OFAB Africa media awards 2018 held in Ouagadougou

The second edition of the Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB) Media Awards which celebrates journalists and their efforts in promoting agricultural technologies in Africa held Thursday night at Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso and was attended by journalists from the 7 OFAB countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

OFAB is an initiative of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), a not-for-profit organisation that facilitates and promotes partnerships for the access and delivery of appropriate agricultural technologies for sustainable use by smallholder farmers.

The initiative is aimed at bridging the gap between scientists and stakeholders in the agric sector – believes media being the platform via which information is disseminated to farmers with multiplier effects “acts a bridge between science and the people.”

“We believe that journalists have a vital role to play in promoting awareness and adoption of agricultural biotechnologies which can greatly improve Africa’s chance of achieving food security and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and economies of African countries,” said  Dr Denis Kyetere, executive director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF)  while speaking at the event.

Kyetere said AATF was through the OFAB Media Awards, acknowledging the vital role being played by the media in championing biotechnology as one of the solutions to Africa’s food security challenges.

Winners and runners-up were awarded in three different categories: print & online, television as well as radio with Calvin Edward Gwabara from Tanzania emerging as the overall winner of the OFAB Media Awards 2018. The awards was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).