Ghanaian Journalists Trained on Effective Biotech Communication

A science communication workshop training for 26 journalists was held in Kumasi, Northern Ghana on August 13-15, 2014. The journalists were trained on effective communication on biotechnology and biosafety issues. The workshop was very timely because of the need for media support for the breeders bill, which is causing heated debates in the Ghanaian public.

In a speech read on his behalf, Dr. Hans Adu-Dapaah, Director of CSIR-Crops Research Insitute, explained that the main objective of the bill was to establish a legal framework to acknowledge the achievements of breeders of new varieties. He added that CRI and other agricultural research institutes stand to benefit from the initiative, since it will promote the breeding of new varieties of plants, aimed at improving the quantity, quality and cost of food, fuel, fiber and raw materials for industry and will encourage investment in plant breeding and promote the seed industry.

The media were acquainted on basics of genetic modification as well as the status of biosafety research. They were also taught on how to pitch good stories and participated in several practical sessions aimed at employing best practices while writing agri-biotech related stories. They were taught the basics of extracting DNA from simple fruit and vegetables and visited the confined field trial of the NEWEST rice varieties at the Crops Research Institute trial site.

The activity was organized by ISAAA AfriCenter in partnership with Ghana Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Program for Biosafety Systems, the Africa Biosafety Network of Expertise of NEPAD and Africa Harvest.

For more information about biotechnology in Africa, contact Margaret Karembu at mkarembu@isaaa.org.