Agritourism - the new profit frontier for farmers???


During the Professional Fellows Program, I had the opportunity to visit Sixteen Sprigs Lavender Farm and Gift shop set a whooping 3 acres (1.21ha) in Lansing Michigan USA. The growing season in Michigan is a total of 4-5 months and the rest of the time you have frosty weather. The owner of this farm Prof. Wynne Wright has found interesting ways to increase her income through agro-tourism and value addition to the Lavender she grows. This is not the only farm doing this, and I thought of you here in Zimbabwe.

 

Agro-tourism is the concept of opening up the farm to paying visitors to learn, view or relax.  Sixteen Sprigs offers Yoga in Lavender, Workshops on value addition, event space, Art and craft sessions, and U cut days (you pay to cut your own lavender bouquet and pay per kg) to promote wellness and agricultural therapy. In Zimbabwe we have multiple farms that have taken advantage of this phenomena such as Panganayi Farm (Hwedza) that offers accommodation on site, and learning  expeditions for those interested in Boran Stud Breeding, La Rochelle Botanical Gardens (Manicaland), Zvikomborero Farms, Tongaat Hullett, and Crocodile Farm (Kariba).

 

Agricultural Leadership Institute facilitates Technical Look and Learns for farmers to visit other farmers in a specific are of interest. The visiting farmers pay a nominal fee to cover the tour and lunch. We have done this even with Urban establishments that are a lot smaller than Sixteen Sprigs Farm.

 

My experience has been that many farmers do not feel that their farms can be visited, this is normal because when we think of tourism we have the fancy places in mind and as humans we always want to put our best foot forward. May I assure you that perfection is not a requirement to take this up. I was so impressed by a farmer recently who showed us a fish farming project that hadn’t performed as per expectations. These are important lessons for farmers to see that its possible for things to go wrong and tomorrow is another day.

 

So, what does one need to venture into this enterprise? Basic amenities include shady spots, flat ground to sit on, toilets and running water. Sheds would be nice in case of rains and a basic road infrastructure that can be used by a Honda Fit without it falling apart, it does not need to tarred at all. As a farmer pick one crop or livestock area that is your area of specialisation and showcase that to the adults.You can build a shed and create a petting zoo with a cow, goat, sheep, rabbits and chicks that can be handled by kids where they learn about and touch animals. Bio security is still important so running water, foot baths and disinfection schedules are a must. You can include other products to sell including stuffed toys, sweets, pastries, fresh produce etc. In the United States Critter Barn conducts a mobile zoo of sorts where they bring farm animals to the school for students to learn and touch the animals. This is with rescued animals or those deemed too old and are still gentle.

     Critter Barn ( United States,Michigan State)  indoors animal shed

 As a farmer you don’t have to run the project, we can do project management for you. You just need to speak for an hour and let an agronomist do the rest. If you decide to go fancy, you can build chalets for over night accommodation and guests can partake in the normal farm activities such as feeding livestock if they so wish.

 

For those interested in starting up, you can get in touch and I would be happy to help you get started.

 

Til next time,

 

Rutendo

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