Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Benguet catalogs agri-tourism sites
THE Benguet Provincial Tourism Office has sought the help of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to identify agricultural areas that could be endorsed as an agri-tourism site.
Provincial Tourism Officer Claire Prudencio said while the province is banking on its vegetable industry as one of the potential tourism come-ons, there is a need to identify an area that could be endorsed as an agri-tourism site, particularly along Halsema Highway.
"We need to identify agricultural gardens along Halsema where tourists could interact with the communities where these are found, aside from just passing by the gardens," Prudencio said.
She asked the DA to take the lead in identifying gardens that would be developed as agri-tourism areas.
Included in Prudencio's plans is to invite tourists to participate during the planting and harvest seasons for vegetables.
Benguet's vegetable gardens are one of the primary tourist attractions for tourists traversing Halsema Highway, one of the major road links in the Cordillera region.
Atok Mayor Concepcion Balao offered the vegetables farms in Barangay Paoay in her town to be one of the spots for agri-tourism.
"Paoay farms are being visited not only by local but also international tourists. Only that it is not yet (officially) recognized," she said.
Some efforts for agri-tourism are already being undertaken in the province. The privately owned Enca organic farms in the town of Tublay and the organic farms of the Benguet State University are being promoted as among the argi-tourism sites in Benguet. (JC)
