The third edition of the Zimbabwe Agriculture Media Awards (ZAMA) is slated for the 30 July 2021. The awards this year,like last year, will be virtual due to the need to comply withcovid-19 protocols.
ZAS in association with MejrkhCommunications and Media Advisory are the organisers of the awards which were launched in 2019.
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Senator Monica Mutsvangwa will be the guest of honour while Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement Honourable Douglas Karoro will be the guest speaker.
The awards are being held at a time when Zimbabwe registereda bumper harvest due to government initiatives such as Pfumvudza/ Intwasa and the good rains received across the country.
Mejrkh Head of Advisory Services and Programmes Joseph Muramba says, Zimbabwe is celebrating both the good harvest and the journalists who impactfully followed the agriculture story.
“The media has excelled in covering the agriculture sector and it should be given due recognition for a job well done. This year the country is celebrating the record bumper harvest which will ensure self-sufficiency in grain requirements.
The work of informing the nation on developments in the agriculture value chain needs to be celebrated too while singling out those journalists with impactful reporting so that fellow scribes can aspire to reach or better the set standards,” he said.
The agriculture sector anchors government’s Vision 2030 of transforming the Zimbabwean economy to upper middle income status and impactful reportage in the sector can help realise this vision.
Journalists are being encouraged to look at the whole spectrum of the agriculture value chain which also supplies material for the manufacturing industry.
“ The agriculture story encompasses the whole range of the agriculture value chain and includes the agricultural ecosystem from planning, policy, finance and inputs, production and productivity, logistics, power, energy, marketing and markets,” says Muramba as he urges for a paradigm shift in newsrooms.
Prizes are up for grabs in ten categories with the winners of each category qualifying for the big prize, the Overall Agricultural Sector Best Reporter Award. The categories are:
Tobacco Sector Best Reporter Award
Cotton Sector Best Reporter Award
Wheat and Cereals Sector Best Reporter Award
Oilseeds Sector Best Reporter Award
Small Grains Sector Best Reporter Award
Dairy and Beef Sector Best reporter Award
Poultry Sector Best Reporter Award
Agricultural Finance and Development Best Reporter Award
Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change Best Reporter Award
Agricultural Equipment, Mechanisation, Irrigation, Storage and Innovation Best Reporter Award
