Writer: Odoobo C. Bichachi. PHOTO/COURTESY
Daily Monitor recently published two stories that remind us of the importance of development journalism (see, “Why 2-wheel tractors failed to transform farmers’ livelihoods” and “Farmers at crossroads as African seeds face extinction” – Monitor, October 24.
Development journalism is a mainly southern hemisphere nomenclature that can best be understood by its origin, purpose and manifestation. It stems from a 1960s and 1970s realisation by developing countries, particularly in Asia that a different form of journalism was necessary.
This is well captured in this article on www.scribd.com;“The call from Third World countries for a New World Information and Communication Order, which reached its height in 1970s, gave further impetus to the promotion of development journalism. The call for the new order is the result of serious criticism by the Third World countries of Western conventional journalism, especially international news by wire services, which focus on spot news, negative events while providing little information relevant and helpful to the national development of Third World countries.”
Unfortunately, the vagaries of Western media described above have been difficult to shake off for the mainstream media in developing countries, Uganda inclusive. So we see a lot politics and scandal dominating news coverage to the detriment of other equally, if not more important, issues on livelihood – economic and social. The definition of development journalism that most aptly captures its purpose, in my view and for purposes of this column, is that it is “The active involvement of journalists in critical coverage and awareness raising with regard to issues of socio-economic development (primarily in the southern hemisphere) from the perspective of those most affected.” – www.oxfordreference.com.
The two articles referenced in Daily Monitor spoke exactly to this. The walking tractor story [this is their technical name, not two-wheel tractors] showed that the Uganda government – largely perceived to be absent in rural areas and or simply wallowing is corruption and scandal – had found a moment to do the right thing that would potentially uplift the rural folks by giving them fishing rods rather than fish.Most of government’s recent rural economic policies have focused on dolling out small fish to hungry villagers through bombastically named programmes such as “Kulembeka” (siphoning), “Bona Bagagawale” (everyone get rich), “Entandikwa” (start-up), Emyooga (projects) Youth Livelihood Programme, Operation Wealth Creation, PDM (parish development model), etc.The programmes were always premised on extending small credit to peasants as the panacea to poverty in the villages. Instead they simply ended up availing to the poor a few coins they used in buying food or covering social needs – including financing marriages.Providing walking tractor is, therefore, a significant development worth capturing by the media because it is a rare government focus on improving production by addressing a fundamental limitation, the hand-hoe which doesn’t allow much acreage to be tilled, is labour intensive and enslaving.
Only a development minded journalist could see and capture this story showing that the government was finally walking its talk on basic agricultural mechanisation.This story may have focused on the failures of the programme so far, as the equipment reportedly broke down or lies unused due to lack of skills to operate the tractors, but therein are the pegs of development journalism. By the media highlighting these issues, both government and the farmers can work out solutions.
The seeds story, on the other hand, highlights the dangers that farmers and country a large face when we lose control of local seed multiplication. The implications on food security are enormous.
Therefore. the choice of sourcing and publishing these stories speaks directly to what Divyansh Saxena noted in 2023, that: “The defining objective of development journalism is to participate in the social, economic and cultural upliftment of the society by reporting and analysing policies, events and trends that have a bearing on the society's development (see, “Development of Journalism in Ajmer - Merwara during 20th Century – www.ijarasem.com). Did the Ministry of Agriculture note the important issues in these two stories? We don’t know. What we know is that the journalists did a good job to raise them.
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