Jimoh Babatunde CAADP Journalists Network

1. the role of the media in the
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture
Development Program (CAADP)
By
Jimoh Babatunde
CAADP Journalists Network

2.  Mass media
 – The mass media are diversified media technologies
that are intended to reach a large audience by mass
communication
 – The technologies through which this communication
takes place varies
 Print media
 – Print media use a physical object such as a
newspaper, book, pamphlet or comics to distribute their
information
 Broadcast media
 – Broadcast media such as radio, recorded music, film
and television transmit their information electronically
Conceptualizing the media

3. Our media

4. the media remains an important instrument to communicate and
facilitate dialogue on agriculture, including sharing on best
practice as well as raising awareness on key issues in advancing
agriculture and development.
the media has a powerful role in distributing information on
African agriculture
the CAADP Journalists reaffirmed their commitment to
disseminate pertinent information to local communities by
linking policy makers and researchers with farmers on the
ground. “We are committed to realising Vision 2025,”
Traditionally the use of the media has been about communicating
research messages when there are success stories in particular.
But journalists have the potential to be more of an agent of
change themselves. They are in quite a unique position,
potentially being the voice of policymakers, the voice of farmers,
the voice of researchers. So I think they potentially can be quite a
powerful catalyst for change.
INTRODUCTION

5. To increase the volume and quality of positive news on the role
and impact of CAADP
Liase broadly with wider networks in their countries and regions
Improve communication and raise the profile of agriculture in
Africa
Improve reporting and coverage of agriculture and tell the African
story of development in agriculture
We know that agricultural extension in Africa is almost dead, so
farmers have to depend on the media to deliver information.
Secondly the media can also provide a platform through which the
farmers can engage with policymakers, so that their perspectives can
be taken on board.
Thirdly the media can also profile the work of farmers so that lessons
and experiences can be shared.
Market Information: Market demand and supply condition can be
provided to the framers through by radio, T.V and newspaper.
Roles of Journalists in CAADP

6. Facebook, FB page
Linkedin
Google, Google groups, Google Plus
Twitter (Hootsuite, Tweetdeck)
Skype for virtual diary meetings, discussions
Blogs (data, video, photo blogs)
Scoop.it (curating agricultural news)
Twitter ( micro blogging of stories)
Storify ( creating stories using social media)
RSS feeds enable publishers to syndicate data automatically
YouTube (videos)
New Media tools that can be used in CAADP reporting

7. Funding for media personnel's
Media houses do not recognize agric. because they
believe it is not profitable
Poor capacity or lack of understanding of Agric. issues
Inadequate staffing
Lack of collaboration with agric. institution and MDSs
Challenges of media in Agric.

8. CAADP is the AUC/NEPAD’s long term plan to improve food
security nutrition and increase Africa’s farming based
economies
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)
Agency established the CAADP Journalists Network to
promote agricultural development reporting in Africa.
The Network, which was launched on the eve of the 9
Comprehensive Africa CAADP Partnership Platform in Addis
Ababa in 2013, aims to equip African journalists with a better
understanding of CAADP, and the broader issues and
debates related to agricultural development on the
Continent.
Objective was to strengthen the coverage of agriculture
development in Africa
About CAADP Journalist Network

9. Members of this group drawn from major broadcasting
organization in Africa after the Addis Ababa first meeting
had met at different meetings and events organized by
NEPAD
In Nairobi, Kenya, radio journalists from 14 countries met in
August 2014 to explore avenues and practical action to
improve the use radio as the channel to reach local
communities with information on agriculture and
development, in the context CAADP
Participating journalists at that training maintained that the
media, especially radio, remains an important instrument to
communicate and facilitate dialogue on agriculture
Radio, they noted, also remains indispensable as a medium
for sharing best practices, as well as raising awareness on
key issues in advancing agriculture and development.

10. It is meant for members to use the various monitoring and
tracking tools, such as Joint Sector Reviews and the CAADP
Results Framework to follow and assess the progress of
agriculture in their countries
Sometimes in 2015, selected members met in Lusaka,
Zambia for training on how to enhance reportage of
agriculture issues
This presentation will share the technical functions of the
network and new tools the network hopes to embrace.

11. The network members have been introduced to Web2.0
applications
Web 2.0 refers to World Wide Web websites that emphasize
user-generated content
A Web 2.0 website may allow users to interact and
collaborate with each other in a social media like Facebook,
Blogs You tube and Linked in among others
The network members already use google alert. This has
helped network members to learn more on what is
happening on agriculture in Africa and understand what
CAADP is all about
The network members have so far been using google
groups and many have a gmail account
I want to believe we all use google products such as google
docs, google alerts, google maps, google search engine,
google groups and google hang outs.

12. Blogs : Network members have been blogging on
different platforms
I created mine using using google
Here is a story written after a CAADP meeting in
Accra, Ghana in 2016
 http://travelswithjimbabs.blogspot.com.ng/2016/04/12
th-caadpp-participants-tasked-private.html

14. Here is Kofi Adu Domfeh, a member's Linkedin page,

15. Web gathering platforms : Web Gathering platforms a meeting or
conference held in a virtual space on the internet
The CAADP network is looking forward to open source web
gathering platforms. Tweet Ups
This was one of the areas we had practical on during the Zambia
meeting
You know tweetup is the actual face-to-face meeting of Twitter users
for a specific objective. Unlike a tweet chat? or a Twitter list,
tweetups necessitate the physical presence of users and may be held
anywhere, from coffee shops, to hotel lobbies, to restaurants, to
conference rooms, etc
A tweetup may be organized around a particular subject, or may be
arranged just to socialize, make friends and establish contacts
Tweet Ups are important as they help other people become
educated on a particular subject or theme.

16. Judith Akolo speaks on the Kenyan experience and
CAADP implementation

17. Students displaying different tomato breeds to journalists

18. As we move forward , I think those of us here with the
assistance of NANTS and partners can come together to
create the NIGERIAN CHAPTER OF CAADP JOURNALIST
NETWORK that will enhance our reportage of agriculture in
Nigeria
Today, we can have a whatsApp group , where we share
news and other information from across Africa.

19. Coverage of agriculture events : So far the CAADP
Journalists Network members have covered non state
actors meetings in Uganda, Congo and Tanzania
Open data workshop for data-driven journalism in
Africa
The Open Data Training Course for Journalists, 25–28
July in Nairobi, was organised by CTA1 and the New
Partnership for Africa's Development Agency (NEPAD).
The aim was to create awareness of open data among
media practitioners. The training provided members of
the CAADP Journalists Network with practical tips for
using open data.
OPPORTUNITIES

20. with Catherine Riungu — at a village in Tanzania

21. As the most important and in some cases the only realistic link
between decision-makers and citizens, the media has a key role in
informing the population about agriculture issues and the
relevance of agriculture to their own personal welfare and to the
broader development of Africa
It is against this background that the coming together of
agriculture journalists is important as it will enable us to:
 To act as a knowledge sharing and learning session on the nexus
between NEPAD-CAADP and the media in Nigeria;
To provide knowledge and competence in covering the key
aspects of CAADP/ agriculture in Nigeria and Africa and its
multifaceted impacts on the people of Africa;
To work towards the coordination of a cadre of mass-media
personnel, who are sensitive to the problems confronting
governments and public in their attempts to respond to the
rising food prices.
Why we need to come together here in Nigeria

22. All the above we enable us to advocate for the development
of the agricultural sector in Africa
There are some successes, but there are still some
challenges. The onus is on us to remind our people and our
leaders of the commitment to agriculture-led socio-
economic development
Our coming together, we also enable us to remind the
people about the 10% national budget allocations to
agriculture and the 6% sectoral growth as was agreed in the
Maputo Declaration
The idea is to prioritise reporting towards the basic human
needs – food, nutrition, health and water – of most
Nigerians.

23.  Agricultural practitioners must ensure that all
agricultural projects have journalists or media people
as stakeholders in the process, and that provision
should be made for them, like you make provision for
other members of the team.
 The media needs to be engaged more as a partner at
the beginning, during the work and at the end and
not as a special invitee to events, seminars and
openings.
 I think that scientists should play a more active role in
simplifying their research findings, making it easier for
the journalists to interpret and report on such
agricultural research.
Recommendation for Engaging with the media

24. THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING