Agric journalism conference begins in Abuja, August 31 By Adewale Kupoluyi

By Adewale Kupoluyi

Preparations have reached advantage stage to host a National Conference on Agricultural Journalism, beginning from Thursday, August 31 to Saturday, September 2, 2023 at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria. The conference is jointly being organised by FarmingFarmersFarms; Prime Progress newspapers; and Journalism Communication and Media Centre (JCM Centre); with technical support from the Nigeria Media Innovation Programme (NAMIP), which is implemented by the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF); affiliated to the MacArthur Foundation, United States of America.

According to the National Conference Planning Committee with members drawn from the media, academia, legal and the business sectors, the maiden edition of the conference themed, “Agricultural Journalism in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects”, is aimed at discussing the major challenges facing agriculture with a view to proffering sustainable solutions to them using journalism and communication media, to promote food security and a safe environment. Specifically, the national conference seeks to improve the knowledge and skills of media practitioners and journalists in modern agriculture reporting; deepen participants’ understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the Nigerian agriculture sector; connect participants for collaborations in using news coverage to promote food security; identify key issues for media advocacy in the sector, and develop an action plan to respond to them; and broaden participants’ knowledge and coverage of agricultural ecology (agro-ecology) for a safe and healthy environment.

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The conference, tagged NCAJ 2023, is designed for journalists such as editors, correspondents and reporters from print, electronic and online media, covering agriculture and environment in Nigeria; while resource persons would comprise government officials, global media experts, academia, farmers’ network, development partners, lawmakers, and captains of industry, amongst others. The planning committee enjoins major stakeholders, whose mandate aligns with the focus of the organisers in the areas of agriculture, environment and solutions journalism to sponsors and participate in the programme by considering various categories of sponsorships and benefits such as platinum, gold, silver, and bronze sponsorships. Individuals, government and non-governmental organisations that have contributed immensely to agricultural production, climate change action in farming, and food security in Nigeria would be given awards at the occasion, the planning committee added.