ACCRA—Nigerian journalist Oluyinka Alawode is the winner of the first Africa-wide media competition held by African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

Alawode’s winning entry discussed the role of innovative Nigerian women agricultural scientists whose research is enabling smallholder women farmers to increase their incomes. The prize was announced on July 20, 2013, during FARA’s Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW), a conference attended by some 1,000 international delegates.

African journalists from nine countries (Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe) competed in the contest.

“We received an impressive selection of articles and audio interviews from 29 hard-working journalists, who were obviously keen to win this contest,” said Karen Homer, AWARD Communications Manager.  “However, Miss Alawode’s story clearly demonstrated the critical work of AWARD scientists in Nigeria in improving the livelihoods of smallholder women farmers.”

Alawode was awarded an all-expense paid trip to Accra, Ghana to participate in AASW from July 15-20.

Alawode is a senior correspondent with BusinessDay, a daily national newspaper in Nigeria. As a journalist with 10 years of extensive experience, she reports on agriculture, small and medium enterprises, industries, and gender economics, both within and outside Nigeria, particularly on agriculture.

Alawode studied agriculture at the University of Ilorin, and holds a postgraduate diploma in journalism. She has taken buy xanax alprazolam online various short courses in science writing, script writing, business writing, reporting skills, and is the author of four books.

Sixteen men and 13 women reporters entered the AWARD-FARA Media Competition, writing on the theme, “The Role of Women in Agricultural Science.”

Contest judges included Violet Otindo, an award-winning Kenyan television producer and reporter; Ann Dela Apekey, FARA’s Gender Equality Specialist, and Karen Homer, a communications practitioner with 20 years of work experience in Africa.

The competition was organized on behalf of AWARD and FARA by WRENmedia, publishers of theNew Agriculturist, a unique and highly trusted resource which keeps online readers—scientists, development professionals, policymakers, lecturers, students and the media—abreast of trends, results and innovation in agricultural development, particularly in Africa but also in Asia and Latin America.