Our Fellowship programme has been running in Tanzania since November 2012. In the first round, STI4D and B4FA welcomed 17 Tanzanian media professionals from print, radio and TV into the Fellowship. They hailed from throughout the United Republic, from Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam to Dodoma and Arusha.
The Fellowship programme kicked off with a four day long residential training and dialogue workshop, held at the Palace Hotel, Arusha from 5-8 November 2012. Fellows were able to interact with scientific, regulatory and journalism experts from Tanzania, Kenya, the UK and US over the four day period, and made two field trips to the Africa regional headquarters of the World Vegetable Centre (AVRDC) and to commercial seed breeders Rijk Zwaan Afrisem ltd. Case studies of biosciences work being carried out in Tanzania were reported by senior representatives from the Agricultural Research Institute at Naliendele, the Sugarcane Research Institute Kibaha, Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute, and Mkuranga district agricultural extension services.
Since then, B4FA fellows in the country have continued to write and publish pieces on key scientific work and regulatory developments in Tanzania and internationally, and have made visits to ARI Naliendele in Mtwara, Sokoine Univeristy of Agriculture in Morogoro, Selian Agricultural Research Institute in Arusha, and a private tissue culture facility operated by ecoagriconsult ltd in Arusha. As a result of feedback, B4FA was delighted to extend the fellowships from the original 6 month timescale to a full 18 months, to encourage even more reporting and engagement.
In 2013, STI4D and B4FA began a second round of Media Fellowships in Tanzania with a further training and dialogue workshop held at the Palace Hotel in Arusha from 15-18 April. We welcomed a further 18 media professionals into our family of Fellows and had the opportunity to invite back a number of our alumni Fellows from the first round. Fellows were again able to interact with scientific, regulatory and journalism experts from West and East Africa, Europe and the US over the four day programme, and made field trips to commercial seed company Rijkzwaan QSEM, the Arusha Seed Agency, the National Plant Genetic Resources Centre at TPRI and the RECODA Farmers group. Case studies were presented by senior representatives of the Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute in Dar es Salaam, Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Kilimo Markets Arusha, and Rijkzwaan Afrisem.
B4FA fellows in Tanzania continue to research, write and broadcast about latest development in plant breeding, agriculture and crop genetics in Tanzania, Africa and the world. Read the workshop reports and press cuttings below.
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