Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh will inaugurate the three-day Organic World Congress – 2017 being organized at India Expo Centre in Greater Noida. It will see the participation of 1,400 representatives from 110 countries, and 2000 delegates from India. The Organic World Congress (OWC) is organized once every three years in a different country and this time it is being organised in India. The last edition of the Organic World Congress took place in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2014. The International Federation of Organic Farming Movements (IFOAM) and OAFI are organizing the event where 55 seeds group from 15 Indian states will showcase 4,000 varieties of seeds.
The goal is to move from organic India to the organic world. Shri Singh said it is important to understand that India is one of the oldest organic agricultural nations of the world. Even today, large areas and regions of the country practice traditional organic farming. One of the highlights of the event is the exhibition of carefully preserved diverse indigenous seed varieties over generations.
The inauguration ceremony will also be attended by Minister of Agriculture, Bhutan Shri Yeshey Dorji; Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu; Sikkim’s Chief Minister, Pawan Kumar Chamling; Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Smt. Krishna Raj; Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Shri Om Prakash Dhankar; Odisha Agriculture Minister, Shri Damodara Rout; Kerala Agriculture Minister, V.S. Sunilkumar and hundreds of experienced organic farmers, scientists and traders.