THE president of the world organic agriculture movements will deliver his keynote address at the opening of the 12th National Organic Agriculture Congress (NOAC) at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City on Wednesday.
André Leu, president of IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements), the umbrella organization of all organic agriculture movements in the world, will keynote the NOAC opening ceremonies that start at around 10 a.m.
Also opening an hour earlier this morning is the 10th Negros Island Organic Farmers Festival (NIOFF) slated November 25 to 29.
Former Senator Francis Pangilinan will grace both events today while Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo will attend both events on Thursday.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala will arrive Thursday while Undersecretary for Special Concerns Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, alternate chair of the National Organic Agriculture Board, will be here Wednesday.
Romulo-Puyat said the NOAC will gather “major industry players, including farmer producers/practitioners, operators of organic establishments, researchers, educators, policy-makers and other industry enthusiasts."
“This will be an opportunity to learn more about organic agriculture and share related experiences,” she added.
NOAC focuses on the importance of understanding the organic agriculture supply chain and helping organic farmers build linkages with the consumers.
Also expected to attend the opening ceremonies are Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., Negros Occidental Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, Negros Oriental Vice Governor Edward Mark Macias as well as congressmen, board members, and mayors of the two provinces.
The five-day festival which will run until November 29, opens with mass at 8 a.m. at the Provincial Capitol Grounds in Bacolod City. Afterwards, delegates will have a parade going to SMX Convention Center also in Bacolod City for the opening ceremony of the congress at 10:15 a.m.
Ramon Uy Jr., president of the Organik na Negros Organic Producers and Retailers Association (Onopra), said yesterday that the province’s hosting of NIOFF and NOAC is the “biggest leap for the development of organic industry of the Negros Island Region (NIR).”
Uy said the biggest gathering of organic advocates in the country also proves how strong in terms of productivity and traceability Negros organic products are.
“The festival gathers more than 200 local producers and exhibitors for the biggest organic market in the country staged at the North Capitol Road,” Uy said, adding that with a bigger event this year they are hoping to generate sales double than of P3.5 million last year.
The three-day congress until November 27 will gather about 2, 000 delegates from all over the country comprised of local organic farmers, non-government organizations, processors, traders, agri-preneurs, purveyors, scientists, academe, chefs, government extension workers and organic food enthusiasts.
“The activity also shows how big is the awareness of the locale on the flourishing organic industry of Negros which is poised to be the center of organic initiatives in the country,” he added.
Meanwhile, DA Negros Island Region (NIR) has allocated P12.5 million counterpart for the said event – P12 million for the NOAC and P500, 000 for the NIOFF.
Another P2.5 million was funded by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), intended only for the festival.
DA-NIR Technical Director for Research and Regulation Joyce Wendam said the P12 million funds for the congress mainly cover subsidy for the delegates mostly small farmers. It has also shouldered the full payment of the 150 participants from NIR; 100 from Negros Occidental and 50 from the Oriental.
“This is a counter-parting scheme, basically a public-private partnership,” Wendam said, adding that Onopra’s counterpart is more on manpower, program execution and technical assistance.
The event dubbed, “Halin Talamnan, Tubtub Kalan-an (Farm to Table),” have several parallel activities, where participants and guests can choose which activity to attend.
It includes daily themed activities, games, contests, symposia and taste workshops.
There will be a Slow Food Negros Island Summit to be hosted by Slow Food Negros tomorrow. Organizers have also scheduled organic farm tours, where tourists and organic enthusiasts will have a chance to tour the top organic farms and agri-tourism destinations in the province.