A
new approach to boost agricultural production is coming to West Africa.
The Research into Use Best Bets initiative, funded by the UK Government,
is inviting applications from West African researchers and entrepreneurs,
working in partnership, who believe they have a new technology that can
help farmers. Their challenge is to present a business plan that shows
exactly how that technology can be taken from the research station and
brought to the thousands or millions of farmers who need it.
The call for applications was made in December 2009, and these must be received by 29th January, 2010. Interested parties should visit the Research Into Use website for further information. The documents and audio soundbites below are freely available for publication and broadcast. Print and radio editors in West Africa are encouraged to raise awareness of this new opportunity that is sure to be of great interest to the research and business communities, as well as rural populations and agricultural stakeholders more generally.
RIU Best Bets short soundbite
Utiang Ugbe, West African coordinator for RIU Best Bets, describes the criteria the judges will be using to choose the Best Bet technologies. At 39 seconds, this item would be suitable for use in a short news report.
RIU Best Bets long soundbite
This adds further comments to the short soundbite, such as how the initiative
will encourage private sector involvement in getting research into use.
At 1 minute 12 seconds, this item would be suitable for use in a longer
news report or short feature.
RIU Best Bets editorial article
A 538 word article in the style of an editorial, explaining the need for
new findings in agricultural science to be translated into practical improvements
in farming livelihoods, and how the RIU Best Bet initiative intends to
achieve this.
RIU Best Bets press release
A 352 word press release explaining what the RIU Best Bets initiative is,
why it is needed, and the application procedure.
