Organisers of the Excellence in Carib-bean Agricultural Journalism Awards 2011 have announced the winners of the first edition of the regional awards and the Best News Story (Print) awardee is Stabroek News reporter Gaulbert Sutherland.
The competition was organised by the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM), with assistance from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation ACP-EU (CTA), a press release stated.
It also announced that the Best Business Feature (Print) was submitted by Shaliza Hassanali of the Trinidad Guardian; the winner of the Best Television News story is Carry Bishop of the amaica Information Service; and the Best News Story (Radio) was won by Antoinette Frederick of WINN FM, St Kitts and Nevis. However, no prize was awarded to entrants in the Web-based and Digital Media category.
The awards ceremony to honour the winners will be staged in Dominica during Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) activities. According to CARDI Executive Director, Dr Arlington Chesney, these awards are part of the initiatives of the agricultural community to involve the media in sensitising the public as to the key role of agriculture in the development of the economies of the region. And IICA representative in Trinidad and Tobago and coordinator, Regional Integration, Caribbean Region, Gregg Rawlins in expressing satisfaction with the outcome of the first edition of Media Awards said that the awards competition was but one in a series of initiatives pursued by the partner agencies to strengthen relations between the media and the agricultural sector.
He added that media and agricultural professionals have participated in agricultural roundtable sessions and training workshops designed to inform and sensitise and encourage improved media coverage of agriculture and food security related issues.
ACM President Wesley Gibbings, said he was pleased with the high level of interest in the first edition of the awards. “The intention here is to encourage the growth of credible channels of informed, well-told stories on the food and agriculture sector,” Gibbings said.
