Mandaue chamber slates first Organic Market Fair

CEBU, Philippines – Taking the initiative to provide awareness to the public and intensify efforts on going green, the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has slated the first Organic Market Fair as one of its highlights during its upcoming Mandaue Business Month celebration this August.

Event chairman and MCCI trustee Samson O. Tiu said the upcoming Organic Market Fair this August 21 to 24 at the Cebu International Convention Center is going to showcase a farmers’ market and a forum and seminar workshop that will introduce organic farming.

“We want to provide awareness to everyone so that they can go into organic methods.

The role of the business sector is to help lead the province of Cebu and contribute to protect the environment and help increase the farmer’s output and so that they can benefit from going organic,” said Tiu.

He said that a lot of farmers have now shifted to doing organic farming and the governor has been encouraging them to do so because it has become the trend nowadays.

“With organic farming, farmers can save a lot cost on inputs like fertilizers because they need not use petrochemicals as any biodegradable product can be made into a compost fertilizer which is much cheaper and can produce better products and bigger yield as compared to inorganic farming,” said Tiu.

During the fair, there will be a business to business avenue wherein buyers which are members of the Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants Association of Cebu (HRRAC) members can directly deal with identified organic suppliers from different local government units as well as suppliers of allied products and services such as feeds, seeds, organic fertilizers and pesticides and among others.

“There will be a one-stop-shop where buyers can buy farmer produce. This way, farmers will get maximum output as this will eliminate middle men and they can go directly to hotels, resorts and restaurants who will buy their outputs,” said Tiu.

He said that there will also be a one day forum that will tackle essential issues on organic farming methods.

Organic practitioner Gil Carandang, the president of the Independent Organic Inspector Association of the Philippines and Arman Aquino will lecture and talk about technical, marketing and certification aspects on organic farming.

There will also be a talk on government programs in the region by Department of Agriculture secretary Arthur Yap as well as discussions on potential business opportunities in organic farming and talks on the best practices in organic farming, livestock and poultry.

Talks about the lifestyle and wellness benefits of using organic products will be tackled by Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan and a talk about alternative medicine which features herbs and natural medicine found in nature will be delivered by Dr. Rolly Mercado, a former UN patriot and scientist.

He said that in the end of the activity, they are looking at coming up with a position paper that will integrate the basic inputs that will come out of the forum.

“We have thought of this program as our way to support the province in terms of contributing to the livelihood of our farmers and in caring for the environment. The end result of this initiative is to achieve cleaner environment, cleaner air and healthy living,” he said.

“Most farmers who use insecticides and pesticides are not aware that they contribute to the destruction of the environment and since fertilizer’s petrochemicals are connected to fuel in time, it will really increase prices so it is time to go back to nature and embrace more healthy and natural way to farm. ,” added Tiu.

He said that in terms of awareness, organic farming is still a new concept here in Cebu as well as practicing organic living so they look at this activity as a way of intensifying awareness.

“Our activity will be a holistic approach because it will aim to change the mindset of people by the way they eat and live. It will make them realize that going green will make them live healthier and longer. It will also help reduce waste,” he added. — Rhia de Pablo