Agriculture is a central part of
life in Burkina Faso more than 80 per cent of Burkinabé work in the
agricultural sector, mostly as smallholder farmers. But they’re isolated
and they seldom have the opportunity to learn new information about
cropping issues, or to share their own experiences and solutions with
others.
Burkinabé journalist Inoussa Maiga is
setting out to improve Burkina Faso’s agricultural communications. He
initiated the formation of a guild, called the Burkinabé Association of
Agricultural Journalists and Communicators (ABJCA), which was made
official on May 18, 2013. He currently holds the position of General
Secretary.
“ABJCA promotes an open exchange of ideas
among agriculturalists, communicators and journalists that will help us
to improve our knowledge of local and national issues,” says Maiga.
Maiga was introduced to the idea of
forming a guild at the International Federation of Agricultural
Journalists 2012 IFAJ Congress’ Master Class workshop, in Sweden. This
workshop is a peer-to-peer teaching and learning experience, where IFAJ
member journalists work with those from developing countries on matters
such as skill development, new media technology skills, trends and
ethics, and governance.
“Partaking in the congress was an
incredible experience, however my African colleagues and I noticed that
there were too few African guilds involved in the IFAJ,” says Maiga. “In
the Master Class, we were encouraged to form our own guilds and become
IFAJ members, so when I returned home I shared the idea with others and
we created a constitution that fits within our local context.”
ABJCA is planning to address issues
unique to Burkina Faso. For example, members want to develop the market
for local agricultural products by informing consumers about the
economic benefits of buying local. They will also promote innovations
that farmers are using to improve products for local markets.
Maiga says it’s important for Burkina
Faso’s agricultural sector to clarify what being a farmer means.
Currently, he says, it’s socially demeaning to be called a farmer — even
farmers themselves do not consider farming to be a profession, but
rather an occupation for those without “real” employment. Maiga says
that changing this stigma is essential to gain more rights for farmers –
such as access to finance, agricultural inputs, extension programs,
markets and land security – to encourage young people to enter the
industry and improve the overall sector. “We want to make agriculture ‘cool’ again,” says Maiga.
Part of ABJCA’s mandate is to write more
about these issues and to reach the most people possible through social
media and a multimedia website. Members also want to organize regular
discussions with young people, as well as field visits for urban
children.
ABJCA comprises 15 agricultural
journalists and communicators and is based out of Ouagadougou. The
bureau includes President Omar Ouedraogo, General Secretary Inoussa
Maiga, Deputy General Secretary Inoussa Ouedraogo, Treasurer Francine
Kanzie, Deputy Treasurer Basidou Kinda, Communication and Partnership
Officer Gaoussou Nabaloum and Professional Development Officer
Nourou-Dhine Salouka.
IFAJ vice-president Owen Roberts was the
federation’s liaison with general secretary Maiga for the Burkinabé
guild’s early development. “It’s great to see this new development in agricultural journalism and communications in Africa,” says Roberts.
He credits Agriterra, Dupont Pioneer and
British-American Tobacco for major support of IFAJ’s increasingly global
outreach, and to national associations of agricultural communicators
for helping bring together these journalists for the Master Class.
By Samantha Beattie, a student journalist in the SPARK program at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
This article is published fisrt on IFAJ website: http://www.ifaj.org/news-blogs.html
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