• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The provincial government of Negros Occidental is making a bid to host the 2027 Organic World Congress (OWC), Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday (April 4).
On the same day at the Capitol Social Hall, Lacson and Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez held an organizational meeting and consultation for the OWC hosting bid, which was also attended by International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) Asia executive director Jennifer Chang and Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development president and IFOAM Asia vice president Edgardo Uychiat.
Lacson said that the technical working group meeting aimed at preparing for the bid in December this year.
“We would like to introduce ourselves to the world. One way to do that, is to host the Organic World Congress” the governor said.
Participants from Europe and Asia are expected to attend the 2027 Organic World Congress.
Before that, the 21st IFOAM Organic World Congress will be held in Taiwan from Dec. 2 to 4 this year.
Karen Mapusua, president of IFOAM-Organics International, said that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been a long time since the global movement was able to “celebrate our achievements, share our experiences and map the future of organics in our rapidly changing world”.
“It was wonderful to be able to come together virtually for the OWC in France in 2021 and now we are very excited to invite you all to Taiwan, in person. It promises to be an exciting event rich with the diversity of our movement and opportunities for growing the impact of organics,” she added.
Lacson said that the “organic movement itself in Negros Island”, which has 18,000 farmers into it, in Negros Occidental alone, is the strength of the province in its bid to host the 2027 OWC.
The provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental are dubbed as the “Organic Food Bowl of Asia”.
Every year, the Negros Island Organic Farmers Festival is being held, showcasing the island’s best of organic offerings, including farm produce, products and merchandise, among others. | GB
