Boost up the Rural Economy via Agri-Tourism.
By Mehakdeep Singh Thind
Agritourism is the type of travel industry that gains by rejoicing on rural culture as a vacation spot. It has achieved an aspect of generating livelihoods and bringing more revenue to the people. It includes visits to farm, indulging in various activities of sowing, ploughing, harvesting, animal riding, dairy farming, celebrating local festivals, fishing and some leisure activities in a secluded rural place, far away from the busy daily life routines.
Agri-tourism has somewhere emerged due to the declining gains from the agriculture. So, people started looking for the alternatives that could bring out the financial gains and economic advancement for them. Countries like, Australia, U.S, Canada, including India has promoted this concept to revamp the rural sector. About 118.7 Million farmers exists in India[1], generating merely 15% of the country’s GDP[2] from conventional techniques of the agriculture. But adding on the modern and innovative projects would definitely increase the GDP of the primary sector and also bring good opportunities for people in the rural areas. In India, states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, etc has developed various platforms where the farmers can register themselves under the ‘farm Stay’ umbrella and invite those from urban and sub-urban regions to spend some quality time where the soul of India exists.
As there are always 2 sides to a coin, there exists few burdens of agri-tourism as well, for example, expanded traffic and clashes with non-farmer neighbors. Agritourism may require contracting and preparing more individuals in an effectively tight activity market. It likewise causes expanded contamination through pollution, littering, sewage problem and hence the outsiders might degrade the ecological balance of that very area.
Currently, there are no well-versed policies and schemes in our country which actually focuses to develop the Agri-tourism at a wider scale. Even those farmers with good amount of education, find it hard to launch such projects at their own as it involves certain approvals at the bureaucratic level. Alongside, there are many other possible challenges like lack of knowledge, social objections, investment and return issues, advertisement, etc which can be resolved only if a strong and Agri-tourism oriented policy at the national level get framed. The current government has promised farmers to double their income by 2022, but with the existing framework and the economic condition of all the sectors, it looks fade.
Amartya Sen said, “Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realise once full potential as a human being”. Likely, our system somewhere missed out a chance to perceive potential of the farmers and as a result the bread producer is struggling today to earn a bread for himself. Agri-tourism would bring a win — win place for both the tourists and farmers. It can provide a healthy lifestyle and a peep towards the traditional rituals, festivals and methods of cooking for the urban people while generating a good amount of employment opportunities, economic sustainability and progress of the farmers and therefore the rural sector in a larger frame.
[1] https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=148196
[2] http://statisticstimes.com/economy/sectorwise-gdp-contribution-of-india.php
