COOPI has successfully launched “Media Engagement in Agriculture” initiative in July 2020 in operating district through organizing day long workshop with public and private media personnel in the targeted districts. 80 media personnel in 4 districts of Bombali, Kambia, Port Loko and Karene participated in the workshops.
COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale is implementing “Fostering Smallholder Agriculture in Sierra Leone” (Pro Resilience Action 2015”) project with funding from European Union to reduce the food insecurity, malnutrition and increase income for the farmers in vulnerable communities of Northern and North West Districts (Kambia, Port Loko, Karene and Bombali) of Sierra Leone. In last few years of implementation of Nutrition, food security and agricultural value chain interventions, COOPI has identified labour shortage as a big factor in terms of quality and quantity to perform smart and profitable agriculture in these districts.
This challenge can be overcome by engaging skilled, energetic farmers especially while mechanization has challenges which requires attention of the youth and passionate, motivated farmers to transform the subsistence production system to commercial level through modern production technology and entrepreneurial skills.
Youth are not interest in agriculture as there is a slow return and no model to follow. Farmers are not much respected in society and the adaptation of nutritious food consumption is still low in the country. The country required more engagement more energetic entrepreneurs including women and youth with steady vision to transform the agricultural sector supported by proper extension services, adequate business knowledge, well govern input supply chain, governmental incentives and farmers friendly policies (land, tax, cooperative, credit).
COOPI facilitated 4 “Media Engagement in Agriculture” workshop in 4 district (started with Port Loko on 17th July and ended with Kambia on 24th July) to present the potential role of media in agricultural evolution for a developing country like Sierra Leone. The workshop has presented the current situation of Nutrition, Food Security and Agriculture to point out the existing gap to maximize the utilization of abundant natural resources, to overcome the alarming situations. The workshops has also point out the potential contribution of print and e-media to play in disseminating knowledge of production technology, agricultural information dissemination, blowing early warning, presenting success story, analyzing agricultural business plan, policy advocacy and promoting agricultural expert opinion to ensure increase agricultural production and productivity to achieve zero hunger and no poverty.
Therefore, as the Media is a strong factors that can easily influence any stakeholders to present the need, measures need to take and sharing the success stories, publish knowledge materials and can act as a medium of agricultural extension services.
Participants of the workshop involved managers, producers, reporters, presenters and editors of different radio stations, newspapers, television and bloggers in each district targeted. They were engaged on short presentations, group works, individual works, presentations, questions and answers, and sharing experiences.
Launching the workshop, the District Agriculture Officer in Bombali district David Sallu Sellu expressed to journalist that, COOPI with support from EU has been supporting farmer on food diversification specially cashew cultivation, vegetable cultivation, bee keeping since 2013 in the north of the country. DAO mentioned that, cashew is a new cash crop in Sierra Leone with huge potential in enhancing the income of smallholder farmers.
The National Director of Agriculture Extension in Sierra Leone, Aiah Joseph Thollie acknowledged the importance of engaging the media on agricultural evaluation in the country. He thank COOPI and EU to bring in such initiative to contribute in enhancing food and nutrition security in Sierra Leone. He informed Journalists that COOPI has been a very serious partner with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. He said COOPI was the first NGO to in a high scale popularize cashew in the country during the Agriculture for Development (A4D) project. Aiah Joseph Thollie called on media personal to take agricultural activities as human interest stories for publication.
The workshops climaxed with the formation of a “Media Alliance on Agriculture” by all media personal present at the workshop and to involve other who were not part of the workshop. The whatsapp platform is connecting all media personal in the country to share and learn from each other on stories related to food and nutritional security.
Within 7 days the workshop has influenced to report on agricultural stories including 23 radio news, 6 newspapers articles printed, 3 online articles published by the journalist and media personnel participated in the workshop.
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