Media urged to intensify agric reporting
A member of the National Media Commission (NMC), Nana Essilfie-Conduah, has called on the media to intensify agricultural reporting to encourage people to venture into agriculture.
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He said over the years, as a result of the misconception people had about agriculture in the country, the food system and the ecosystem had not been improved, hence the need for the media to help the people to dismiss the mistaken notion.
He made the call at a media sensitisation seminar, jointly organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ghana News Agency (GNA), on food and nutrition, in Accra.
The seminar, dubbed, “Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN 2)”, was designed to sensitise the media to the need for good nutrition and agriculture, ahead of the 2nd International Conference on Nutrition, to be held next month in Accra.
Agriculture
Nana Essilfie-Conduah said: “Many people in this world are still not living healthy and productive lives, while the world grows in ways that are not always in harmony with nature.”
However, he noted that the reason for the media’s nominal interest in agricultural issues was because agricultural news did not sell.
He suggested that the media should put in all efforts to break down the barriers to Africa’s agricultural development, even though he pointed out that the task was not going to be easy ,
Nana Essilfie-Conduah advised the three key organisers to pick up younger generations from the universities with specialised knowledge in agriculture and other sciences to enhance the organisations’ performances in tackling agricultural issues.
Nutrition
The FAO Country Representative to Ghana, Dr Larmoudia Thiombiano, called on the media to assist in strengthening the capacity of journalists in reporting agricultural related issues for them to remain updated on major continental and global developments in the sector.
He said the role of journalists in ensuring nutrition, was very fundamental and so it was very important for them to be well equipped to give out adequate information that would benefit the population.
“Your voices need to be heard on sensitive nutrition and agricultural issues to help shape nutrition and inform policy makers and the public on health risks and the impact of malnutrition on the family and the country’s development.
Dr Thiombiano urged the media to challenge various stakeholders to implement the commitments made at the conference.
According to research conducted by the FAO, 12.5 per cent of the world’s population (868 million) were malnourished in terms of energy intake, while the direct cost of undernutrition deficiencies was estimated at two to three per cent of global gross domestic product.