As my presidency is about to end, I have been reflecting on the last four years. A period which has been special, not only to me personally but also in general. During these four years the world has been hit by at least two events which have had a major impact on both agriculture and journalism. First the pandemic and then the Russian occupation of Ukraine. In both cases it has been obvious how important agriculture and food security still are. But they also showed how crucial journalism and communications are during crisis.
I really appreciate the collegiality which has surrounded me during all my years in IFAJ, not only the last four. When you need contacts, facts or even story ideas there is always someone to reach out to, all over the world. The IFAJ network has not only given me colleagues, but also good friends.
I have said it before and I will continue to repeat it. Agricultural journalism and agricultural communication are very important even in today’s society. When fewer and fewer have direct contact with agriculture there is a high risk of misunderstandings and false information. Some people might think that agriculture is something old fashioned and causes a lot of environmental problems. We all know how wrong that is.
On the contrary, with the right conditions, agriculture could be the solution to many of our future challenges, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and even political instability. But we need the right methods, systems and governance. Experienced and well educated agricultural journalists could be an important part of this. Free and independent journalism is a cornerstone of every democracy.
Free journalism can reveal cheating, misconduct and dishonesty. It can inform and educate both farmers and consumers. It can even build bridges between those two to make them stronger against intermediaries and politicians.
But to reach this there are quite a few obstacles to overcome. One is the scarce economic situation and the huge changes media has had to face during the last decades. And the economic cuts have in many cases led to a loss of specialised journalists, such as agricultural journalists.
All this makes it even more important to stick to networks like IFAJ. In those we can support each other and collaborate to show the importance of our work. We can build alliances with other important institutions.
My wish is that IFAJ will evolve even further to become a valuable network for professionals as well as a place where you can find support and interact with friends and colleagues from all over the world—the natural place to turn to for knowledge, collegiality and expertise in agricultural journalism and communications. And to my delight, this is exactly the direction I can see the organisation heading.
Lena Johansson
IFAJ President