Join the Challenge today
& unleash your
storytelling power!
The video should explore the challenges they face, their innovative solutions, the positive impacts on their productivity and the sustainability of agri-food in their community and/or beyond.
Particular attention should be paid on women, youth and other vulnerable communities.
The three first winning videos will be presented during an international event as well as the winning journalists. Moreover, the winning videos will be promoted across PARM, FARM-D and Africa 21 institutional platforms.
The first winner will also visit one or more PARM/IFAD operational countries to gain direct experience of the projects and activities of the United Nations in agricultural risk management, and will be able to produce an additional video with PARM/IFAD direct beneficiaries.
Who
can apply
you must fill the following criteria:
- Be a journalist or a media professional (including freelance) specialized or generalist, interested in agricultural issues in the African continent;
- Be proficient in English or French;
- Be available to travel in any African country for a field mission or an international event.
How to apply
- Register by filling out the following form;
- Submit the link to your HD video (wetransfer/google drive) along with your name, picture, contact information, short bio, video title and a brief description of your video to parm@ifad.org by 26 November 2023.
Timetable
26 September 2023
Launch of the Challenge & opening of registrations and applications
05 October 2023
Webinar with the jury members
26 November 2023
Closing of applications
11 December 2023
Announcement of the winners
March 2024
Field visit with the first place winner
April 2024
International Conference to present the first 3 winning videos
Together, let’s narrate the stories of our Farming Champions.
Footage
guidelines
Video Format
Create a documentary-style video that is informative, engaging, and visually appealing. The video should be maximum 7 minutes in duration and in full HD (1920×1080).
Storytelling
Focus on the personal narratives of individual farmers or farming communities. Showcase how they have adapted to and mitigated risks such as climate risks, market fluctuations, pests, or limited resources. Highlight their strategies, such as crop diversification, soil conservation, water management, or the use of sustainable agricultural practices.
Local Context
Showcase smallholder farmers and highlight specific challenges they face in their respective contexts, such as extreme weather events, access to markets, lack of infrastructure, or limited access to technology, etc.
Solutions and Innovations
Explore how smallholder farmers are strengthening their self-resilience.
Showcase innovative approaches they have adopted, such as using advanced farming techniques, leveraging technology, forming cooperatives or farmer networks, or implementing sustainable farming models, etc.
Impact
Illustrate the positive outcomes of their resilience efforts. Highlight how these approaches have increased their productivity, improved their livelihoods, enhanced food security, reduced environmental impact, and contributed to sustainable agri-food systems.
Diversity and Inclusivity
Ensure the video represents the diversity of rural farmers, including gender, age, ethnicity, and social backgrounds. Highlight the role of women and young farmers in building resilience and promoting sustainability.
Language
Videos can be submitted in French or English (Subtitles will be integrated by PARM team on the selected videos).
Originality
Submit an original video copyrighted by you and never posted or broadcast before on any media outlet or online platform.
Plagiarized videos will be disqualified.
Themes
Select one of the below themes of the challenge to narrate your story:
- Building self-resilience
- Contributing to food security
- Environmental impact reduction
- Sustainable agri-food systems
Submission
Submit the link to your HD video (wetransfer/google drive) along with your name, picture, contact information, short bio, video title and a brief description of your video to parm@ifad.org by 26 November 2023.
Disclaimer
By participating in the challenge, you grant permission for your video to be shared on our website, social media platforms, and used for promotional purposes related to this challenge.
FAQs
The challenge will run as follows:
- 26 September 2023: Launch of the Challenge & opening of registrations and applications
- 05 October 2023: Webinar to meet the jury members, learn more about the challenge and ask your questions
- 18 November 2023: Closing of applications
- 11 December 2023: Announcement of the winners
- Mars 2024: Field mission of the first-place winner with PARM/IFAD
- April 2024: International Conference to present the first 3 winning videos
To apply, you must follow the following steps:
- Register at https://storieschallenge.parm.org/#register;
- Submit the link to your HD video (wetransfer/google drive) along with your name, picture, contact information, short bio, video title and a brief description of your video to parm@ifad.org by 18 November 2023.
To enter the competition, you must fill the following criteria:
- Be a journalist or a media professional (including freelance), specialized or generalist, interested in agricultural issues in the African continent;
- Be proficient in English or French;
- Be available to travel in any African country for a field mission or an international event.
The video should be maximum 7 minutes in duration and in full HD (1920×1080). Read more about the footage guidelines.
The footage should be a documentary-style video that is informative, engaging, and visually appealing. The focus should be given to the personal narratives of individual farmers or farming communities and showcase how they have adapted to and mitigated risks.
The strategies and innovations they have developed should be highlighted to illustrate the positive outcomes of their resilience efforts to their production, their livelihoods and to the agri-food systems in general. The local context of each farmer and the challenges it implies should be showcased as well.
In addition, the video must ensure the representation of diversity of rural farmers, including gender, age, ethnicity, and social backgrounds and highlight the role of women and young farmers in building resilience and promoting sustainability.
Read more about the footage guidelines.
Videos can be submitted in French or English (Subtitles will be integrated by PARM team on the selected videos).
Read more about the footage guidelines.
All the information about the intellectual property of the producer will be written under each video.
In parallel, the creators must make sure to have a document showing the authorisation and consent to use the image for non-commercial purposes of all persons in the video.
The same works for the music used in the video, each journalist and video producer must ensure themselves that the music used in the video is free or that they have the right to use it.
Yes, an email of confirmation will be automatically sent to you once your application has been received.
The winners will be announced on 11 December 2023 on the PARM Stories Challenge website and PARM’s official communication platforms.
All information about the challenge is available in this page.
For any urgent query or technical issue, please send us an email at info@farm-d.org.
Before sending any email, remember to first read the Frequent Asked Questions and consult the website.