International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are gearing up for the IFAJ-FAO Award for Excellence in Global Food Security Reporting.  And with harvest approaching in the northern hemisphere and planting getting ready to roll in the southern, now is the perfect time to address the contest’s topic– soil.  The topic comes from the United Nation’s declaration that 2015 is the International Year of Soils.

Contest participants must be IFAJ members and one entry from each guild will be allowed.  Guilds will have their own selection process.

The contest winner will receive all-expenses paid trips to the annual IFAJ congress and to an FAO project related to the UN’s International Years.

It will be an open-language competition, meaning entries can be submitted in the language in which they were published or broadcast. FAO will handle all translation for judges, when required, in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian or Chinese.

Print, broadcast and electronic media submissions (including multi-media) will be welcome. Submissions may be a single story or a series. Stories may be written by individuals or teams, but only one prize will be given per team. Judging criteria will be 50 per cent content and writing or broadcasting style, and 50 per cent presentation. Entries will be judged by three officials – one from FAO, and two from IFAJ. Two honourable mentions will be given. No prizes will be awarded for these designations.

Themes for following years will also reflect the United Nation’s International Years when they pertain to agriculture.  Expect future topics to reflect the idea of global food security, with food production, food safety, food waste, land use, nutrition and affordability as likely choices.

Stories must have been published or broadcast between (and including) 1 January and 31 December 2015. Deadline will be 1 March 2016.

For further information contact IFAJ vice-president Owen Roberts, owen(at)uoguelph.ca.