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The Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS)

Wednesday, 21 October 2015

Challenges and opportunities of reporting on Agricultural value chain crops- By Ayeni Oladehinde- Publisher/Editor, Food Farm Newspaper

ABSRACT
This paper presentation is aimed at identifying challenges and opportunities in reporting agricultural value chain crops to all stakeholders with to researchers, farmers, processors, input providers, service provider, transporters, foreign donors, government and financial institutions.

Introduction
One of the functions of the media is to inform the citizens about local and foreign affairs. As a result of this role most people tend to rely on media as their major source of news. 

The history of agricultural reporting has been with us since the time immemorial right from human creation as it was stated in the holy bible in Genesis chapter 2 verse 8 that “ the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he created”. 

Despite this divine ordinances given by our creator, man has not maximally harnessed the given opportunity in the sector which is very obvious in all the facets of the sector with evidence of poor funding cum other associated challenges which does not spare the appropriate reporting of agricultural value chain crops as the sector is big enough to sustain accommodate it if so desired.

There is no doubt that Agriculture is being relegated on the development agenda despite the promises and rhetoric from governments worldwide, investment in agriculture and rural development is still lagging just as communication of the sector is also not seen as a major priority at either national or international levels thereby constraining the role of the journalist as an effective player in agricultural and rural development, or is being undervalued.

Reporting on agriculture is largely restricted to natural disasters, food shortages and rising food prices because it seems to tandem with breaking news natures of mainstream media’s demand. However, I believe the media has a potentially broader role in raising the profile of agriculture amongst decision-makers as well as the wider public and farmers in particular along the value chains of crops and even animal production. 

Although there are some level of variances at the challenges and opportunities that are available to agricultural reporting from one country to another as this cannot be totally ruled out just like individual’s differences.

In line with this topic, it may not be out of place to remind ourselves who is an agricultural reporter for proper appropriation of his or her challenges and opportunity especially in the reporting of the value chains of this sector.

Who is a reporter?
According to Wikipedia a reporter is type of journalist who researches, writes and reports based on information from sources, interviews and research engagement as the case may be. 

The information gathering aspect of a journalist’s job is sometime called reporting as there are ethics and standards that reporters are required to exhibit in carrying out their reporting activities which includes-objectivity and unbiased story. 

What are media platform available for agricultural reporting?
1.                Electronic-: radio, television, social media (twitters, face book, instagram, blog, Youtube, Linkedlin, skype, drone i.e using robots to cover events. etc.
2.                Print Media- Daily publications, Farm News papers or magazine, fliers, newsletters, posters, billboards etc

In all of these, the dynamics of technologies availability is very germane to reporting agriculture especially in the face of food security with the youth engagement in agriculture cum dwindling prices of crude oil every day as finding has revealed that radio platform, newspaper and specialized papers are mostly preferred in information dissemination to farmers.

Challenges
1.                 Lack of skill to properly report agriculture as it is supposed to be from the holistic point of view where various stakeholders at the crops value chains are given fair consideration - Scientists or Researchers, farmers, processors, inputs providers, and marketing, donor agencies, financial institutions etc. how many special publication do we have on each value chain crops-like groundnut voice or G/N news. 

2.                Most stakeholders in the sector do not have enough confidence in journalists for the fear of being quoted out of context even when such reporter is skillful.
3.                Most agricultural projects do not always make budget provision for journalists’ honourarian because some developmental partners believe they are doing you  favour by giving out information as they see it as free service forgetting a reporter too has financial obligations to meet.

4.                There are many hotline news contending with agricultural news which always lead to dropping some of the sector’s news especially when there are breaking news at the main stream media.

5.                Agricultural sector is not properly structured especially at the rural level for a reporter to easily get information that will enhance his report. Emphasis is concentrated at the top why there is neglect at where local production of agricultural produce is coming from.

6.                The challenges are more on specialized agricultural publications like Food Farm News as both public and private stakeholders that suppose to embrace and see the medium as effective communication tool never see the green light opportunity as maximally expected but few do see the opportunity whereas in Uganda, the use of specialized agricultural publication has increased the reporting of the sector. 

7.                 The public sector of Agriculture always frowns at any report or news that did not soothe their organization thereby forgetting the standards and ethics expected of a reporter. Many information officers go to the extent of refusing to invite such reporter to any of their function as way of showing their resentment. 

A       Alternatively in such occasion a rejoinder may have better solved the issue that is if there is any. For example,  David Mowbray, BBC World Service Trust, United Kindom at the 2009 annual seminar of Centre for Technical Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA) submitted that “journalist’s job is not to be the public relations tool of the development organization, of the Ministry of Agriculture or of the farmers' organization, rather the journalist's job is to find and tell good stories and if people don't understand that distinction they are never going to be satisfied with what journalists do”.

8.                Reporters are being short- changed by information managers of many organizations especially the government officials at MDAs at any slightest opportunity (through editing).

Low remuneration affects journalists’ morale which is being occasionally complimented by rewards from stakeholders. For example a political beat reporter is more buoyant than any science based reporter. Daniel Aghan, Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture, Kenya  said that when a journalist goes to a farmer he is paid less than US$10 for his story.

Yet a politician somewhere is waiting for him in a very posh hotel, he is going to buy him a drink, he is going to give him taxi home, he is going to give him some money for the family. Why will he chase after farmers?

There are little or no availability of much information materials about agricultural activities thereby making it compulsory for a reporter to personally generate news. Most states and national libraries have little or no much material.

Conflicting roles of MDAs coupled misplacement of some agencies in a ministry when they are actually supposed to be. For example NACGRAB in the Ministry of science should have     been better placed under agric for easy connectivity by the any reporters.

  Language barrier- there many situations when a reporter will have to look for an interpreter who one may not really get the exact message they way one would have understood.
  
   Incompetency of the many information of communication officers of MDAs as regards dynamics of reporting the value chain agricultural sector.
      
 Discrimination against media organization

Opportunities for agric reporters

In the face of the aforementioned, one cannot but agree that there are bound to be benefits for a reporter who is ready to pay the prize  as there is no opportunity without a challenge.

1.                Reporting of agricultural news will expand the marketing frontier of any electronic and prints media in terms of advertisement from the stakeholders, and this will be an edge over those who give the sector no reporting attention, just as special report on a particular crop value chain can be carried out at a cost. For example during the 50th celebration in 2010, food farm news made a special edition for challenges and achievement of the country where some Research Institutes were feature at a cost.

2.                There is high tendency for business opportunity to undaunted journalists as agricultural revolution in Nigeria and other African countries is already going through repositioning that a reporter in the sector may soon be enjoying like any other sector. For example in Nigeria, the sector is day by day expanding as the country has potential for exportable produce that are not yet optimized. For example in UK farming contributes over nine billion pounds to the economy. Food and drink is her largest manufacturing sector, the whole supply chain is worth nearly 100 million pound employing four million people.

3.                Reporters stand the chances of being given consultancy service as media communication on the course of reporting this sector, I have been privileged to enjoy this opportunity as country communication representative, FAO Nigeria on CountryStat of which is aimed at synchronizing the agricultural produce data from the local, states and Federal Government in a well harnessed way without contraction. Nigeria today is signatory. It was a well paid service. 

M      Many reporter have been sponsor for one training on the other Nationally or Internationally. 

4.                You meet reliable people - researchers, scientists, farmers, processors and producers of drinks and foods

Conclusion
The level of agricultural reporting in the country can be enhanced if especially the stakeholders who are the owners of this information are ready to see the media as development partners and not just being seen as special invitees during a launch or release of any new materials. But rather involving them like the case of the Avian Influenza outbreak in 2007 where Nigeria was well adjudged best in the world in the fight against H5N1 spread at the time.

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