The National Coordinator of the Rural Access And Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), Engr. Aminu Bodinga Mohammed has underscored the importance of effective Communication in ensuring the understanding and success of government programmes and policies.
Besides, he urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government (MDAs) to equip their information managers for the upscale challenges of bringing the citizenry to buy into government policies and programmes through trainings and equipment update.
Speaking at the opening of a 5-day capacity building training for the Development Communication Officers, Management Information Officers and other essential staff of the RAAMP in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, on Monday,
Engr. Mohammed, who was represented by the Cross River State Coordinator, Henry stressed the import of engaging opinion leaders.
“One of the reasons why government is not trusted by the people, sometimes, is because of lack of effective strategies of disseminating information. For us in RAAMP, we appreciate the need to learn, un-learn and re-learn for the purpose of skilling up for expected project delivery.
“Here, gate keepers and opinion moulders and leaders should be engaged by spokespersons to drive home government policies, ” the National Coordinator added.
In his paper presentation on “Agriculture business, Agriculture extension services, Rural Development and Community Outreach,” a Don with the University of Calabar, Dr. Okpanachi Yalo, frowned on the menace of food insecurity in the country, stressing that social insecurity and lack of mechanisation are few of the causative factors of the food insecurity.
He said, “Participants agreed that corruption has been the bane of food security as can be seen by various experiences shared. As communication managers of RAAMP, you need to tell your story, even real time, and re-tell it for effect. You cannot transform if you as a communicator is not informed. It goes without saying that government information handlers must be ahead of information in their MDAs,” the facilitators said.
Photo caption:
L-R: Federal Project Management Unit (FPMU) of Rural Access And Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) Head of Development Communication unit, Vivian Amadi; Lead Consultant, Baseline PubComms, Kasim Baba AlKasim; Facilitator on “Media Psychology and Crisis Management,” Paul Ingiona Adie and FPMU/RAAMP Deputy Head, Development Communication Unit, Khadija Ishaq during a 5-Day Training Workshop on Communication Dissemination Strategies for Project Effectiveness for Development Communication Specialists, Management Information Specialists (MIS) and Essential Staff in Calabar, Cross River State on Wednesday. Photo: RAAMP
