Balilihan, greener at 186, emerges in farm tourism Not just evergreen but greener than ever, Balilihan town at age 186 today is emerging as a farm tourism destination in this province where agriculture provides growth and pride. A niche considered to be a sunshine industry, agritourism as its newest economic driver will be launched to highlight the founding anniversary of the verdant interior Bohol town and home to Gov. Edgar Chatto. The municipal leadership of Mayor Dominisio Chatto and Vice Mayor Pureza Veloso-Chatto, wife of the governor no less, has encouraged the private sector to actively bolster the industry segment already flourishing in certain sites in the country and many parts of the world. The gaining attention to agritourism sites has proved in Balilihan what both the Department of Tourism (DOT and Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) call an affirmative idea that farmlands are also for tourists. Farm tourism engages agriculture-based activities bringing visitors to farms or ranches for enjoyment, outdoor recreation, learning or research, shopping, dining and even lodging. Now providing a template for the promising industry in Balilihan are the Antonio Farm which grows high-value fruit trees like durian, rambutan and lanzones; Lumen Farm, ornamental plants and cutflowers; Stone Can, livestock production; San Roque Farm, poultry and fighting cock raising; and Doc and Elza’s, a homestay with specialized farm cakes and pastries. There is also the Victoria’s Farm, a Bahay Kubo FAITH model that integrates vegetable and fruit farming with aquaculture for sustainable agriculture and healthy lifestyle. The Bahay Kubo FAITH, the latter for “Food Always In The Home,” is both a strategy and an advocacy of the Chatto administration of the province for food self-sufficiency in the household. The launching of farm tourism as Balilihan’s newest economic force unwittingly coincides with the declaration of 2014 as the World Farm Tourism Year, according to the governor who is a former chairman of the tourism committee of Congress. The Philippines has kept exploring the fast growing segment of agriculture-tourism, also described as perfect industry tandem, as the country just ranked among the world’s top eight farm tourism destinations. Chatto encouraged all LGUs to host events which could magnify Bohol’s farm tourism image like farmer’s field days and agricultural fairs where tourists are attracted. While it fosters skills and innovations to progress the industry, farm tourism begets rural economic growth, social benefits, and heritage and ecological conservation. According to an industry research institution, agritourism provides a way to leveraging the strong, mature agricultural sector so as to boost the up-and-coming tourism sector. Experts estimate that the country can create some 14.6 million new jobs by 2016 if it adopts diverse reforms towards improving the business climate, particularly in farm and tourism sectors, and achieving a balance in tourism development between urban and rural areas while spreading the benefits and contributing to poverty alleviation, it said. Farm tourism destinations are mostly in rural areas where infrastructure for mobility is necessitated. Almost fully completed is the concreting of the highway from Balilihan to Batuan via Hanopol, which is the shortest major route from Tagbilaran City, Bohol’s gateway, to the wondrous Chocolate Hills in Carmen. While the agritourism sector can heavily suffer from strong calamities, Balilihan’s emerging farm tourism has turned out to be an approach to recovery and rise from the setbacks caused by the mightiest Bohol earthquake on record last year. (Ven rebo Arigo)
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 06:24:42 +0000
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