AGRO TOURISM IN UGANDA
The agro tourism in Uganda is the kind of tourism which encourages agriculture combined with tourism, and has enabled farming to develop into a tourism product, which I turn has attracted agro tourist and has also helped in increasing the tourism revenues. This agro tourism involves growing of crops to mainly attract tourist and includes; tea plantations, coffee plantations, cotton to mention but a few, all these can be grown mainly for tourism and they have been attracting many tourists who come for safari tours.
In Uganda the agro tourism is mainly carried out in western Uganda and it has helped to improve the lives of the local people especially those working in the tea plantation because of the tourist safaris that keep visiting the place.
Benefits of Agro Tourism to the communities in Uganda
During school holidays Kaweri Coffee Group in Mubende district, usually hosts children and families on the farm for a period of one to two weeks and during their stay, the children visit the coffee plantations and the factory and are also taken on a tour guide of the processing process of coffee. This has helped in promoting agro tourism in Uganda. According to the Inter-America Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), agro-tourism is an activity, enterprise or business that links agriculture with products, services and experiences in tourism.
Agro tourism also involves a native farmer or any other person of an area, offering tours to their agricultural farm to allow visitors view the growing, harvesting and processing of locally grown foods such as matooke, pineapple, coffee, sugarcane, etc., or other agriculture produce the visitor would not encounter in their country of origin.
As an alternative source of income, agro-tourism is increasingly gaining ground and popularity especially in the rural communities, at the same time protecting the environment. Tourism as a whole is well recognized as an engine of economic growth and also has a great capacity to generate employment and offer alternative sources of income to rural communities. Because many farm owners out there are not aware of the enormous benefits that accrue from agro-tourism, Agro tourism can be established by an individual farmer, agricultural cooperative institute, farmer organization or NGO agriculture support agency, as long as they have something unique to showcase to visitors and If well promoted and packaged, this venture can offer an alternative sources of income.
Agro tourism also works well not only for international tourists, but also for the locals. Especially with the increased urbanization and its associated features where families are being raised in secluded and nuclear homes, members of such families don’t have the chance to be close to nature and rural activities in which they can participate hence Agro-tourism will, therefore, go a long way in creating employment opportunities to farmers and their respective communities which in turn also helps in cultural transformation between the urban and rural people.
The agro tourism carried out by rural farmer communities can also improve their standard of living due to the contacts established with the visitors and hence the incomes from this venture can be used to construct social amenities like clinics, toilets and water sources to mention but a few and the visitors, especially those from urban areas, are able to understand and appreciate rural life and also learn about the agricultural activities that they only read about.
The Agro-tourism activities also provide opportunity for education through the experiences of farming and knowledge about rural life, including entertainment. And also acts as an instrument of urban connectivity.
Agro tourism as a new form of tourism also reduces the burden or over reliance on the traditional tourist centers such as national parks and cultural sites among others. And if well marketed, the farm family members who are well trained in customer care and hospitality will have a clear understanding of what customers want and their expectations. This in turn will help them develop different agro-tour packages for different tourists which has the potential to uplift rural communities and one sure way of offering rural communities a sustainable source of income so that they don’t have to resort to using land for mining or to abandon their farmland and relocate to urban areas.
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