Journalists Told to Support Indigenous Farming Methods at a Caritas Zambia Training

The Church, as well as civil societies that say no to these laws are not given a voice, Mr. Kabilika told ACI Africa, underscoring the need for the training of journalists who will henceforth tell stories from the Church and civil society perspectives.

“We want to tell our own stories; the stories of indigenous farmers who have been exchanging seeds for years and getting huge harvests without relying on farm chemicals,” the Caritas official said, and added, “There are many such success stories but they are not given visibility. Instead, it is stories about the interest of the corporate world that takes center stage in reporting.”

The training that kicked off on Tuesday, July 28 was delivered in partnership with Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Zambia, a non-governmental organization that empowers small-scale farmers in the rural communities in Zambia, Livelihoods and Climate Change in Caritas Zambia and CSO SUN, a movement of Civil Society Organizations working to raise the profile of nutrition on the national development agenda in the Southern African country.

Speaking to ACI Africa on the sidelines of the training, Livelihoods and Climate Change in Caritas Zambia Programs Specialist, Musamba Mubanga observed that Caritas Zambia does not receive support from the media.

“There is a lack of knowledge on some of the critical issues around climate change, seed politics and nutrition. Therefore, if we are going to ensure that our advocacy actually achieves its purpose, we need to have a buy-in from the media in terms of sharing some of the key issues that we advocate on,” Ms. Mubanga told ACI Africa.

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Ms. Mubanga highlighted the drought in Zambia in the last two farming seasons, issues related to climate change and responding to it responsibly as some of the topics covered during the two-day training.

Addressing seed politics, the Zambian national said, “The issue is national, regional and global. We are seeing that a number of policies have been revised and are aligned to the objectives of multinational companies.”

“But the concern is where does the right of the local farmer lie in all those policies, programs and protocols around the seed?” she probed.

The Programs Specialist on Livelihoods and Climate Change in Caritas Zambia noted that multinational companies in the seed industry “are the ones influencing decision making in the nations, regional, (and) globally.”

She invited journalists to pay attention to these issues affecting the vulnerable population rather than focusing only on “political issues.”

“The question is what key political aspects are you picking out?” she probed and continued, “There is something about the seed that is politically driven. We do have some climate programs that are being politicized so if you find the language of politics being more appealing why can’t you pick on certain issues that touch on politics (and) governance.”

As a follow-up to the training that took place at the Kapingila Guest House in Lusaka, the Programs Specialist on Livelihoods and Climate Change in Caritas Zambia said the members of the third estate will be required to submit stories about seed politics, climate change and nutrition for a media award later in the year.

“We will ensure the journalists do something about this training. They could pick on certain issues based on the three thematic areas we have discussed then go out there and do some investigation, feature some articles and do some documentary for a media award around November,” Ms. Mubanga said. 

She added, “This is not a one-off activity. The plan is to ensure that we have frequent engagements.”

“We are also thinking of getting activists, musicians who speak about these issues and form a network that will be established at the end of this training,” Ms. Mubanga said.

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She told ACI Africa that the media training was organized in preparation for media awards that are planned for later in the year to journalists who show exemplary performance in writing about climate change and seed politics.