Journalism Award 2013

The inaugural Crawford Fund journalism award was won by Elizabeth Finkel with her article ‘Fields of Plenty’  which presents a 2063 vision of agriculture.

The article was a feature in Cosmos Science Magazine’s 50th edition in Apr/May 2013. Dr Finkel is Editor-In-Chief of Cosmos Media and author of ‘The Genome Generation’.

Dr Finkel’s article recounts the farming practices of an Indian rice growing family using advanced rice varieties and farm-tools that are being developed by the International Rice Research Institute and its partners. The family is imagined by IRRI’s director, Bob Zeigler.

Read the winning entry:

• Fields of Plenty
  Elizabeth Finkel, Cosmos Media

Announcement of the award

The announcement of the win was made at the Crawford Fund’s 2013 Annual Conference in August held in Perth, titled Mining, Agriculture and Development: Bread from Stones?. The prize for the award was a visit to a developing country to experience and report on agricultural research for development projects.

The Crawford Fund joined with the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists to develop the award that aims to encourage working journalists to investigate the important roles that agricultural research, training and rural development play in relation to food security.

“What a great first crop for this new national journalism award. The interest was really positive – we had entries from across TV, radio, print and online sources,” reported Denis Blight, the Funds’ Chief Executive.

“Raising awareness of the benefits to Australia and to developing countries from international agricultural research is a key function of the Fund and we are pleased to now have this annual competition to encourage informed coverage of important food security issues.”

“We look forward to developing an interesting trip for Elizabeth.”

Other entries

The other entries for the 2013 Award were:

Aussie Invention To Change Farming
Martin Silk, Journalist, Australian Associated Press

What a Waste
Nikolai Beilharz, Presenter, South Australian Country Hour, ABC Rural

Soil Secrets
Prue Adams, Landline, ABC TV

Breeding Ground
Tom Dawkins, Freelance Journalist

Vanda Shiva is Mother Earth
Patrick Pittman, Writer, broadcaster, developer

Unlocking Aftrica’s Secrets
Gregor Heard, Grains Industry Reporter, Fairfax Ag Media

An Inconvenient Truth
Sue Neales, National Rural and Regional Affairs reporter The Australian

Regional Heat on Biosecurity Review – Roger Hanson, Reporter – Tasmanian Country/Mercury, Davies Brothers Pty Limited.

African grain growing challenge
Andrew Norris

Related documents

• Journalism Award Background 2013: details on the 2013 award, entry conditions and rules, how to apply, the selection process and criteria
• 2013 Journalism Award Press Release: announcing the 2013 award