OFAB Unveils Revamped Media Awards to Boost Biotech Reporting Across Africa
The Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) is intensifying efforts to attract greater media collaboration by unveiling a restructured OFAB Media Awards Scheme (OMAS) aimed at enhancing science-based agricultural reporting across Africa.
At a media engagement in Accra, Mr. Enoch Illori, Project Officer for OFAB Ghana, told ghnewshub.com that the meeting was part of OFAB Africa’s annual monitoring and stakeholder sensitization programme. This year’s focus, he said, was to engage past media awardees and interested journalists on the revamped award scheme and to introduce a new Africa-wide biotechnology communication campaign.
“The refreshed award format is not just about recognition,” Mr. Illori explained. “It’s also about building a stronger network of journalists capable of advancing accurate and compelling stories around agricultural biotechnology to influence policy, investment, and public understanding.”
OFAB Programme Officer at the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Mr. Verenardo Meeme, highlighted that a recent review of the awards—launched in 2006—revealed the need for structural reform. Key changes include the introduction of an online category and expansion beyond the initial 10 OFAB member countries.
“Journalists from across Africa can now participate in OMAS,” Meeme said. “This broader scope ensures a more inclusive platform and fosters a pan-African media network reporting on biotechnology from both a scientific and socio-economic perspective.”
He noted that promoting accurate, evidence-based journalism is vital in countering the misinformation that has slowed biotech adoption and investment in some African countries. By facilitating direct access to scientists, training programmes, and communication resources, OFAB aims to strengthen journalistic capacity to report biotech innovations as viable solutions to food security and economic transformation.
The session concluded with a call for stronger collaboration between the media, researchers, and policymakers to highlight the role of agricultural biotechnology in attracting private-sector investment, increasing yields, and achieving sustainable development goals.
OFAB, through OMAS and related initiatives, continues to position agricultural biotechnology as a key pillar in Africa’s development agenda—with the media as critical partners in shaping public and investor perception.
