A new green revolution called farm tourism

I spent the last four days of the week from Thursday to Sunday to attend the 4th Farm Tourism Conference, which was held at the Summit Ridge Hotel in Tagaytay City. I learned of this conference from former Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Mina Gabor who invited me to join this new phenomenon called Farm Tourism. I’m not really a stranger into farming after all; we still have the Segura Farms of my mother’s family in Catigbian, Bohol, which unfortunately was “Carped” by Tita Cory Aquino.

Mina Gabor is one of the pillars of the Tourism industry and she is currently the president of the International School of Sustainable Tourism and I have always been curious about Farm Tourism since I saw the movie “Eat, Pray, Love” by superstar Julia Roberts where most of the scenes were shot in Bali, Indonesia in the middle of a farm and a rice field.

First thing we learned about Farm Tourism is the enactment of Republic Act. No. 10816 known as “An Act Providing for the Development and Promotion of Farm Tourism in the Philippines” which was authored by Rep. Cynthia Villar and passed a year ago. This was one law that I take my hat off to former Pres. Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III for approving it. This law allows for the creation of the Farm Development Board (FDB) that would promote a sustainable farming technique in order to unlock new opportunities for regional development. This will certainly bring tourism into the countryside!

When Cavite Governor Crispin “Boying” Remulla spoke before the 500 plus participants of the Farm Tourism Conference, he told us that originally this program was called Agri-Tourism, which did not kick off. But other countries call it Farm Tourism and the name stuck and it is now happening here.

It is a fact that the children who live in Western countries have not even seen a live chicken…or a pig in a piggery. This alone is a huge attraction to tourists. Perhaps an even bigger advantage for us in the Philippines is that we have small Family Farms, where tourists can look into the plight of our poor farmers and perhaps help them develop healthy crops like vegetables.

Farm Tourism also gives opportunities to people who used to live in the provinces, but have worked all their productive lives in white-collar jobs in the metropolis. So when the time to retire arrives… these people have an option to return to their respective provinces and join the Farm Tourism boom this time as a farmer/entrepreneurs.

Aside from the talk of Mina Gabor, I especially liked the talk of Ramon Peñalosa of Peñalosa Farms of Bacolod City, especially when he introduced the Bible passages relevant to farming.

He also wanted to rid our teachers of the cultural bias… like when a teacher scolds a pupil and tells the kid to go home and plant camote! I fully agree! DepEd should teach their teachers that farming is good for the country and our people.

But before we could go on farm visits as scheduled for Saturday morning, I got a message from Sara Soliven de Guzman who told me that her staff at the Preziosa Botanic Park & Farm Resort was also in the conference and if I wanted to see it…there was a car for me. So Rogelio Malunay, their agricultural engineer and resort coordinator Elvira Atienza drove us some 10 kilometers from Summit Ridge Hotel to Alfonso and we were blown away!

The 16-hectare wooded property, which is great for camping complete with a ropes course and superb Balinese, Japanese and Thai inspired villas. It was indeed a breath taking experience.

On Saturday morning we motored to the Nurture Wellness Village and Nurture Farmacy and learned about vegetables and crops that are good for your body. We also saw the Ilog Maria Bee Farm and learned about the “Stingless Bee” and that Bees are vital to the eco-system that a Bee Farm is good even for neighboring farms as they help pollinate various crops or trees.

By Saturday evening, I had a short chat with Mina Gabor who told me that the next Farm Tourism Conference would be held in Davao City, which is the new mecca for the Philippines. I hope Cebu would host the next one; after all we are in the center of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, on our return back to Manila, my companions, Mr. and Mrs. Francisco “Kito” Unchuan drove me to the Alcasid Aviary & Farm to meet with owner, Joel Lim Alcasid and his wife Muffet. It was my first time to be in Cuyab Hot Spring Resort at the foot of Mt. Makiling. This was an unexpected treat, as I have never seen so many exotic birds and fowls in one place. He has ducks, Canadian Geese, Yellow Golden Pheasants and Black Swans and White Tail Deer, sheep and goats. It gave me an idea of what I should be doing in our farm in Bohol.

It was indeed one of the most productive weeks that I’ve had in a long time and I certainly will put to good use what Mina Gabor and her team taught us in Tagaytay City. The only negative last week was that Tagaytay had the worst Internet speeds I have ever experienced and I’m the kind who travels all over the country a lot!