BAGUIO CITY – Senator Cynthia A. Villar underscored that the evolving practice of agri-tourism or farm tourism will help in bringing back the country’s youth back to farming to sustain food security for the present and future generation of Filipinos.
Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture, said that Filipino farmers should replicate the success story of the Taiwanese who were able to entice their youth to embrace farm tourism so that food production will continue to be a major catalyst of the country’s economic development, especially the desire of the government to have sufficient food in the table of every Filipino Family.
She revealed that Taiwanese were able to convince their youth to be involved in farming because of the existence of numerous farm schools that showed to them that farming is a decent source of income wherein the Taiwanese viewed the same as ‘sexy.’
Aside from embarking on agri-tourism, Villar asserted the need to mechanize the farming side of the agri-tourism industry considering that today’s youth do not actually do not want to work with their hands but with the aide of gadgets among other needed equipment for them to be convinced to embrace farming as part of their source of livelihood.
“The combination of agriculture and tourism will help bring the country’s agriculture to greater heights. Farming cannot do it alone for us that is why we have to always include tourism as an added value to ensure the industry to thrive and be passed on to the present and future generations of Filipinos,” Senator Villar stressed.
The senator claimed that North Luzon has bright prospects for agri-tourism because of the existence of vast tracks of agricultural lands being tilled by the farmers for the production of various crops that is why stakeholders must take advantage of embracing farm tourism to increase their income not only from farming but also from visitors.
She explained that with farm tourism, farmers can earn income by selling their produce, accept visitors to visit their plantation areas and serve as learning sites for their best practices in the production of agricultural crops that could be replicated in other parts of the country.
Since the passage of Republic Act (RA) 10816 or the farm tourism law which she authored, some 1,855 farm schools were already established in the different parts of the country with Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog regions having the most number with 150 farm schools each.
However, she claimed that only more than 600 farm schools are accredited with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to serve as learning sites for best practices in agri-tourism that is why concerned government agencies are closely working together to work out the accreditation of the schools that have not yet been accredited so that there will be more opportunities for interested youth to undergo trainings and learn best practices on food production.
Villar emphasized that one of the targets of the farm tourism law is for the establishment of at least one farm tourism school in every town in the country to be able to help in providing farmers and their families as well as farm workers with sustainable sources of income from prospective visitors and learners.
She asserted that farm tourism or agri-tourism is instrumental in providing adequate supply of agricultural crops for the consumption of Filipinos or the same could even be exported that will be an added boost to the growth of the country’s economy.
Villar stated that Senatr Nancy Binay intends to propose in the 18th Congress the grant of incentives to farmers who will be able to practice agri-tourism in their production sites to entice more Filipinos to be involved in the said lucrative industry.
By HENT