Guild member Chris McCullough has won an award which will see him return to South Africa on another reporting mission.
Chris won a week’s stay with flights to South Africa by producing a number of news and feature stories during the IFAJ congress to South Africa in 2017.
Chris spent 10 days in South Africa travelling around farms from Pretoria in the west to the Cape Flats in the south east reporting on the challenges and opportunities facing South African farmers.
These stories focused on South African dairying, pigs, chickens, beef, machinery, tourism, wine production, vegetables – and indeed farm attacks and murders.
During the IFAJ congress in the Netherlands Chris was presented with the award jointly provided by the South African Guild, Agricultural Writers SA, and Monsanto by Magda du Toit, who is Monsanto South Africa communications manager.
Magda, pictured above with Chris, said: “The prize comprises a return flight ticket to South Africa and four nights accommodation and Monsanto also indicated that they will add to this prize and sponsor another two nights accommodation and a visit to a farmer.”
Chris and Magda will make a plan for the trip which will include a farm visits along with some relaxing time meeting friends.
Chris said: “I am very humbled yet excited to have won this superb opportunity to South Africa. It’s a country I know quite well and cherish every chance I have to go there.
“The IFAJ congress there in 2017 was a huge success and provided me with many stories to tell. I am very honoured that international editors continue to adjudge my journalism as worthy to meet their high acceptability criteria for publishing.
“With that in mind I would like to thank each and every one of my editors across the world and of course thank Monsanto and the Agricultural Writers SA for providing me another opportunity to report from a country I enjoy travelling around so much.”
