BACOLOD CITY — About 120 exhibitors of the 12th Negros Island Organic Farmers Festival earned P1.649 million in sales during the four-day festival that ended late Saturday, organizers said.
The festival, hosted by the provincial government of Negros Occidental, was held at the Provincial Capitol Grounds in this city.
Various food products and farm items that include fresh organic vegetables, grains, fruits, juices, honey, native delicacies, plants, farm machinery, and dried fish and dairy products were sold by participating exhibitors during the event.
Themed “Go Organic for Health and Prosperity,” this year’s festival was participated in by organic agriculture advocates, entrepreneurs, organic food producers and processors, farmers, cooperatives, indigenous people, and non-government organizations in Negros Island.
Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. earlier stressed the need to increase organic agriculture production in Negros Island to meet the growing global demand for organic products.
“The demand is growing, but the supply can’t catch up. We have to double time in our organic movement,” he said.
Negros Island has at least 20 percent annual growth in terms of area devoted to organic agriculture, but amid the increase in supply the demand still grows, he said.
At present, Negros Occidental has about 16,000 hectares of agricultural lands devoted to organic farming, with almost 17,000 organic adaptors, the majority of whom are small farmers.
The festival was a collaborative effort of the provincial government of Negros Occidental with the Organic Na Negros! Organic Producers and Retailers Association, Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Agriculture, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Science and Technology, Bureau of Plant Industry, among others. (PNA)
