By Jubril Bada

In furtherance of its efforts to disseminate information on food and nutrition to infants, children and women of reproductive age for better health, the Ondo State Ministry of Information and Orientation has organized a day training for journalists in the state.

The training sponsored by the state government centered on ‘Role of the Media in Food and Nutrition Communication among Infants, Children and Women of Reproductive Age.’

Speaking, the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Chief (Mrs.) Bamidele Ademola-Olateju said journalists should be food and nutrition evangelists, just as she noted that the lives of infants ,children and women of reproductive age as future of the state depend largely on their professionalism of disseminating information about nutrition and food to take to improve their health.

The commissioner who noted that journalism is not a lucrative profession said income of journalists is meagre to survive them and advised them to practice home garden or involve themselves in farming to enable them take good care of their families.

” The state government has a lot of programmes for farmers in which journalists can get themselves involved as alternative source of income. With courtesy of modern farming which journalists trend, you can invest in farming”, she said.

In his goodwill message, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Bayo Phillip, said nutritious food is very important as intake to survive in our daily activity.

Phillip who was represented by the Director, Technical Assistance and Aids Coordinator (TAAC) of the Ministry, Mr. Oripinye Adebusoye, explained that, for us to have good health there is need to consume balance diet.

While lamenting on the cost of food prices, the permanent secretary emphasized on the need for infants, children and women of reproductive age to eat vegetables with other nutritious foods to grow well.

“If right food intake is given to our children, it will reduce health risk and hospital cost.” he said

Phillip urged journalists to make their impacts felt on the growth of the state and the country at large through the discharge of their professionalism in disseminating and educating public on the benefit of eating nutritious foods.

Taking the participants through technical session, the Resource Person, Mrs. Kehinde Ayanlowo pointed out that the media have a social responsibility to create, raise or sustain public awareness of the values, function and benefits of nutrition ,accessibility through effective information dissemination of new discovery to people.

He highlighted some essential food nutrients to be taken which included carbohydrates, animal and mineral proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals.

Ayanlowo noted that it requires adequate diet to maintain structure of tissues of the body especially the growing women of reproductive age.

She educated them to domesticate plantation of different crops like okro,tomato and mushroom among others to avoid consuming crops planted with chemical.

She added on the need not to wash their vegetables in hot in order not to allow the nutrients to be washed away.

Another Resource Person and Nutritionist, Mrs.Olufunmilola Fagbenro, explained the importance of media in shaping public perceptions of food and nutrition for several reasons which included information dissemination , educational concern and advertising and marketing.