La Union Farm Owners Introduced to Farm Tourism
[wp-svg-icons icon="user" wrap="span"] By: Omme Atiyah Gonting | [wp-svg-icons icon="camera" wrap="span"] By: PITO-LU | [wp-svg-icons icon="calendar" wrap="span"] Date: July 20, 2018
Participants of the three-day Farm Tourism (Fun Farms) Seminar – Workshop pose with their certificates of completion after the said event held at the Diego Silang Hall, Provincial Capitol, City of San Fernando, La Union on July 12, 2018. The seminar which was conducted by the Provincial Government of La Union (PGLU) in partnership with the Department of Tourism Region 1 (DOT-R1) was attended by various farm owners, municipal tourism officers, and municipal agriculturists in La Union. Also in the photo are Provincial Administrator, Ms. Jennifer Joan O. Manguiat with training facilitator, Mr. Keneth C. De Gracia of Costales Farms, Ms. Evangeline Dadat of DOT – R1 and Ms. Joanna C. Guerrero of the Provincial Information and Tourism Office.
To mechanize on the vision of the province, 58 farm owners participated in the three – day Farm Tourism (Fun Farms) Seminar – Workshop on July 10 – 12, 2018 at the Diego Silang Hall, Provincial Capitol, City of San Fernando, La Union.
Said seminar was conducted by the Provincial Government of La Union with the initiative of the Provincial Information and Tourism Office (PITO) together with the Department of Tourism Region 1 (DOT-R1). In total, 98 participants composed of farm - owners, municipal agriculturists, municipal tourism officers, and representatives from private sectors of the province attended the seminar.
Ms. Desiree Duran, owner of Duran Farms in Bulacan and the guest speaker, shared her story of success on farming as she developed her business into an Agri-Tourism destination in their locality. Ms. Duran was one of the people who became a millionaire because of Agri-Tourism. She motivated farm owners to develop and innovate techniques and activities that will make tourists enjoy their farm visit.
Mr. Keneth C. De Gracia, manager of Costales Farms, lead lecturer, imparted his knowledge on organic farming and specifically farm tourism. Costales Farm is the first Agri-Tourism site in the country, also an accredited private extension service provider for the Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and Department of Tourism (DOT). He also lectured on the introduction and importance of farm tourism and its benefits; tourism service management and effective customer service; basic tour guiding methods; farm to table concept and farm stay; safety risk management; farm safety plan; how to maximize the support given by the government to their respective farms; ways on how to market farm tourism products, sustainability of farm tourism destinations and manpower management; and the need to register and comply for accreditation of their farms to the various government agencies to ensure quality service of their establishments. He also demonstrated some techniques in financial management and farm development funding in connection to tour costing and making tour packages.
The participants were tasked to make tour packages with corresponding costing based on a tourism circuit assigned to them and presented their outputs to the speaker.
Provincial Information and Tourism Officer Mr. Adamor Dagang discussed La Union’s Vision to be the “Heart of Agri-Tourism in Northern Luzon by 2025” and relayed Gov. Francisco Emmanuel “Pacoy” R. Ortega III ‘s challenge to the industry while he emphasized the significant role of farmers and farm owners in realizing the vision of the province.
“"The seminar cultivated an atmosphere of camaraderie & collaboration amongst key stakeholders while encouraging constructive criticism to ensure, at the least, a cohesive understanding and focus on La Union's vision,” said Ms. Gracia Lomboy, manager of Lomboy Farms and President of Bauang Grape Growers Association, commending the Provincial Government of La Union for the conducting said training.
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