investments in
its professional development. Perhaps we need to turn the spotlight
not just on what journalists can

I was born a farmer’s daughter; later, I grew into something else. Like most
around me, I was cultivated into becoming something else, anything else.
Years later, walking away from journalism as it was being practised, a disenchanted editor of a city newspaper which was more preoccupied with sales,
deadlines and profit margins rather than guarding or growing democracy, I
dreamed of the opportunities offered by agriculture. I have since worked with
international development organisations such as the Commonwealth Foundation, The Organization of American States Active Democracy Network, CIVICUS
– World Alliance for Citizen Participation, the Inter-American Institute for
Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), and the Caribbean Agricultural Research
and Development Institute (CARDI) to forge such bridges, including coordinating the Agriculture Round Table for IICA/CARDI/CTA/CARICOM in 2008. Along
with this, I function as International Relations Director of the Network of NGOs
of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women; and am founder of
the Trinidad Theatre Workshop Fund for Literature, Drama and Film, and an
author, film producer, editor, and lecturer in literature and journalism.

11

85

do – which has already received
considerable attention – but what
agriculturalists can do to empower
themselves by increasing their capacities to use media in their outreach.
It is a fact that the media are attracted to power and success like
insects to a source of light. Empowering the agriculture sector
to utilise the wide array of media
tools and opportunities is key to
attracting media attention to agriculture. The agriculture sector has
to develop and establish strong
bonds with conventional mass media as well as explore the potential
of expanding outreach and impact
through new (e.g. internet) and alternative (performance arts) media. Agriculture must reach out to
create understanding and awareness and then a one-to-one approach – reporter to agriculturalist – rather than trying to convert
the entire media. The sector will
also benefit if it develops its own
expertise in journalism: packaging
products, feeding articles and stories to media outlets and filtering
its expertise through the system
as editors, producers, reporters
and opinion leaders, for example.
In addition, it should draw on the
opportunities for citizen journalism
and the kind of target community
the online social and professional
networking channels provide.

86

Such a proactive approach will
help project an image of an empowered sector and counter negative imaging. Support by new
technology with the objective of
gaining fuller control over content
and message will enable the sector
to target its audiences and readership in a more systematic way and
emerge from the niche into which
it has been squeezed by the conventional media. One particularly
effective mechanism for stimulating media interest and awareness
is the outdoor outing, taking journalists away from the daily grind
of the office to field projects. At
the same time, there is enormous
potential in training and using the
sector’s ready cadre of extension officers – already experts in
transferring technical scientific information accessible to lay farmers/communities – to be effective

conduits of information, potential
media liaisons, and agricultural
stringers and journalists.
In an ideal world, the media may
train or seek out journalists with
expertise in agricultural reporting,
but given its own resource limitations, and the reality that media
managers have not yet seen this
as a necessity, the agricultural
sector can well capitalise on and
create its own opportunities for
public outreach by growing its own
journalists.

11. Public journalists
Communication and 	
agricultural development
in Senegal
Abdoulaye Barry

12

In Senegal, like many other African
countries, oral communication
dominates. As a form of communication it has limitations of scope,
and distortions regularly creep in.
Oral communication, however, is
cracking under the battering it has
received from the new technologies that are spreading their tentacles to all parts of the African
continent, and transforming the
perceptions and reactions of everyone, including those who live in
the rural areas, who still constitute
the majority of the population. Radio and television are common, as
well as mobile phones and internet.
This change of communication
modes has had a considerable impact on agriculture, which remains
the main activity, involving 60%
of the population and providing
over two-thirds of employment.
Previously marginalised and ignored by media professionals, the
agricultural sector is now seen as
an economic activity that deserves
more attention.

In Senegal, this trend has accelerated over the past 10 years. Indeed, alongside politics and sports
– which continue to capture attention – agriculture has entered the
headlines and it has become commonplace to see issues related to
agriculture in the news.
Alongside the technological evolution that has facilitated the introduction of new media, other factors have influenced this process.
The main one is the reorganisation
of the rural world, characterised
by the emergence of strong organisations such as CNCCR (Conseil national de concertation et de
coopération des ruraux). A powerful lobby, the CNCCR has encouraged the press to denounce the
difficulties regularly faced by its
members and to try and influence
government policy. Every year it
organises widely publicised tours
of the countryside. Radio, TV and
newspapers transform the event
into a real media hype that lasts
for several days. Even if the Government often accuses CNCCR
of manipulating public opinion
through these types of activity,
there is an undeniably beneficial
aspect as they have helped bring
rural issues into the heart of the
national debate.
The collapse of the groundnut sector, the main source of income for
rural Senegal, and the global food
crisis have had a severe impact on
Senegal. This, together with the
ambitious programme launched by
the Government (Grande Offensive
pour la Nourriture et l’Abondance
– le Plan Retour Vers l’Agriculture)
are among the factors that have
triggered media interest in agricultural issues.
The competition fostered by the
liberalisation of radio and television broadcasting has also had
an impact. National television has
played a pioneering role in addressing agricultural issues, and
in early 2004 created a 5-minute

For the last 17 years I have worked as a television journalist in Senegal. I
coordinate the environment and agriculture desk with nearly a dozen journalists. I started a weekly column entitled « Plein Champ « since 2004. I have
also produced several documentaries that evoke the problems of rural areas
and am also Chairman of an environmental group, GREP, and PRO and Secretary General of the Agricultural Journalists Network of West Africa.

12

television news programme named
“Full Field” (Plein Champ), which
aired every Friday evening and
was re-broadcast on Saturday afternoon. It provided early warnings
to farmers, such as in the case of
the fruit fly infestation in southern Senegal, and devoted time to
success stories – because there
are many in our country – giving
a voice to farmers and field technicians. This programme broke with
old ways of covering rural issues.
There are some difficulties, but it
has deliberately opted for regular
rather than occasional coverage.
In doing so the programme has
built on years of practical experience and involves close collaboration between producers and government.
The experience of this programme,
for our country, is just a small
spark, a tremor. To maintain the
flame, it will be essential to make
agricultural information available,
provide opportunities for journalists to further their training, and
strengthen the capacity of the
press in general.

87

VII –
7.1 Acronyms and abbreviations

88

ACP

African, Caribbean and Pacific

AFRRI

Africa Farm Radio Research Initiative

AIDA

Agricultural Innovation in Dryland Africa (EU-INCO project)

AMARC

World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (l’Association mondiale des radiodiffuseurs communautaires)

ARCOM

Alliance des radios communautaires du Mali

ARD

agricultural and rural development

CAADP

Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme of NEPAD

CANA

Caribbean News Agency

CARIMAC

Caribbean Institute for Media and Communication, Jamaica

CIRAD

French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development
(Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement)

CMC

Caribbean Media Corporation

CNCCR

Conseil national de concertation et de coopération des ruraux, Senegal

CSDI

Communication for Sustainable Development Initiative (FAO and the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Territory)

CTA

(ACP–EU) Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation

CTO

Caribbean Tourism Organization

DSAP

(SPC/EU) Development of Sustainable Agriculture in the Pacific

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

FARA

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa

FEPPASI

Fédération des professionnels agricoles de la Sissili, Burkina Faso

GAINS

Ghana Agricultural Information Network System

GENARDIS

Gender, Agriculture and Rural Development in the Information Society programme

ICRAF

World Agroforestry Centre

ICTs

information and communication technologies

IDRC

International Development Research Centre

IFAD

International Fund for Agricultural Development

IFPRI

International Food Policy Research Institute

IICA

Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

JADE

African Journalists for Development Network

K&G

Knowing and Growing network (Caribbean region)

KAIPPG

Kenya Aids Intervention Prevention Project Group

M&E

monitoring and evaluation

MESHA

Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture, Kenya

MMRK

Multi Media Resource Kit (Cameroon)

NEPAD

New Partnership for Africa’s Development

NGO

non-governmental organisation

PELUM

Participatory Ecological Land-Use Management Association for East and Southern Africa

RAILS

Regional Agricultural Information & Learning System (FARA)

RKS

Radio Kaloum stéréo, Guinea

RTG

Radio Télévision Guinéenne (Guinea)

SADC

Southern African Development Community

SATNET

Sustainable Agriculture Trainers Network, Uganda

SIST

Scientific and Technical Information System

SPC

Secretariat of the Pacific Community

TOF

The Organic Farmer (Magazine and Radio Program in Kenya)

UCRC

Ugunja Community Resource Centre, Kenya

UNDP/COMREC

United Nations Development Programme’s Unit for Community Recovery

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

WOUGNET

Women of Uganda Network

7.2 Order reports from previous seminars
Implications of climate
change for sustainable
agricultural production
systems in ACP countries
Compilation document,
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso,
2008
CTA, 108 pp.
ISBN 978 9081 416 0
Understanding and
confronting climate change:
What can be done?
Executive summary,
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso,
2008
ISBN 978 92 9081 417 7
Climate change in ACP
nations / Changements
climatiques dans les pays ACP
Initiatives Africa no. 137 & 138
Bilingual DVD in English and
French
By A Lemoël & F Baudry
(producers)
CTA, People TV,
2008
Role of information and
communication in the
development of small
and medium-sized foodprocessing enterprises
in Africa
Seminar report, Cotonou,
Benin,
2006
CTA, 84pp,
ISBN 978 92 9081 358 3
Challenges and opportunities
for the ACP herbal industry
Seminar highlights, South Africa,
Vanuatu, Jamaica,
2000–2002
CTA, 2006, 94pp,
ISBN 978 92 9081 308 8

Giving youth a voice
Observatory highlights,
Wageningen, The Netherlands,
2004
CTA, 2006, 98pp,
ISBN 978 92 9081 335 4
Information support for
sustainable soil fertility
management (CD-ROM)
Seminar Summary report,
Arnhem, The Netherlands, 2003
CTA,
2005
Meeting the challenge of
effective ACP participation
in agricultural trade
negotiations: the role
of information and
communication
Seminar summary report,
Brussels, Belgium,
2002
CTA, 2003, 82pp,
ISBN 92 9081 277 X
Meeting the challenge of
effective ACP participation
in agricultural trade
negotiations: the role
of ICM (CD-ROM)
CTA seminar proceedings,
Brussels, Belgium,
2002
CTA, Solagral, 2003
The economic role of women
in agricultural and rural
development: revisiting
the legal environment
Seminar summary report,
Kampala, Uganda,
2001
CTA, 2002, 80pp,
ISBN 92 9081 2621

Information and communication management strategies
in federations of farmers’
organisations
Seminar summary report,
Douala, Cameroon,
2001
CTA, 2002, 48pp,
ISBN 92 9081 259 1
Information and communication management strategies
in federations of farmers’
organisations
Seminar proceedings,
Douala, Cameroon,
2001
CTA. 2002, 222pp,
ISBN 92 9081 261 3
Information for agricultural
and rural development in
ACP countries: emerging
stakeholders, new media,
and priority themes
Seminar proceedings,
Paris, France,
2000
CTA, 2001, 322pp,
ISBN 92 9081 248 6
Information for agricultural
and rural development in
ACP countries: emerging
stakeholders, new media,
and priority themes
(only available in French)
Seminar summary report,
Paris (France),
2000
CTA, 2001, 26pp,
ISBN 92 9081 250 8

89
For more information on CTA publications, or to receive
CTA publications, visit the CTA website at
See also CTA’s digital library,

www.cta.int

http://anancy.cta.int and the
e-catalogue at http://cta.esmarthosting.net/
Anancy at

6700 AJ Wageningen
The Netherlands

www.cta.int

T

he Technical Centre for Agricultural and
Rural Cooperation (CTA) was established in
1983 under the Lomé Convention between

the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) Group of
States and the European Union Member States.
Since 2000, it has operated within the framework
of the ACP–EU Cotonou Agreement. CTA’s tasks
are to develop and provide products and services
that improve access to information for ARD, and
to strengthen the capacity of ACP countries to acquire, process, produce and disseminate information in this area.

in the Agricultural and Rural Development of ACP Countries

CTA annual seminar
Brussels, Belgium
12 - 16 October 2009

http://annualseminar2009.cta.int

COMPILATION DOCUMENT

Postbus 380

the role of media in the agricultural and rural development of ACP countries — cta annual seminar - brussels, belgium

COMPILATION DOCUMENT

CTA

the role of MeDIA

Organised by CTA in collaboration with:

CTA is financed by the European Union

Centre Ivoirien de
Recherches Economiques
et Sociales

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