BONTOC. How is edible landscaping in farm tourism? What is farm tourism anyway?
These twin questions were given answers last week at the workshop on farm tourism with edible landscaping sponsored by the regional office of the Department of Tourism, Cordillera Administrative Region, on February 6-7 at the Fortune Restaurant along Otek Street, Baguio City.
Farm tourism is a marriage between agriculture and tourism wherein visitors and tourists are expected to visit farms usually with unique attractions.
Edible landscaping is the arrangement of flowers, herbs and vegetables in a plot or farms with designs to add on aesthetic value.
Landscaping is usually done even at the front or back of houses at the preference of household owners.
“The implementation of farm tourism with edible landscaping is now a priority program of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of Agriculture (DA),” said Jovy Ganongan, OIC Regional Director of DOT.
Farm tourism is also a new program designed to entice the young people to engage in farming and for their enjoyment with visitors and tourists. It promotes health and wellness for advocates and stakeholders as healthy foods are provided.
It involves gardening. Only it involves some imagination and designs to make the farms attractive
Maria Charito Balladeres, Jennica Amielle Mora, and Norma Medina, all from the University of the Philippines – Los BaHos, Laguna, served as the resource persons who ably facilitated the lectures and actual demonstrations of edible landscaping.
They emphasized that farm tourism provides the principles of aesthetic, functionality, and self-sufficiency with the “garden to table” in every household approach.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Tourism Office will conduct a one-day orientation and planning workshop on farm tourism with edible landscaping on February 27, 2019.
At least three (3) farm owners per municipality with potential to cater to the needs of visitors and tourists are invited to attend together with municipal agriculturists and municipal tourism action officers of the ten municipalities in the province.
Sharing from the farmers will also be done. Flordelina Layog of the Layog Country Farm will share their experiences and the challenges they currently face as the only multi-accredited farm in the province.
Layog Country Farm has been accredited by Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI) as a learning site, by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as promoter of bamboo production, and the Department of Tourism as farm tourism destination.**Roger Sacyaten
