The State government on Monday said that it wants to focus on agri-tourism so that it can give sustainable livelihood, employment and income to the farming community while increasing investment in the agricultural sector.
Special policy likely
Inaugurating a day-long national Agri Tourism Conference organised by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism said, “People used to rush to visit countries like Europe, rather than exploring their own country. However, things have changed and people are now opting to visit villages and learn about farm life.”
Mr. Rawal said he would be taking up the issue of starting a special policy for agri-tourism in Maharashtra with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The Maharashtra Agri-Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) was established in 2005 seeking to provide urban tourists with farming experiences by engaging them in farming. Maharashtra is a pioneer State in promoting agricultural tourism with its 328 agri tourism centres, in 33 districts from Kolhapur to Nagpur and from Alibaug to Solapur. These agricultural tourism activities have generated more than ₹50 crore in income for the farming community who have hosted over 21 lakh tourists in the last three years.
Mahadev Jankar, State Minister for Animal husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Development said, “Agri-tourism needs to be given a boost by announcing a different agricultural tourism policy in Maharashtra. Farmers should not just be limited to farming. Natural calamities can destroy their land. Farmers need to be equipped with additional skills.”
Mr. Pravin Kotkar, a farmer who started agri-tourism in 2009 and now runs two agri-resorts at Shahpur and Nerul, near Matheran told The Hindu, “We serve families across the globe. We are happy and so are the families that visit us. On an annual basis we have 1 lakh tourists visiting their resorts. The facilities available are a bullock cart ride, swimming pool, tractor ride and more.”
Dr. Avinash Bhake, Professor in an engineering college in Nagpur has an agri-tourism centre, Gramin, 25 kilometres from Nagpur. “I believe that we need to have a certain procedure, regarding the establishing of agri-tourism centres. A farmer who owns five acres of land will find it difficult to go forward with the procedure and may need government aid in terms of loans that could be repaid after a fixed period,” said Dr. Bhake
Slice of farm life
He said the agri-tourism centre operates during the winter season and targets women and families. “It is important that people just don’t visit the villages, but become a part of it. People are moving to urban areas and villages are being abandoned. People are forgetting about rural life.”
MTDC, which has agri-tourism high on its agenda runs a scheme called Mahabhraman, for the last nine years. This project seeks to provide tourists with a farm life experience. At present 77 units are registered with MTDC, providing them an additional source of income.
Sanat Gavankar of Rohini Krushi Paryatan Kendra, registered under MTDC’s Mahabhraman scheme said, his family had started on three acres of land in Vasai, with a bed and breakfast scheme offered by MTDC 15 years ago. It is now spread on 10 acres of land.
“Being registered under the scheme, bookings can be made from the MTDC website. This gives us an added advantage while applying for an food safety certification or registration as a small and medium scale enterprise because we also are into horticulture and cultivate mango tree plantation, chickoo plantation, guava plantation,” he said.
Deepak Bachal, of Avanti Kalagram, also registered under the Mahabhraman scheme, said, “He offers an artist village to its tourists. They get to observe different artefacts and artecrafts. The tourists can also try their hand at making artefacts participate in art and craft workshops, painting sessions, off road cycling and adventure sports.”
