Media General’s Ibrahim Abubakar adjudged ‘Journalist of the Year’ at the Ghana Cocoa Awards 2022

Media General broadcast journalist, Ibrahim Abubakar has been adjudged ‘Journalist of the Year’ at the fourth edition of the Ghana Cocoa Awards.

His story on “Cocoa farmer leases part of his farm to illegal miners” was selected as the best cocoa report of the year.

The report highlighted some challenges cocoa farmers face and how they’re leasing out their farms to illegal miners.

COCOBOD reacted to the story by engaging the farmers who later rescinded their decision of leasing out the farm to the miners.

Upon receipt of his award, Ibrahim Abubakar said, “Cocoa is Ghana’s chief agricultural export and for me, anything that affects its production or otherwise must be of interest to every Ghanaian. Hence, our decision to dig deep into why some cocoa farmers are turning their farmland into a gold mining site.

“I didn’t have in mind winning an award with the story. The focus was to tell the story in a way that will set the tone for national discussion and eventually compel decision-makers to take steps to address this growing concern”.

Ibrahim, who was excited about the recognition, dedicated the award to his colleague and cameraman Victor Opoku, who, according to Ibrahim, risked his life to make the story possible.

More than thirty organizations and individuals were confirmed as finalists in the competitive categories, and three other personalities were accorded honorary awards.

The fourth annual Ghana Cocoa Awards was organized under the auspices of the industry regulator, Ghana Cocoa Board.

The media segment of the award recognizes a journalist who has demonstrated consistency and depth in reporting on issues on the Ghana cocoa industry value chain.

The initiative is also to appreciate and highlight outstanding achievements by personalities and organizations in the cocoa value chain.