By Alva Solomon
The agricultural and rural development conference hosted by the Belgium-based Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA) concluded in Brussels on Friday last, with the final analysis being that in some African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries more than two-thirds of the poor still live in rural areas and are heavily dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.
The issue of the food/agriculture/media relationship was highlighted as being in need of more attention from the relevant stakeholders.
According to the CTA reference document ‘the Brussels Declaration’, which derived after discussions held during the seminar, the forum made the “painful observation” that in some ACP countries the agricultural sector and rural areas are not featured in the mainstream media sufficiently, and whenever this happens, information conveyed to such rural areas did not always meet the expectations of persons living there, such as the farmers.
One of the recommendations coming out of the seminar was for a greater effort to be made by the media, as well as other stakeholders involved in the agriculture sector and rural development, to capitalize on the different types of knowledge, expertise and experiences available. The seminar also recommended that issues relating to agricultural and rural development, whatever medium is being used, must serve local interests and be used as a gauge for validating political orientations, techniques and technologies.
For its part, CTA was urged to widely publicize the recommendations of the seminar to the authorities and stakeholders in ACP countries and to incorporate into its plan of action for the coming years the recommendations brought to the fore at the conference. The recommendations came into being following deliberations in group sessions, where the participants were divided into sections; video, print, radio and TV.
From the Caribbean perspective, journalism in general in the region was seen as setting an example for other regions of the world. Accord-ing to Trinidadian media consultant, Dr Krishendaye Rampersad, the Caribbean is noted for having quality journalists. She noted that journalists in this part of the world cover a range of issues from crime to entertainment and provide in-depth coverage/ analysis on such issues within the mainstream media.
On a sour note, where the formulation of the panels at the conference was concerned, like the group from the Pacific islands, there was a minute presence of Caricom delegates during the five-day discussions at the head tables during the various discussions. CMC’s Peter Richards was vocal in his comments when, during an open floor session on Wednesday morning, he noted that the Caribbean delegates attending the seminar were not given an opportunity to make their voices heard. He noted that it was the Caribbean model of agriculture/media relations which was being put on show in Brussels last week. In this regard he made reference to the Caribbean Week of Agriculture activities held in the St Vincent and the Grenadines last October where he noted, journalists had one-on-one interactive sessions on agricultural issues with the main stakeholders within the agriculture sector in the region.
CTA director Hansjorg Neun stated during the discussions that the Caribbean has been able to maintain a quality standard where reporting on agricultural issues are concerned. Neun, who replaced former Guyanese cabinet minister Carl Greenidge as CTA head, was supported in his comments by many attending the seminar with most persons noting that the Caribbean model of journalism is one which can be used as an example for media operatives in other parts of the world including the African continent.
Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) Executive Director, Guyanese Dr Arlington Chesney, who is based in Trinidad and Tobago, said the conference was important because of the underlying issue of food. Speaking to Caribbean journalists at the seminar, Chesney said the forum brought together persons involved in media work to have meaningful communication, noting that where reporting on issues was concerned, agriculture related or not, the message did not matter once it is sent out.
Thursday’s session saw the Caribbean group being planted into the programme agenda at short notice; a short video presentation by Dr Eugenia Springer, a media consultant based in Trinidad and Tobago, along with Dr Chesney made a brief reflection on media/agriculture relations in Trinidad. The presentation featured an interactive session between farmers in parts of that country with a community based media house, the farmers making their voices heard as regard trade issues.
The objective of the seminar was to make agriculture a more attractive topic within the mainstream media, since according to the CTA, agriculture-related issues do not receive much attention in the media, gaining recognition only in times of natural disasters and related calamities. The five-day sessions saw officials and media officials convening to have meaningful discussions on a range of issues relating to agricultural and rural development, and to create recommendations which would, according to the CTA, assist in “bridging the gap existing between the media and the agriculture sector in ACP countries”.
The conference, which was held under the theme ‘the Role of the media in the Agricultural and Rural Development in ACP countries’, was attended by over 150 officials and journalists from some 40 ACP countries, with most of the participants coming from the African continent.
