BONTOC, Mountain Province– The initial validation and assessment of farms for enrollment in the Farm Tourism program of the Department of Tourism and the Department of Agriculture has been conducted by the personnel of the Provincial Tourism Office.
The validation was first conducted in the municipalities of Natonin and Paracelis coinciding with the Eco-Tour Guiding Training in the eastern town of Paracelis last March 12-14, 2019.
The staff visited the farm of the Saint William Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Pontian, Butigue, Paracelis and a farm in Pagga, Bantay, Paracelis. Earlier, the team visited the Raskin Timmagao’s Orchard in Banawel, Natonin.
Recommendations were forwarded to the farm operators to apply for accreditation as Learning Sites and for the Farm Tourism program.
The interest in farm tourism was spawned by the program thrust of Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat of the Department of Tourism. She was also a long time former Undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture.
Republic Act No. 10816, otherwise known as “An Act Providing for the Development and Promotion of Farm Tourism in the Philippines”, caused the marriage between farm and tourism to come up with the farm tourism program.
Under the concept, tourist and visitors visit the farms for educational, cultural, or merely for fun and leisure purposes partaking of products and or services at farm gate costs. This adds to the income or revenues on the part of farm operators.
The law’s author, Senator Cynthia Villar has also urged for the establishment of farm tourism schools in the country to support the government’s thrust for more food production and tourism development in the countryside.
She called on the people of Bauko during the town’s 13TH Begnas Festival as the keynote speaker to put a Farm Tourism school informing that a minimum of 25 students can generate funding assistance of P100,000.00 monthly from the government as provided under the law.
It was learned from the Provincial Tourism Office that target farms in other municipalities will also be validated. These farms were identified per municipality during the provincial orientation on Farm Tourism earlier conducted last February.
The conduct of the validations will also be a gauge for the establishment of a Farm school in the province, if any farm operator is interested.
Further information regarding the establishment of a farm school can be obtained from the Provincial Tourism Office.**Roger Sacyaten
