Media urged to embrace Pan Africanism
THE media in Africa has been urged to embrace Pan-African values that advance local innovations and solutions that can help the continent to attain food security and nutrition in the face of climate change.
Experts speaking at a meeting to discuss the crisis in African agriculture, challenged journalists on the continent to embrace critical thinking, especially when it comes to reporting agrarian issues on the continent.
“We need to embrace pan African values and put the continent first in terms of interest and engagement,” said Uduak Amimo, a veteran Kenyan journalist and former BBC correspondent.
“As African journalists we need to set the agenda for issues that are African. If we don’t, we would have abdicated our role for agenda setting. African journalists are supposed to be feeding not only Africa about its own agricultural issues but the whole world.”
The Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture (MESHA), a Kenyan-based organisation and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a leading research and advocacy think tank based in New Delhi, India organised the meeting.
At the meeting journalists and experts discussed wide-ranging issues on the crisis in African agriculture and how best the media could play its role promoting the growth of agriculture on the continent.
“You must reflect on the crisis in African agriculture while embracing the Pan-Africanist values in a broader sense and setting goals to make Africa a better place,” said a participant.
“The media in Africa must take the bull by the horns and recount the African story in agriculture and share a worldview common to all Africans.”
Richard Mahapatra, managing editor of Down To Earth, (CSE) publication, urged African journalists to carry out research, read and understand materials on African agriculture to remain appraised on the continent’s plans to achieve food security.
“Africa and India share so many problems,” he said. “We are all facing the food import trap and we have to engage each on how we move out of this trap. Climate change is already destroying all efforts to lift Africa from the food import trap. We need to interrogate issues around this and engage our policy makers.”
Said Aghan Daniel, secretary of MESHA: “Challenges that we face as African journalists, are the things that should spur us to do more. Is the crisis in agriculture in agriculture or it’s in reporting agriculture.
“We have to tell it well, in a principled manner.
“We have to tell the story in a way that examines our home grown solutions as well as others coming from outside.”
Aaron Yancho Kaah, a veteran Cameroon journalist said the African media must take a convincing and engaging stand on agricultural issues such as land, food import policies, climate change responses and others that can help the continent attain food security.
“We must adopt a convincing and engaging stand on agricultural issues facing the continent,” he said.
“We must influence the thought process on all agricultural matters affecting Africa.”
Pan African values have been touted for promoting deeper economic integration among African states.