Karnataka decides to embark upon agritourism

Aims to introduce aspects of agriculture and rural life to urbanites

Karnataka has decided to embark upon agritourism to introduce various aspects of agriculture and rural life to urbanites, to increase the incomes of farmers, and to boost the tourism economy.

A meeting on developing the concept of agritourism was held here on Friday with the involvement of the Departments of Tourism, Agriculture, and Horticulture.

Tourism Minister C.T. Ravi told The Hindu that farmers will be the main stakeholders under this concept.

“Tourists from the city will not only get a first-hand experience of farming, but also the cultural aspects associated with agriculture and rural life, including rural sports,” he said.

Measures will also be taken to allow farmers to directly sell their products to tourists, he noted.

The government is thinking of developing theme-based agritourism concepts, such as coffee and various other crops, he said.

To make such concepts sustainable, the Tourism Department is thinking of linking them with nearby tourist places so that the tourism sector too gets benefits, he explained.

Plans are also afoot to draw up such concepts for urban schoolchildren so that they would know about farming and rural life, Mr. Ravi said.

A co-ordination committee has been formed to identify the places for launching the theme-based initiative, the Minister said. It may take nearly an year for the actual concept to be implemented in a full-fledged manner.

Mr. Ravi has also asked Social Welfare Department authorities to help develop a ‘Dalit Heritage Tourism’ concept to promote Dalit heritage, especially Dalit folklore.

Similarly, authorities concerned have been told to develop ‘Lambani Heritage Tourism’ concept.

“I have suggested that a village of Lambanis near Hampi should be identified for this purpose so that it would be possible to attract foreign tourists who come to Hampi to the Lambani heritage village,” he added.