Journalists in the laboratory

Science is universal, meaning that the result of a research in Nigeria could be replicated anywhere in the world with the same result, hence the need for journalists covering science to also understand that science is systematic, procedural and certainly not in anyway related to magic.Efforts to enhance the capacities of Nigerian science journalists to […]

Science is universal, meaning that the result of a research in Nigeria could be replicated anywhere in the world with the same result, hence the need for journalists covering science to also understand that science is systematic, procedural and certainly not in anyway related to magic.
Efforts to enhance the capacities of Nigerian science journalists to understand that science is not magic, as we have witnessed  in the past where scientists come up with claims of finding cures for any illness under the sun, but will not subject themselves to peer review processes, climaxed recently when a group of selected journalists from media houses across the country, dropped their recording gadgets and pens ,and put on the laboratory coat.
Their mission in the laboratory was simple: To perform an experiment of extracting the DNA of mango, pawpaw and the pear fruit, and to see how systematic science is.
After about an hour the peaceful atmosphere at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) laboratory was jolted with shouts of excitements “I have done it. I can make it, So simple, I will keep mine for a long time…”
One of the journalists, Baraka Bashir, from Freedom Radio, Kano, said the exercise was educating, as it gave her an idea  into  how scientists do their job.
“This opportunity is great. I  also dread what scientists do in the laboratory, I have not bothered to understand the processes, but now I know and see reason  why every scientist  should subject himself to peer review process,” said Binta Umar, a journalist with Jigawa Radio.
So far, about 50 journalists in Nigeria have undergone the training ,which has the sole aim of bridging the gap between scientists and journalists under the auspices of the Bioscience for Farming in Africa (B4FA).
B4FA is a programme of the Cambridge University UK, operating  in four African countries of Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania, to increase the understanding of journalists in these countries on issues of biosciences, especially as it relates  to efforts aimed at  meeting the food needs of the projected population of 2 billion in Africa by 2050.
The task may require a massive increase in food production. This is a huge challenge, but there are also many opportunities which the journalists operating on the continent are expected to  have knowledge of, so as to report on them properly.
Africa, according to recent statistics has approximately 33 million small farms, representing 80 per cent of all farms on the continent. Smallholder farmers, the vast majority of whom are women, are a particularly important group, as they produce as much as 90 per cent of agricultural output in Africa.
Poor quality planting material, depleted soils, limited water resources and losses due to pests and diseases, have kept African farmers’ yields at one-quarter of the global average. Few farmers use modern high yielding, locally adapted seeds. Just by applying existing and available agricultural advice and technologies, the productivity of African agriculture could double or treble, thanks to new agricultural technologies that are being developed.
Every form of technology that has emerged over the years has  been opposed for various reasons, hence efforts to make Nigerian science journalists understand the need for the introduction of these technologies, and  the benefits and dangers that are associated with them.
Scientists will tell you that nothing is risk free, so the need for journalists to understand and know the degree of risk, that is acceptable or not, remained very vital.
So far, journalists participating in the B4FA media fellowship have  visited most of the laboratories of research institutes across the country, where research on genetically modified cowpea and  cassava are taking  place.
At  the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the journalists interacted with Prof. Mohammed Ishaku, the lead investigator of the BT Cowpea (GM Cowpea) project, who noted that the GM technology was safe and sound, stressing that those opposing the technology lacked adequate knowledge and information on its efficacy.
“It is important when we interact with critical stakeholders from the media to explain the details of what we do to them. First, it is important for journalists to know that the GM technology is one of the most guided and scrutinised technologies to the extent that I can say a GM crop is more pure than a conventional crop,” he said.
According to veteran science journalist, Diran Onifade, reporting science is not an all comers affair, but required a dedicated set  of journalists who are prepared to understand the procedures and follow the details.
Onifade who is the President of the African Federation of Science Journalists, cited instances in the past of how journalists with little knowledge of the scientific processes, made claimants famous for their claims of having discovered drugs or treatments for various forms of illnesses.
Onche Odeh, President, Nigeria Association of Science Journalists , noted that reporting science in Nigeria is a bit challenging, considering that most of the reporters posted to science beats, do not have backgrounds in science.
“But this challenge is gradually being  tackled  with hands-on and practical opportunities provided for the journalists to visit the scientist in the laboratory, to see for himself how the business of science is been conducted,” he added.
As the journalists deepen their understanding of science, it is expected that Nigerians will now benefit from the researches undertaken by scientists at the various institutions. The science journalists will now be in the position to breakdown and analyse the importance of such research, and its benefit to the nation as a whole, thereby ending the era of research  gathering dust on shelves.