Want to develop agricultural tourism must do green agriculture

Speaking at the Agricultural Extension Forum @ Agriculture with the theme "Agricultural extension associated with agricultural tourism, green growth and sustainable development", Mr. Le Quoc Thanh - Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center emphasized that if we want to develop agricultural tourism, there is no other way than for the agricultural extension force to help farmers do green agriculture.

How to develop agricultural tourism?

On the afternoon of November 19, in Hoa Binh City, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinated with the People's Committee of Hoa Binh Province to organize the Agricultural Extension Forum @ Agriculture with the theme "Agricultural extension associated with agricultural tourism, green growth and sustainable development". This is one of the activities within the framework of the 2nd Da River Fish and Shrimp Festival in Hoa Binh Province in 2024.

The Agricultural Extension Forum @ Agriculture with the theme “Agricultural extension associated with agricultural tourism, green growth and sustainable development” was held in Hoa Binh city. Photo: Tue Linh.

Attending the Forum were Mr. Dinh Cong Su - Vice Chairman of Hoa Binh Provincial People's Committee; Mr. Le Quoc Thanh - Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center; representatives of units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Agricultural Extension Centers of provinces and cities: Hanoi, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Son La and Hoa Binh.

In his welcoming speech at the Forum, Mr. Dinh Cong Su - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province introduced the potentials and advantages of the province, highlighting the unique cultural identity with many folk festivals; majestic natural landscapes with Hoa Binh hydroelectric lake, which is considered as "Ha Long Bay on land". Besides, there is the diversity of relics and landscapes; diverse agricultural commodities... Especially with the orientation of green economic development, it has created outstanding opportunities and competitive advantages for Hoa Binh province.

Delegates attending the Agricultural Extension Forum @ Agriculture with the theme “Agricultural extension associated with agricultural tourism, green growth and sustainable development”. Photo: Tue Linh.

On the other hand, up to now, Hoa Binh province has 80/129 communes meeting new rural standards, 28 communes meeting advanced new rural standards, 1 commune meeting model new rural standards, 75 model residential areas, 258 model gardens, contributing to creating unique characteristics for the province's rural areas and developing community tourism.

The OCOP program is associated with tourism development, the whole province has 158 OCOP products, including: 2 potential 5-star products, 32 4-star products and 124 3-star products. Rural facilities are increasingly invested, cared for and upgraded, contributing to improving the quality of infrastructure of local tourist areas with diverse forms of tourism services such as: Eco-tourism, community tourism, farm and garden experience tourism...

Mr. Dinh Cong Su - Vice Chairman of Hoa Binh Provincial People's Committee delivered a welcome speech at the Forum. Photo: Tue Linh.

Speaking at the Forum, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong - Institute for Tourism Development Research said that agricultural tourism is developed to maximize profits for agricultural activities while still meeting the diverse needs and specific preferences of customers. This also creates many business opportunities for farmers themselves as well as agricultural production sites, and in turn, is also an opportunity for the tourism industry to increase revenue and develop destinations.

According to a 2023 study by the Institute for Tourism Development Research, most localities across the country are very interested in developing agricultural tourism, especially with the farmstay model. Many localities have issued specific mechanisms, creating favorable conditions for people and businesses to develop this type of tourism. Thereby, attracting a large number of visitors, positively contributing to the socio-economic and tourism development of the locality.

Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Thi Nga - Vietnam Academy of Agriculture speaking at the Forum. Photo: Tue Linh.

However, currently, the documents providing specific guidance on farmstay types as well as agricultural tourism in general, such as laws and documents guiding the implementation of laws such as: Tourism Law, Land Law, Forestry Law, Construction Law, Environmental Protection Law, etc., still have many inconsistent issues, not really creating an open business environment for local people to participate in tourism activities.

According to the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Rural Agriculture Development, developing rural tourism in a multi-value direction requires a combination of economic, cultural and ecological values. This means that in addition to attracting tourists, tourism needs to contribute to local economic development, while preserving and promoting existing cultural and natural values.

Developing rural tourism in a multi-value, sustainable and inclusive manner will help Vietnam exploit its vast potential in natural and cultural resources, while contributing to improving the quality of life of rural communities. Implementing appropriate policies, improving infrastructure and enhancing people’s capacity will be the key to turning rural tourism into a sustainable and inclusive economic driver.

Leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hoa Binh province spoke at the Forum. Photo: Tue Linh.

At the Forum, Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Thi Nga - Vietnam Academy of Agriculture, said that in some localities, the work of selecting locations to build agricultural tourism models has not properly assessed the potential advantages and characteristics, so it has not been effective. Most agricultural tourism activities are still spontaneous, small-scale, fragmented, and duplicated, the products are not really attractive to tourists and have not focused on branding.

Facilities and infrastructure for rural tourism in some places still do not meet the needs of tourists, lack of uniformity; the traffic situation in some places (roads to villages, hamlets...) is still limited, the problem of wastewater and waste treatment is still lacking and weak; toilets do not meet the requirements; there is no system of tourist destination signs; in some places there is still a lack of clean water.

Leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hoa Binh province spoke at the Forum. Photo: Tue Linh.

Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Thi Nga proposed to plan and develop suitable locations for agricultural tourism areas and spots based on a correct assessment of potential, advantages and characteristics to effectively promote the capabilities of each region and locality in the country, avoiding spontaneous, small-scale, fragmented and duplicated products; enhancing attractiveness to tourists and contributing to creating a Vietnamese agricultural tourism brand.

Upgrade facilities and infrastructure for rural tourism to meet the needs of tourists; improve traffic in inconvenient areas; pay attention to appropriate wastewater and waste treatment; upgrade toilets; add a system of tourist destination signs; pay attention to providing enough electricity and clean water.

Mr. Le Quoc Thanh - Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center delivered a concluding speech at the Forum. Photo: Tue Linh.

In addition to the above opinions, at the Forum, delegates had many opinions to discuss and share experiences and solutions to promote agricultural tourism development, green growth and sustainable development; proposed ways to effectively implement agricultural extension activities associated with agricultural tourism, contributing to green growth and sustainable development in localities.

Affirming the role and importance of developing agriculture in a modern, sustainable and environmentally friendly direction; introducing and promoting a number of ecological agricultural production models and circular economy associated with the current rural tourism model.

Agricultural extension helps farmers do green farming to develop agricultural tourism

In his concluding remarks at the Forum, Mr. Le Quoc Thanh - Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center, said that Vietnam has a lot of potential to develop agricultural tourism because of its diverse ecosystem.

"Today, there are hundreds of people here who are leaders and agricultural extension officers of localities. In addition to the task of what to plant and what to raise to improve economic efficiency, now there is an additional task of exploiting tourism on the farm. How can we support producers to exploit the value of tourism in their production activities?", the Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center asked.

The Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center suggested that the agricultural extension force should update, record, and share more experiences from managers and experts to apply immediately in activities at the grassroots level. At the same time, he recommended and proposed to the National Agricultural Extension to open training courses for agricultural extension forces to better understand basic knowledge of agricultural tourism.

"We must clearly identify the main subject here as farmers. They are the core value of agricultural tourism. If all agricultural production activities are not safe, there will certainly be no tourists coming.

No one who goes on agricultural tourism, farms, or ranches will smell pesticides or eat foods containing antibiotics. Green agriculture is definitely needed to exploit tourism. The people who help farmers understand this are the agricultural extension force. The people who understand the process best, the people closest to the farmers...", Mr. Thanh emphasized.

Source: https://danviet.vn/muon-phat-trien-du-lich-nong-nghiep-phai-lam-nong-nghiep-xanh-20241120015735571.htm