Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Wednesday, Nov. 26, that he was disappointed with the low sales of the Negros Occidental organic farmers during the five-day Terra Madre Asia and Pacific (TMAP) event last week.
He said of their P2.8 million sales at the 18th Negros Island Organic Farmers Festival, only 6.5 percent or P185,000 came from the TMAP that was held simultaneously.
The expectation was that TMAP participants would buy their raw materials from the organic farmers for the food they sold, he said.
The organic farmers earned P10,000, P13,000, P14,000, P14,000 and P133,000 from day 1 to day 5 from the Terra Madre event, Lacson said.
It was only on the fifth day that they bought P133,000 after much prodding from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist to buy from the organic farmers, he said.
“It is disappointing because we were hoping that our farmers would really benefit from the hosting of Terra Madre,” he said.
The Negros Occidental provincial government contributed P6 million for the TMAP and Bacolod City also helped, Lacson said.
“We’re not sure where this concern originated from, so we’d like to clarify TMAP’s role in relation to the Organic Farmers Festival, Ramon “Chinchin” Uy Jr., Slow Food International Councilor for Southeast Asia, said.
“TMAP sourced its ingredients directly from the organic farmers. We are still consolidating the total volume purchased, including those acquired before the event for taste workshops, cooking demonstrations, and booth activities,” he said.
“The ingredients used throughout the five-day event were primarily procured from the Organic Farmers Festival. Despite the challenges brought by the typhoon, the farmers were still able to move a significant amount of produce,” Uy said.
TMAP also purchased ₱100,000 worth of organic vegetables to help ensure no unsold stock needed to be brought home, he added.
Many of the TMAP guests and delegates also bought directly from the farmers, Uy said.
About 100e chefs who participated in the TMAP event also noted the high quality of the produce available at the festival, he said.
He said TMAP also funded the participation expenses of the Indigenous Peoples (IP) contingent, which formed part of the festival activities.
“There are several factors that can influence overall sales, and it is possible that some of the purchases made by our teams were not attributed to TMAP, as ingredients were bought daily while preparing for activities,” Uy said.
“We hope this clarifies the context so it doesn’t appear that TMAP contributed to low sales, as that wasn’t the case at all. It may also be worth reviewing the figures that were submitted in the report to the governor, as we believe some details may not accurately represent the sales and engagement at the Organic Farmers Festival,” he said.
TMAP was an overwhelmingly successful event praised by the local and international community, Uy also said.*
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