OFAB Kenya continues to foster accurate science reporting. In a science café with prior participants of the annual OFAB Kenya Media Awards held on 25-26 July 2022, the chapter invited experts to discuss topical issues in agricultural biotechnology, food and feed security, crop protection innovations and the One Health approach.
It is now universally accepted that science, technology and innovation (ST&I) play a crucial role in providing solutions to some of the most intractable challenges in the 21st century. These include climate change, food production challenges, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, disease pandemics et cetera. A classic example is the current COVID-19 disease pandemic that has affected virtually all aspects of our lives. Through science, we have made incredible progress in containing the pandemic.
For the public to acknowledge and utilize science innovations they must first be properly informed. This is where the media has been particularly important. We live in an infodemic era where everyone is an ‘expert’ in everything, resulting in proliferation of misinformation and disinformation about innovations derived from science and technology. This results in fear, mistrust and hesitancy in adoption and utilization of scientific innovations. The media, being a primary source of information consumed by the public, must therefore strive to report science accurately.
One way of ensuring accurate science reporting is by getting information from experts working in the various science disciplines. During the two-day science café, the invited experts addressed issues in Bt cotton cultivation, the potential of agri-biotech in addressing the animal feed crisis in Kenya, the role of crop protection innovations in achieving food security, and the importance of the human-animal-environment interconnection in achieving optimal global health security.