All Guild members are eligible to enter a new competition being held by the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) and sponsored by fertiliser giant Yara, writes the Guild’s IFAJ Executive representative, Joe Watson.
The IFAJ-Yara Award for reporting on sustainable agriculture has a top prize of €3,000 (about £2,540 at the time of writing), with €1,500 (£1,270) and €750 (£635) going to the second and third prize winners.
The contest is open to written articles and broadcasts, whether for radio, TV or the Internet and is a truly global competition as it is open to journalists in all 31 of the IFAJ’s member countries.
IFAJ president Mike Wilson, of the USA, says: “With this contest we hope to encourage more discussion and debate on the important topic of world hunger and sustainable agriculture.”
The theme the contest takes is one that has already raised considerable political debate as world leaders consider the challenges facing the globe in having to feed a surging population at a time when the climate is apparently changing, energy costs soar and water supplies diminish.
Articles or broadcasts on the broad themes of hunger, feeding the world for the long term and meeting the challenge of providing nutrition to an increasing global population are all eligible to be entered.
These articles or broadcasts can look at local issues or the wider global challenges facing society. They could cover a broad range of topics such as food supply and demand, trade, agricultural production techniques or policy, whether at a global, national, regional or very local level.
Entries must have been published or broadcast between January 1, 2010, and June 1, 2011 – or scheduled to be published or aired no later than December 31, 2011.
The closing date is June 15 and entries have to be submitted in an electronic format, such as PDF or MP3. If broadcast material is on Youtube.com or a similar platform, then entrants can just provide the link.
Full rules and details are on the IFAJ website here.
