PELUM Zambia trains and sensitises journalists to the need to publish stories on sustainable food and farming systems
Journalists are powerful multipliers of knowledge. PELUM Zambia has worked in partnership with other civil society organisations in Zambia to train journalists to report accurately on sustainable food and farming systems.
PELUM Zambia hosts an annual awards ceremony to recognise journalists that publish stories that raise awareness of sustainable farming and profile farmers producing poison-free and nutritious food without harming the planet.
Through the KHSA, PELUM Zambia conducted additional training with journalists in 2022 to find out what they needed to improve their work and gain more exposure for organic agriculture and agroecology in the country. Journalists created workplans in the training that PELUM tracks throughout the year. PELUM also connects journalists to stories and to farmers using sustainable practices.
The 2022 trainings sensitised editors to the need to publish stories on sustainable food and farming systems, with particular reference to climate change, nutrition and rural livelihoods. PELUM has an ongoing relationship with journalists, feeding them relevant information, inviting them to key events and connecting more informally through a WhatsApp group.
Thanks to this work with media stakeholders, PELUM has been receiving ongoing requests from other institutions and civil society organisations. They ask to be connected to journalists trained and supported by PELUM because of their ability to holistically tell evidence-based, accurate and relevant stories of sustainability in food and farming systems.
Rabecca Mwila, Communications Officer for PELUM Zambia, says that “media are key influencers, able to disseminate information to the broader public and shift public perception of what kind of food and farming systems we need.”
- This story was originally published on the KCOA Newsletter – Issue no. 5.
Editors/ Authors: KHSA and GIZ-KCOA
