The Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) participated in the media briefing in Maputo on the eve of the official opening of the 2018 Regional Policy Dialogue. The main objective of the briefing was to ensure that the media practitioners covering the event in Maputo, Mozambique are conversant with the different thematic areas that will be addressed during the dialogue so that they can generate informed agricultural news items to share with the TV stations, Radio, social media and print media audiences across the country and the region during and after the meeting.
The sharing of agriculture information speaks to CCARDESA‘s 3rd thematic area on Information, communication and knowledge management where the organization has deliberately positioned itself in the SADC region as a hub for agricultural information such as on climate smart agriculture.
Part of CCARDESA’s mandate is to provide small scale farmers with information towards making critical agricultural based decisions and this cannot be achieved in isolation without the input of key players such as the media. As part of a holistic approach to disseminating agricultural information to small scale farmers and would be farmers, CCARDESA and its partners including Forum for Agricultural Research, Natural Resources and Analysis Network (FARNPAN), Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS), and the Graca Machel Trust saw it prudent to organize a media briefing in Maputo, Mozambique. The rationale behind the media briefing was to bridge the agricultural knowledge gap that exists in the media fraternity who are supposed to be key players in the dissemination of agricultural information to different target audiences. However, CCARDESA realizes that the media in the SADC region are key players in disseminating agricultural information to different target audiences, therefore there is urgent need to educate them about agricultural information so that they are equipped to present the facts correctly. This can only be achieved if the media are well versed with the intricacies of agricultural information and threads so that they can provide relevant and correct information to the small scale farmers.
The media briefing sessions included partners elaborating more about their mandate and to point out some of the sessions that the media should look out for during the sessions so that they are given the necessary coverage.
Going forward, CCARDESA will continue engaging the media to ensure that agricultural information reaches the intended users and target beneficiaries.
For more information and comments, contact the following:
The Executive Director
The Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA)
Ground Floor, Red Brick Building,
Plot 4701 Station Exit Road
Private Bag 00357
Gaborone, Botswana
+267 3914997 Ext 211
Dr Simom Mwale (smwale@ccardesa.org) with cc: bpodisi@ccardesa.org
“A food secure and prosperous Southern African region with vibrant rural livelihoods.”
