IITA–CGIAR, in collaboration with Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI), Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), and the Ministry of Agriculture under the Building Economically Sustainable Seed Systems for Cassava (BASICS-II) project conducted a two-day training to local media reporters to effectively communicate and advocate for cassava seed system and cassava value chain in Tanzania. The workshop trained the media journalists on communicating effectively on the cassava value chain, which would help them disseminate accurate information to the communities. The training was held recently at the IITA Eastern Africa hub office in Dar es Salaam.
During the training, the IITA Head of Advocacy and Resource Mobilization, Regina Kapinga, noted that cassava offers multiple marketing opportunities for farmers and processors. “The goal is to put journalists at the forefront in promoting the crop and opportunities still untapped along the value chain to the farmers and agricultural stakeholders across the country,” she said.
Head of Communication at the Ministry of Agriculture, Hudson Kamoga, noted that private sector actors play a significant role in agriculture. Thus it is difficult for the government to work alone, whereas the government has a massive strategy to advance the agriculture sector by ten percent by 2030.