Being chosen as an IFAJ Young Leader and attending Congress 2025 in Kenya, and the preceding young leaders bootcamp, reaffirmed the valuable opportunities of being a Guild member. The week was a multi layered experience that I will remember forever and I discovered stories that I couldn’t have imagined beforehand. It presented a chance to step on to a new stage and learn about Kenyan culture and agriculture, but also meet colleagues from dozens of countries from every continent. I am incredibly grateful to BGAJ, IFAJ and Alltech, who sponsored the Young Leaders Programme, for the opportunity.
As a podcaster the week presented a rich new soundscape to explore. From touching down in Nairobi airport and walking out to the city, the sound story began. The hustle of the traffic, the call of birds, insects thronging in the air every evening. But also the music we experienced through the week, sometimes arranged by our hosts and sometimes more spontaneous! Indeed, the organisers took as many opportunities as they could to get us all singing and dancing, or at the very least watching or listening – always a joy. An example of how important it is to engage with the ‘culture’ as well as the ‘agriculture’ of a country. Hakuna matata – a phrase I hope to embrace more when back home!
Bootcamp Beginnings — Reflection, Field, Fellowship
As one of the ten young leaders selected by IFAJ, I took part in a two-day bootcamp preceding congress, led by members of the IFAJ Presidium. During bootcamp we were encouraged to take a step back and consider our future careers, as well as reflect on the vital role that agricultural journalism and communication can play on a global stage and the value of having a global network.
Bootcamp consisted of two days of presentations, workshops and site visits and offered time and space to reflect on our role as agricultural journalists, communicators and storytellers, but also our involvement with our national Guilds and IFAJ. We heard from members of IFAJ’s Presidium and Katie Knapp, a former Young Leader herself, and together we reflected: what is the role of an agricultural journalist in 2025? How do we make the most of the opportunities presented to us during the week and once we return home.
Then came the field visits. First we travelled to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), where the conversations turned technical and we were introduced to some of the key challenges faced by Kenyan agriculture, but also the solutions being presented: water availability, climate-shock, resilient livestock, genetics, hybrid systems, methane capture. But the real lessons came in meeting the people behind the data: the researchers and the leaders undertaking practical application of this research, and their sheer determination and belief in the work they are undertaking. We were also confronted with some of the cultural and gender dynamics underlying the agriculture of the country, and how this is navigated.
On the second day we visited a hatchery and poultry business with big ambitions and uncovered yet more stories, especially concerning farm labour, water availability and infrastructure planning. A couple of hours in the minibus then led us to a dairy farm and tea estate, where many of us experienced tea growing for the first time. I was particularly interested in discovering more about the challenges of dairy farming in Kenya, especially regarding forage availability and the competition for maize comparing cattle and human consumption of this important crop for the country.
Each visit showed how Kenyan agriculture is not static, but dynamic, adaptive, determined. Water – or the shortage of it – loomed large. Here, as elsewhere, climate change is not an abstraction, but a daily negotiation and a key matter of food security.
Congress Connections — Stories, Tech & Change
When the main congress opened, the gathering brought a vibrant energy. I hadn’t experienced anything like it before – agricultural journalists from dozens of countries all together in the same room, all looking to connect and experience the agricultural stories of the host country. There were presentations that particularly stuck with me: including a story of women leaders in coffee – the NORT group – which I have presented in the podcast I produced about the trip. We also discussed the role of artificial intelligence in shaping Kenyan agriculture, and in a particularly inspiring break out group I learnt about ‘action research’ that is being undertaken in partnership between researchers, journalists and farmers, in the context of gender, inclusion and climate.
Following this came more farm visits – covering everything from small scale vertical farming to pig production, and poultry to black soldier fly larvae. Each a unique story in its own right, and each filling in more of the jigsaw helping us further understand the overall context of Kenyan agriculture.
A key theme that came across was the determination to translate science and agriculture into local relevance through storytelling. And through it all, the congress was threaded with rhythm and sound: songs at the receptions, dancing at dinners, and laughter that rippled through hallways softening any potential barriers of language or culture.
Building a Global Network — Peers & Purpose
Perhaps the key value of the week lay not just in the scheduled sessions, but in the connections made. I took the opportunity to network with journalists and communicators from all continents – from Kazakhstan to Kenya, Australia to Austria and Sweden to South America. We swapped stories about culture and language, rural-urban divides, water, politics and of course agriculture. Farms may look different, but the language of agriculture often seems to be surprisingly shared in terms of risk, adaptation and identity.
In the quiet moments, I enjoyed the delicious and diverse food, made firm friendships and exchanged contact details. Already, I am reaching out to those new connections to bring their voices into the podcasts I work on — voices that will enrich my listeners’ views of agriculture beyond the UK. Because what travel gives you, when you’re listening properly, is not just a story to tell about others, but a story to tell with others.
Leaving Kenya — New Lens, Renewed Voice
Returning to the UK, I felt something shift. My work as an agricultural communicator now feels more global, more layered. The bootcamp and congress reframed my approach to listening: to farmers, to researchers, to communities. The memories of the trip and the soundscape of Kenya will stay with me forever.
I am deeply grateful to IFAJ, Alltech and BGAJ for giving me this opportunity. For any young member of your national Guild who is considering applying to the IFAJ Congress in Croatia in 2026, or the young Leader programme, I have to say: go for it. I have discovered how IFAJ Congress is more than a trip. It is a lens-changer. The friendships you make, the places you see, the stories you carry home are invaluable.
Listen to Ben’s Meet the Farmers podcast on the experience:
