By Alex Y. Vergara
Led by former tourism chief Mina Gabor, the annual Philippine Farm Tourism Conference, which is open to farmers, farm owners and farming enthusiasts, marries best practices in farming and tourism as it explores sustainable growth through the cultivation of fruit and vegetable farms, aquaculture and artisanal fisheries, and green investments in farm tourism.
Not too many people in the country were aware of the potentials of farm tourism until former tourism secretary Mina Gabor and her collaborators started institutionalizing it, culminating in the first Philippine Farm Tourism Conference more than a decade ago. In a nutshell, the annual gathering aims to teach farmers and farm owners new, alternative ways as well as complementary uses for their farms, including fisheries and orchards, that involve established and novel practices in the hospitality industry.
After a five-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST) is bringing back the Philippine Farm Tourism Conference, which will be held at The Bellevue Resort in Panglao, Bohol on February 26 to 28. Now on its 7th edition, the international event will be hosted by the Provincial Government of Bohol and supported by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).
Themed “Farm Tourism: Consciousness for Healthy Living and New Experiences,” the conference will showcase learnings from the pandemic, and share best practices, which seeks to provide social and economic empowerment to farming communities.
“We started in Subic before going to Camarines Norte, Quezon, Tagaytay, Iloilo and Cebu,” said Gabor, ISST president. “We lost about four years due to the pandemic. The conference is separate from all the seminars and courses that we do. The conferences seek to appraise stakeholders of what’s going on in different categories of farm tourism fisheries, farming, fruits, and vegetables, even animal husbandry. We make sure we are updated on what’s going on around the world and then we disseminate this to the people who attend the conference.”
The event is also supported by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, Department of Tourism, Tourism Promotions Board, Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport), the Department of Trade and Industry, and Philippine Airlines as official carrier
According Gabor, this year’s conference will focus on sustainable growth through the cultivation of fruit and vegetable farms, aquaculture and artisanal fisheries, and green investments in farm tourism.
The main theme, which is anchored on healthy living, took its lead from the series of United Nations-led themes and celebrations announced yearly during the pandemic. Since the world was in various stages of lockdown, nothing came of the announcements.
“They centered on such areas as cultivating fruits and vegetables, aquaculture and artisanal fisheries, and green investments. They were great opportunities for discussion that weren’t realized because of the pandemic,” Gabor said.
After she read all the UN-produced papers, she settled on a comeback theme that combined all the topics. That was how the conference’s current theme came about.
“We found out that a lot of the new developments are towards getting experiences on how to live healthier and consequently longer. Everybody wants to live longer these days,” she said.
The confab, Gabor added, will also have a DTI -led exhibition area for agricultural produce and by-products, and a farm tour, which will visit the notable farm tourism sites in Bohol.
Topics to be discussed include hospitality industry embracing sustainable farm-to-table concept, processing fruits and vegetables – key to food security, right marketing and revenue, value added benefits of artisanal fisheries, revival of the country’s multi–million peso seaweeds industry, the pompano fish as upcoming star of aquaculture, and green investment in agriculture and tourism in the Asian setting.
The conference will also confer the 4th Lakbay Bukid Awards to five local and foreign individuals and organizations which have contributed to the development of farm tourism in Asia.
Due the very nature of the annual conference, it attracts not only farmers and farm owners, but anyone who’s a farming enthusiast.
“With farm tourism, we married the farm and the tourism aspect using the same resources,” Gabor explained. “So, if you have a farm, you can just bring in the tourism component. And the tourism component is there because once you visit an area, it becomes already a tourism area. Because if you’re solely into farming, only the farmers will be there planting and harvesting. But the moment you invite guests, then all the amenities have to be there. May bathroom ba ’yan? How do they come in? How will they pay? Will they be safe? Where and how will they eat? Is there a restaurant in the facility.”
Rep. Edgar Chatto of Bohol’s first district noted that the event will be an opportunity to showcase the island province as the country’s first Unesco Global Geopark in 2023, which recognized its rich terrestrial and marine attributes spread out in a 8,808-sq km area.
Chatto, the chairperson of the House of Representatives Climate Change Committee, will also be among the resource persons in the three-day gathering.
Participants will also tour notable farm sites, such as Loboc Cacao Farm, Asin Tibuok makers in Alburquerque, Kinaiyahan Forest Park in Bilar, Lasang Cacao Farm in Maribojoc, Green Thumb Farm in Corella, South Farm in Panglao, Bohol Bee Farm in Dauis, Manay’s Farm in San Miguel, Ubay Dairy Farm, and Jagna Recycling Facility and Eco Farm.
The group will also visit the province’s iconic attractions of Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella and the Chocolate Hills Natural Monument in Carmen.
There were a number of cities and provinces which wanted to host the event. Gabor’s group settled on doing the conference in Bohol after Gabor had a talk with Chatto and representatives of the province’s private sector.
“Normally, when officials of a province bid to host the event, they give us already the number of rooms that are available in the area,” Gabor said. “Of course, the most important consideration is the willingness of the private sector and the local government to work together. And then, of course, in keeping with essence of what we do, the presence of farms in the host city or province.”
For details, contact (02) 8442-2998, 0977–2946763, 0966-2430529, email info.isstphilippines@gmail.com or events.isstphilippines@gmail.com, visit www.isst.edu.ph or its Facebook page Isstphilippines
