Agricultural Biotechnology Forum holds 2020 Media awards
Ene Okwanihe, Abuja
The Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (Nigerian chapter) has held its annual media awards to celebrate the media and journalists who have supported agricultural biotechnology through their reportage.
It’s was all about appreciating the power of information, its ability to transform human perception when it comes to accepting new ways of doing things as the efforts of journalist over the years in Nigeria has helped the common man in the country have better understanding of what Agricultural biotechnology mean and what they stand to gain by accepting it.
The annual Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) in Africa media Awards is a platform for journalists in the agriculture and science beats to showcase in-depth knowledge in the field of Agricultural biotechnology reportage.
The Country Coordinator Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) in Africa (Nigeria chapter) Dr. Rose Gidado in her address, said it was important to recognize the work of journalists in science as false information is increasingly being spread to undermine the big role science plays in solving present-day problems.
She said “Journalists serve as a bridge between science and society as they play a crucial role in informing and educating the public and policymakers on advances in science and technology including agricultural biotechnology”
Dr. Gidado said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists were relentless in their reportage of agricultural biotechnology.
“I would like to express appreciation for the invaluable support provided by journalists and editors who despite the Covid-19 pandemic became unstoppable – they devised various ways and means to ensure that issues of agricultural biotechnology received necessary media coverage”
On his part the Acting Director General/CEO, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Prof. Alex Akpa applauded the resilience of journalists who despite the lock down in the country made sure agricultural biotechnology was given prominence in their reportage.
“The year has been a very challenging one for all of us but that has not stopped us from celebrating these tireless journalists who even under the lock down, kept us informed of what is happening especially on issues of agricultural biotechnology. They have performed extremely well, with their help; our stories were able to reach all the nooks and crannies of this Country”
Professor Akpa stated that the most important thing about biotechnology is its ability to assist in solving some of the challenges that conventional breeding cannot handle.
“Apart from providing solutions that hitherto were not available, the technology is also proving to be a valuable tool in our quest to mass produce quality food for the teeming population”
He said the agency is utilizing biotechnology in a new approach to yam seedlings production in the country targeted at contributing to Nigeria’s food security.
“We have already set a target of 5 million yam seedlings for this year with more than a million already produced and distributed to farmers”
“At NABDA, we have been working hard to use the technology to fast track as well as contribute to Nigeria’s food security agenda. NABDA has more than 31 Bioresources Development Centres across the country”
The big winners of the night were Vincent Yusuf of Daily Trust Newspaper who won the best OFAB media award in the Print category while Rabbi Momoh of Radio Nigeria received the award for best in the Radio category , also Ngozi Onyejiakwu of Africa Independent Television AIT took the OFAB Best media awards in the TV categories and overall Best OFAB media award for 2020 in Nigeria.
For winning the overall best in Nigeria Pretty Onyejiakwu will be representing Nigeria at the continental level of the awards come December 2020. She went home with two plaques, a laptop, ipad and cash price of five hundred dollars.
In the last four years, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) in Africa has continued to recognize outstanding journalists from its operating countries of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, for their coverage of agricultural biotechnology and its benefits to society.
The event brought together stakeholders in the agricultural science sector and the science sector in Nigeria and Africa and it was hosted by OFAB Nigeria, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation AATF and the National Biotechnology Development Agency NABDA.
