By Kingsley Chukwuka
The cooperative arm of medical dentists professionals under the aegis of Intercounty Centre for Oral Health (ICON) for Africa has encouraged its staff to embark on agriculture as a calculated measure to boost oral health and grow extra income as civil servants.
The cooperative said the effort will not only be beneficial to members as oral health practitioners, but will also serve as a pillar to fall back on when they retire from active service.
Speaking during an Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Financial Report, held at the weekend in Jos, President of ICON, Mr. Matthew Felix Gyang, said the global trends speaks volumes of diversification into agriculture as a means of sustaining livelihood.
Gyang said the link between oral health and agriculture cannot only be measured in boosting oral health but will also help its members to be financially independent.
He said it is also impossible for dentists to talk about oral health without advising its patients to be mindful of what they eat as it goes a long way in preventing tooth decay.
According to him: “Government has been encouraging civil servants to go into agriculture. Also, health and nutrition goes hand in hand. Just talking about oral health alone without healthy diet does not give a complete circle on how to keep your oral health in check.
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“There are tooth decay that are mostly associated with the wrong diet and most common of them are excessive consumption of sugary substances. If our children grow up with the knowledge of taking fruits, vegetables, apples, grapes, etc, it will boost their oral health and reduce their chances of tooth decay.
“So we need to encourage our staff to go into agriculture not only to boost the quality of oral health but to also boost their income especially when they retire as civil servants”, he said.
Gyang added that the cooperative will be giving out loans to eligible staff who wish to go into farming.
Speaking to a retired dentist who was also a former member of the cooperative, Mr. Joel Lamwang, said he went into farming even before he retired from active service.
Lamwang said the farming business has paid him better than when he was a civil servant.
“I don’t only sell my farm products, but I also grow what I eat”, he said.