Agritourism and room for development

Successful start-up with farm tourism

Graduated from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH), after working to accumulate capital and experience, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy decided to return to start a business in his hometown.

Realizing that Lam Dong is a land with potential and advantages in agricultural and tourism development, and the demand for farm tourism is increasingly diverse and rich, in 2022, Mr. Huy decided to invest and build Phuong Van Farm on an area of 14 hectares of land in Dong Gia Nghia ward, Lam Dong with the goal of aiming at ecological farm tourism, experiences for young people and family guests.

Phuong Van Farm is built on an area of 14 hectares of land in Dong Gia Nghia ward, Lam Dong with the goal of aiming at eco-farm tourism, an experience for young people and family guests.

In addition to the available coffee and pepper trees, Mr. Huy also grows fruit trees such as avocado, durian, mango, rambutan, guava, plum... for tourists to experience and enjoy. Mr. Huy exploits about 4 hectares of land and lake surface to grow flowers and vegetables, creating a space for sightseeing, playing, fishing, entertainment, and dining for tourists. Flowers such as aster, daisy, star apple, peach... are carefully cared for, blooming one after another, creating brilliant colors for the farm.

After a period of investment and methodical construction, Phuong Van Farm began operating to serve tourists and became known as an interesting "check-in" address for young people, a space for recreation, entertainment and experience for many tourists.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy, owner of Phuong Van Farm, wants to create a space for visitors to the farm to experience agriculture, have fun, entertain, and immerse themselves in nature.

Along with admiring the flowers and beautiful scenery on the farm, visitors can also have fun, take photos with farm animals such as goats, sheep, rabbits or experience fishing, boating, and mountain biking. Having fun, drinking coffee while admiring the scenery or gathering to eat, chat, and experience being a farmer with relatives and friends is a happy memory for visitors to the farm.

Ms. Nguyen Hai Yen, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, shared: "My family came here for an experiential tour and found it very enjoyable because of the fresh air and closeness to nature. My children got to experience planting and caring for vegetables, picking coffee, making a campfire to grill chicken, etc., and learning about the local culture. This is a memorable and useful experience for the whole family."

Along with the experiential activities, the farm builds a homestay to serve the guests. On holidays, New Year, and weekends, the farm organizes Acoustic music nights, fairs, and folk games to create a space for cultural exchange and local cultural experiences for visitors.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy, owner of Phuong Van Farm, said that when coming to the farm, visitors will have interesting, new experiences, close to nature such as fishing, playing with farm animals, enjoying safe food. The farm connects, organizes tours, and experiences agriculture with the desire to diversify services for tourists, becoming an ideal destination for everyone.

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Agritourism (agricultural tourism) is a model that combines agricultural production with tourism services, allowing tourists to visit, experience, and even participate directly in agricultural activities such as planting, harvesting, and processing agricultural products. This type of tourism is developing strongly in many countries with developed agriculture as well as many localities in Vietnam.

Development trends

The agritourism model is not simply taking tourists to visit farms, but also a journey of discovery, interaction and immersion in the production life of farmers.

Tourists visit, experience, take pictures and enjoy lychee at Mr. Nguyen Van Nuoi's lychee garden, Truong Xuan commune, Lam Dong

Bringing experiential value, agritourism opens up a diverse economic development direction for rural people. Many farming households, whose income depends only on the crops, now have a stable source of income from tourism services such as selling garden tickets, homestays, local cuisine, selling hand-processed agricultural products, helping to "extend the value chain" of agricultural products.

Realizing the great values and potentials from developing agriculture combined with tourism in the locality, Ms. Bui Thi Khanh Hoa in Dong Gia Nghia ward decided to establish Dak Nong Clean Agriculture Joint Stock Company.

The company invests in growing coffee, pepper, bananas, macadamia, durian, mangosteen and a high-tech agricultural production area of 22 hectares. The company also has 8 greenhouses with an area of 10,000 m² to grow melons, strawberries, vegetables, fruits, flowers and many other specialty fruit trees that meet GlobalGAP standards.

Tourists visit and experience organically grown melon garden at Dak Nong Clean Agriculture Joint Stock Company (photo: Thanh Nga)

The company's high-tech agricultural production area has become a destination for many tourists. In addition, Ms. Hoa has invested in raising pets to serve visitors. Visitors can experience harvesting and caring for crops themselves and explore and experience growing organic vegetables, a clean and environmentally friendly production model.

Ms. Bui Thi Khanh Hoa, Director of the Information Company, life is increasingly developing, many people have been looking for true values to take care of their health and quality of life. Therefore, agriculture combined with experiential tourism is a good direction to serve people's needs. Tourists who come to my garden are very excited to experience the clean agricultural production process, pick vegetables and fruits and enjoy them right in the garden.

Agricultural tourism is becoming a new development trend, helping to diversify tourism products, increase the value of agricultural products, and at the same time create momentum for sustainable rural economic growth (Tourists visit and experience the cocoa and chocolate processing process of Bazan Coffee Company Limited, Bac Gia Nghia Ward, Lam Dong)

According to the orientation of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, agricultural tourism is integrated into the sustainable agricultural development strategy for the period 2021 - 2030. Localities develop agricultural tourism regional planning suitable to the ecological conditions, culture and typical products of each region.

Agricultural tourism is a direction to help increase the value of agricultural products, develop the rural economy and create unique tourism experiences rich in Vietnamese identity.

Especially for Lam Dong province, to develop agricultural tourism, farm tourism associated with Dak Nong UNESCO Global Geopark, localities should promote propaganda to raise social awareness of tourism development. Besides building and developing eco-tourism products, the community should associate rural tourism development with the "One Commune One Product" Program, localities need to focus on developing the Dak Nong UNESCO Global Geopark area to become a national-level tourist area and an attractive destination for the region and the world.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/du-lich-canh-nong-va-du-dia-phat-trien-380901.html