Minister Rallies Support for Locally Sourced, Processed Foods

• Minister Rallies Support for Locally Sourced, Processed Foods

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has enjoined consumers to patronise a range of locally farmed, processed and packed foods and vegetables which he described as an ‘innovative contribution’ to the challenge of feeding the nation.

He gave the charge in Lagos after his familiarisation visit to the production facilities of Sympli during which he experienced how the brand utilizes Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) technology to deliver farm-fresh local foods and vegetables in ready-to-cook state for frying, steaming or baking.

“I am very happy to see this type of innovative thinking in Nigeria; what Sympli is doing is revolutionary and this kind of value addition is exactly what we need at a time that government is working seriously at addressing the food issue in the country,” Ogbeh said.

The Minister sampled the Sympli products after seeing the process of peeling, chopping and fresh-freezing to retain all the flavour, texture and natural goodness of the foods, all of which reduced food preparation time by at least 40%, said: “I like the taste of this, it’s still fresh; I’m sure all Nigerians will be excited about Sympli. The convenience is necessary as people get very busy. Keep working at it; we’ll give you our support and we’ll use the Diaspora Office to see how we can propagate this.”