The Hindu Business Line : Pilot project on farm tourism under way

Going places
Baramati project will offer tourists edutainment farm tours.
Agri Tourism to develop Dapoli, Mulshi, Reha as new destinations.
Plans to scout for locations in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh.

Pune May 23

, Consider a board meeting of a corporate house under a mango tree with only a blackboard for writing down the information.

This is what the Agri Tourism Corporation, Pune, is aiming at. A pilot project has been kicked off in Baramati in Maharashtra.

Mr Pandurang Taware, Director - Sales and Marketing, told Business Line it would offer tourists edutainment farm tours in Baramati where they would be told about the cultivation of grapes, sugarcane, pomegranate, guava, watermelon or get an insight into how silk is produced and raw jaggery is made.

It would also include Marathi programmes such as Bharud, Jagran Gondhal, Shekoti folk songs (all these are combinations of songs, drama, acting with music and dance).

He said about 25 more such locations have been identified in Maharashtra as rural tourist destinations.

He said in the next three months, it would be developing Dapoli, Mulshi and Reha (in the foothills of Hinjewadi) as new locations.

He said the aim was to have five such locations as autopilots, which would be ready within a year and then would be looking at locations in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.

Big potential

Mr Taware pointed out that the market for rural tourism and agri-tourism was around Rs 4,300 crore and an effective means of creating employment opportunities.

He said this created about 47 direct jobs and each direct job in turn brought in 11 indirect jobs.

He pointed out that many Indian farmers are currently involved in or are considering the use of agri-tourism as a means of diversifying their farm operations.

He noted that farmers are currently weighing this option due to poor commodity prices and the farm income was also dwindling.

Farmers who have taken up the challenge are considering the options of either primary income supply or supplementary or complementary income routes.

At present, the ratio tilted more to the supplementary and complementary income routes as it involved an expenditure of nearly Rs 1 lakh for the start up cost of a five-room location.

He noted that the net income per year would be to the tune of Rs 35,000.

He said currently the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries is the primary Government agency providing indirect support to agri tourism (small farmers finance scheme, fresh water fisheries development finance, to build the farm water lake, install drip irrigation plant; horticultural cultivation subsidies, food processing finance support, etc) followed by assistance from the Ministry of Rural Development (clean village scheme), Tourism and Culture.

Eyes 12,000 tourists

Mr Taware said the Agri Tourism Corporation was looking at about 12,000 tourists for the first year, which would bring in revenue of about Rs 30 lakh.

This would come in from the entry fee to the farms also the horticulture stalls that would be put up for the benefit of the urban customers.

The Tourism Corporation is also planning to promote rural arts and festivals as revenue generation schemes, he said.

The tourist would be required to shell out Rs 1,000 per person for a two-day trip.

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