She said science reporting was a sensitive area which needed special attention to ensure that journalists obtained accurate and balanced stories.

Speaking at the third edition of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) media awards ceremony on Monday, Mrs Asante-Agyei also called for a renewed mindset of media reportage towards the sector to complement the efforts of government in developing the area for economic growth.

"There are so many areas of the economy the media are reporting on but the area of science for that matter agricultural biotechnology has received little media attention.

"Reporters tend to have eyes to fancy and exciting topics while ignoring dull issues, despite their relevance.

"As important providers of information, the media is more likely to promote better stories on the relevance, commercial and industrial performances of the technology, especially when producing good-quality reportage and having a broader reach but unfortunately, media reports on agricultural biotechnology have mainly been sensational relegating the positive gains or benefits of the technology to the background," she said.

Mrs Asante-Agyei was speaking on the topic "Promoting Economic Growth in Ghana through Credible and Balanced Science Reporting."

The awards instituted in 2017 by African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), aimed at recognizing exemplary journalism that promote best practices in science reporting with emphasis on agriculture biotechnology through responsible, professional, ethical and effective reporting.

It was held under the theme "Credible Science Reporting, A Tool for Science Led Economic Development in Ghana."

She said journalists owed it a responsibility to inform, educate and entertain and these she noted must be done professionally to create awareness on agricultural biotechnology in order to raise understanding and appreciation of the technology and contribute to building an enabling environment for informed and timely decision making.

She commended AATF and its partners for initiating such an award scheme to recognize and reward journalists whose reports promoted agricultural technologies for sustainable agriculture that improved the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa.

"For GJA, it our  believe that with agriculture, science and technology being an integral part of Ghana's development agenda, journalists play a key role in helping the country to achieve the desired results in the field of agriculture. Therefore we have also created an awards category on agriculture and science," she said.

Dr Richard Ampadu-Ameyaw, the National Coordinator of OFAB Ghana, also called for capacity enhancement of journalists to equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills to enhance their reportage on the sector.

"Journalists need more training on what exactly is science, how should science be reported and all that because if you have somebody who is interested in political issues and is reporting, that person may not do well reporting in science because it is not a field open to just anybody," he said.

Dr Alhassan Yakubu, a former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, on his part called for a collaboration between journalists and scientists to ensure that the former reported only the facts that would deliver credibility to ensure the adoption of biotechnology to facilitate agricultural development.

The award ceremony saw three journalists, Mr Abubakar Ibrahim of Myjoyonline, Mr Salifu Wononuo of Radio Waa and Mrs Ama Achiaa Amankwah Baafi of Graphic Business rewarded for their sterling stories on the sector.