Media must put more focus on Agric sector - Prof. Amin Alhassan

Dean of the Agribusiness and Communication Sciences Faculty at the University of Development Studies, Prof. Amin Alhassan, is urging the media to put more focus on the agricultural sector.

He says the agricultural sector employs the majority of the country’s population and deserves better attention than it currently receives from the media.

He wants the media to particularly scrutinize agricultural policies and generate discussions on better alternatives.

Prof. Alhassan who is a former journalist with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) criticized the media for not doing enough in helping shape agricultural policies over the years.

“Journalists have a serious role to play by holding us to task… it’s supposed to create a key forum for discussions on agricultural policy…that is not happening as we expect,” Prof. Alhassan said, at a 3-day media training workshop on Agriculture reporting, communication and advocacy in Kumasi.

The workshop was to build the capacity of members of the Ghana Agriculture and Rural Development Journalists Association (GARDJA) and the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA).

It was also to help to bridge the information gap between the media and other agricultural industry stakeholders like the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

The training was organised by the Agriculture Policy Support Project, a USAID funded project with the objective of helping improve the quality of the country’s Agric sector policies.

Prof. Alhassan wants the media to put particular focus on the impact foreign aid is making on the growth of the agricultural sector.

“We want the media to bring out the issues and remind the foreign governments of their inability to meet their promises. The idea is to ensure that they do not just promise and walk away. You also check what the government and NGOs use the money for…whether they are spent on useful sectors or otherwise,” he said.

Festus Kwame Kwadwokpo of the Agriculture Policy Support Project noted there are vast areas within the agricultural sector that the media can explore and get good stories out of.

Environmental Communicator, Ama Kodum Agyemang, urged the media to do more in-depth reporting on the agricultural sector instead of just covering events.

President of the Ghana Agriculture and Rural Development Journalists Association, Richmond Frimpong, assured journalists will do more to help develop the country.