PART 1 – FARM TOURISM CAN REVITALIZE AGRICULTURE AND THE RURAL SECTOR

A view from the author’s family farm

The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) has advanced the “Power of 10+” proposition, which suggests that at least 10 places of interest or activities must exist in synergy for a location to evolve into a significant tourism destination. This proposition can create an opportunity for rural areas to participate and benefit as part of a tourism circuit.

There are at least three ways in which the rural countryside can become a tourism asset.

The transformation of public markets into destination markets, public spaces that showcase the distinct culture, specialization in commodities and products, and offer a link between rural and urban communities that bring together diverse people, has been discussed in a previous article.

There is also cultural tourism, most especially visits to indigenous cultural communities to observe and even participate and get immersed in village lifestyles, quaint surroundings, livelihood activities, and unique customs and traditions.

Finally, there is farm tourism, which revolves around the specific produce of a farm, educating visitors in their cultivation, harvest, use and consumption, usually highlighting technology and sustainability principles, and offering other related activities, such as pick-and-pay, farm-to-table dining, and leisurely walks around the farm and its vicinity. This is the subject of this article.

Farm tourism revolves around the specific produce of a farm, educating visitors in their cultivation, harvest, use and consumption, usually highlighting technology and sustainability principles, and offering other related activities, such as pick-and-pay, farm-to-table dining, and leisurely walks around the farm and its vicinity.

Farm tourism has been part of Philippine tourism for a long time, basking on such attractions as the world-famous Banawe rice terraces (which is also a cultural tourism asset), La Trinidad strawberry farm, the Del Monte plantation in Bukidnon, Pearl Farm in Davao City, and Sonia’s Secret Garden in Tagaytay City. But it was only in the second decade of the 21st century that the potential of agricultural lands as viable tourism estates came into the collective consciousness of farm owners and the government which led into an increasing number of farms being developed to draw visitors and for recreational purposes. There was a realization of the potential of farm tourism to reverse the decline in agriculture, improve agricultural productivity and value-added, and generate more employment and income in the rural areas.

Photo by Yamang Bukid in Puerto Princesa

In 2016, Republic Act No. 10816 or the “Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016” became a law. Its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were issued three years later, in July 2019. The IRR identifies actions and entities responsible for investment promotion and financing, market research and information, accreditation, market promotion, provision and dissemination of agricultural technology needed, institutional and human resource development, and infrastructure support for farm tourism camps (areas where visitors experience farm activities and rural lifestyle). The Department of Tourism, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Trade and Industry play the most essential roles, being key members of the highest farm tourism planning, policy and promotion body, the Farm Tourism Board.

In the three-year period since the passage of RA 10816, 174 farm tourism camps or sites have been accredited by the DOT. During the Global Farm Tourism Summit co-hosted by the International Community Tourism Association and the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research (SEARCA) in September 2019, Rose Libongo of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association said, “the Philippines is now a top agri-tourism destination,” along with Taiwan, Hawaii, Tuscany, Grenada, Mallorca, California, and Brazil.

About this Research

This article was inspired by a conversation with the author’s late aunt during a visit to his home province some 10 years ago. She said one of her sons, a cousin of the author, planned to help the rural community of their late grandparents by giving residents livelihood cultivating crops needed by his food service business. This would start with planting in the property of the grandparents, which have been divided among the children, including the author’s parents, hiring people from the community to work on the property. The first part of this article gives the background and rationale for harnessing farms as tourism destinations in the Philippines.