KALRO Director of Corporate Communication Dr Floridah Maritim speaking to journalists and editors attending the Climate Beacons Newsroom Initiative inception meeting in Nairobi./TRACY MUTHONI
Journalists should work more closely with agricultural research institutions to track climate solutions from research centres to farmers and assess whether they make a difference, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) has said.
KALRO Director of Corporate Communication Dr Floridah Maritim said climate reporting should not end when researchers release a new technology or practice.
She was speaking to journalists and editors attending the Climate Beacons Newsroom Initiative inception meeting in Nairobi.
The initiative is being implemented by the Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture (MESHA) in partnership with the Solutions Journalism Network (SJN).
Maritim said journalists should follow the journey of climate solutions and establish whether farmers and pastoralists can access, understand and use them.
“The story continues after a technology is released,” she said.
She said conventional climate reporting often focuses on the problem facing farmers or pastoralists. Solutions journalism, however, should examine what could help, where it works, what it costs and whether communities can use it.
This requires journalists to remain engaged beyond the launch of a new technology.
Maritim encouraged journalists to participate in field demonstrations, farmer training, extension activities and community engagements.
She said field demonstrations give farmers an opportunity to see new practices under local conditions and ask questions directly to researchers.
She noted that such activities provide an opportunity for journalists to observe how farmers respond to proposed solutions.
“Each engaging model creates a reporting opportunity,” she said.
At a field demonstration, journalists can ask what farmers understood, whether they intend to try the practice and what could prevent them from doing so.
The next question, she said, should be whether farmers can actually access the technology or inputs needed to use it.
“Can they obtain seed, inputs and reliable advice?” she asked.
This could involve examining the availability and cost of improved seeds, livestock technologies, equipment, advisory services or other interventions promoted as responses to climate challenges.
Maritim said county agricultural officers and other advisers also play an important role in transferring research knowledge to farmers.
Research guidance and training manuals are often used by extension workers when training farmers.
She said journalists should understand how information moves from research institutions to county officers and eventually to farmers.
She also pointed to farmer groups and agricultural entrepreneurs as important links between research and communities.
Such groups can provide continuous local support after researchers leave.
Journalists, she said, should engage with these different actors to develop a deeper understanding of whether climate solutions are reaching the people who need them.
The reporting should also continue after farmers have used a technology or practice.
“After a season, what worked, what failed, and what changed?” she asked.
She urged journalists to make field visits a regular part of climate and agriculture reporting.
They should observe practices directly, speak to farmers and researchers, and independently verify claims made about a solution.
This includes checking the cost of adoption, availability of inputs and the reliability of technical advice.KALRO Director of Corporate Communication Dr Floridah Maritim speaking to journalists and editors attending the Climate Beacons Newsroom Initiative inception meeting in Nairobi./TRACY MUTHONI
Journalists should also return to the same farmers after a period of use to establish what actually happened.
Such follow-up, she said, can reveal challenges that may not emerge during the launch or demonstration of a technology.
Maritim said the success of climate reporting should ultimately be judged by what happens to the knowledge once it leaves the research institution.
“The measure of a climate story, did the knowledge reach farmers and make a difference in their fields, livestock and livelihoods?” she said.
The real story, Maritim said, is what happens when the solution reaches the farmer.
Her call comes as African newsrooms participating in the Climate Beacons Newsroom Initiative seek to strengthen reporting that examines evidence-based responses to climate change.
The seven-month initiative brings together six newsrooms from Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania and Malawi.
It includes training, coaching, audience engagement and impact tracking aimed at strengthening climate solutions journalism.Journalists and editors attending the Climate Beacons Newsroom Initiative inception meeting in Nairobi./TRACY MUTHONI