As part of the nutrition information, education and communication (NIEC) development process, a number of advocacy materials were prepared, printed and distributed to project beneficiaries and other stakeholders. This was done in collaboration with stakeholders at national, district and community levels taking into account farmers’ needs as well as suggestions from project staff and management.
Appropriate training tools and materials were developed and tested through participatory education methods with community collaboration to ensure their applicability and effectiveness. The NIEC tools and materials utilized the participatory process for nutrition education activities for the farmers’ training, demonstration and school nutrition programme (see Table 5).
Table 5. NIEC materials
|
Education tools |
Theme |
Target users |
Language |
|
Training manual |
Food-based nutrition |
District officers and Sub Assistant Agriculture Officers |
English |
|
Nutrition extension booklet |
Vegetables and fruits for better nutrition |
District, upazila and extension personnel |
English, Bangla |
|
Farmers’ training notes |
Family health and nutrition |
Farmers | English |
| Recipe booklet |
Vegetables, fruit and spice-based recipes |
Extension personnel, practitioners, farmers |
Bangla, English |
| Booklets |
Correct cooking and combinations of vegetables and fruits |
Extension personnel & farmers |
Bangla |
|
Pictorial recipe extension folder |
Horticulture-based recipes for better nutrition |
Extension personnel & farmers, schoolteachers and students |
English |
|
Complementary food |
Horticulture-based complementary food for better nutrition |
Extension personnel, mothers, farmers, care-takers, adolescent girls |
Bangla |
|
Posters on nutritive value of vegetables |
Comparative nutrient composition of fruits |
Extension personnel, farmers, schoolteachers, students |
Bangla |
|
School nutrition diary |
Nutrition messages and planning |
School students |
Bangla |
|
School nutrition transparencies |
Nutrition for the adolescent (Food groups; Food Pyramid) |
Schoolteachers and HDTC officers |
Bangla |
|
Festoons for display at HDTCs |
Nutritional importance of vegetables and fruits |
Farmers, extension personnel |
Bangla |
Positive feedback was obtained on the value of NIEC materials from users including ten field-level functionaries15 and 30 farmers in four HDTC-covered villages (see Table 6).
Table 6. Field responses on NIEC materials
|
Type of material |
Target user |
Response |
|
|
Booklets (Bangla) ♦ Correct cooking and
combinations of vegetables
and fruits |
SAAO, farmers |
Informative, useful for training, user-friendly; literate women farmers asked for more copies Literate mothers of small children found it very useful and referred to it; requested more copies |
|
|
Brochure (Bangla) |
HDTC officers, SAAO |
Useful in training; should have larger print size and more pictures and graphics |
|
|
Flip Chart (Bangla) |
Farmers, SAAO |
Very useful for training and demonstration; clear messages and greatly demanded by mothers and young children |
|
|
Posters (Bangla) |
Farmers, SAAO |
Very useful for training and demonstration; ‘Foods and Fruits and Vegetables for Healthy-Blood’ posters have valuable information; can also be calendar-type visual aid; ‘Nutritious fruits’ poster needs more pictures of different fruits |
|
|
School nutrition modules and transparencies (Bangla) |
Rural school students |
Very useful, well-accepted by teachers; highly practical; recipes much appreciated; constant requests by schools for copies |
|
|
Pictorial recipe flip file (English) |
HDTC officers, SAAO, teachers, students |
Well-accepted by HTDC officers, SAAO, schoolteachers; logical sequence of recipes; useful concept of quantities and measures; farmers and teachers showed interest in colour pictures; schools and HDTCs asked for copies |
|
|
Recipe book (Bangla) |
HDTC officers, SAAO, teachers |
Practical recipes that can be easily made at home; acceptable; farmers and teachers showed much interest in colour photographs; requests for copies |
|
|
Booklet (English) |
HDTC officers, teachers, policymakers, national stakeholders |
Very informative, practical, easy to understand; demand for more copies; need for Bangla translation |
The HDTC officers indicated that the NIEC materials had helped strengthen training for better delivery and easy understanding of the participants. It had also been very handy at household and family levels because of the practical utility of these materials. The Sub Assistant Agriculture Officers and Horticulture Overseers reported that the materials provided user-friendly information linking functions of nutrients through food as well as horticulture-based food, and highlighted ways to increase their consumption.
Many farmers asked for additional NIEC materials to give to their neighbouring households and other community members. Schoolteachers, members of the school management involved in the SNP and students also asked for the school nutrition modules for their guidance.
15 Including HDTC officers and Sub Assistant Agriculture Officer from Feni, Kishoreganj, Natore and Barisal.
