Agro Tourism: An On-Farm Risk Management Strategy For Farmers.
Abstract
Purpose: The paper focuses on the problems of agriculture risk and uncertainties faced by the farming community in developing countries like India. Agriculture is one of the riskiest and uncertain professions in India and depends largely on the mercy of monsoon and vagaries of nature besides man made challenges. This paper makes an attempt to put forth an alternative to mitigate the uncertainty associated with agriculture and establish a more sustainable source of income for whom agriculture is the major livelihood. We propose Agri Tourism as a viable alternative.
Design/ methodology: Conceptual discussion and literature review approaches are undertaken. The discussion contemplates on the framework of agro-tourism as the best strategy to mitigate the agriculture risk and uncertainties. This paper reviewed the literature on risk management strategies applied in the agriculture sector in India.
Findings: Agro-tourism not only helps the farmer’s to enjoy the greater economic freedom but also helps curb the undesirable effects on farmer’s such as urban migration and suicide attempts. It also encourages the farmer to produce their crops in natural/organic means by using sustainable agricultural means. The paper also explores varies types of risk mitigation strategies and proposes that diversification is the important tool to manage agriculture risk and uncertainties.
Research Implications: The studies analyses varies types of agriculture risks and uncertainties and concludes that diversification is one of the best strategies to mitigate agriculture risks. The study links the first time the agro-tourism as a risk management strategy and explores that it is relatively easy to adopt since the lands and other resources are already available for farming communities.
Practical Implications: In developing countries, the farming community are suffering from internal and external factors like bad weather, high input cost, highly volatile demands, low yield, lack of infrastructure, poor logistics facilities, lack of formal financing, insufficient irrigation facilities and income stagnant. These are the reason that farmers are highly indebted in the farming business and in most of the cases unable to repay the loans and finally committing suicide or leaving the farming profession in very high numbers. We suggest that agro-tourism plays an important role to provide the economic freedom and employment opportunity to the farmers. As the maximum benefit of agro-tourism goes to the rural people it can be an important tool to control migrations to urban areas and reduce the pressure of urbanization.
Social Implications: Due to several internal and external factors of agriculture risks and uncertainty, most of the developing countries facing the problems of low farming incomes, farmers suicides and leaving the farming and this results in the rural out-migration in high numbers. Here, the study explores that agro-tourism plays a crucial role to resolve the above issues. The agro-tourism can resolve the problem of low farming income, rural migration and farmer's suicide cases in India. Here, the study explores that agro-tourism plays a crucial role to resolve the above issues. The success of Agritourism in worldwide (USA, Australia, Italy, Sri Lanka, Philippines) and within India the Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala, proves that it is the best alternative to increase the income of the farming community and create a win-win situation for both farmers and tourist.
Originality/Value: This paper not only explores varies reasons for agriculture risks and uncertainty but also analyses the strategies to manage these risks. The further study explores that agro-tourism is the best diversification strategies which not only a tool to provides economic freedom and employment opportunity but also control the rural out-migration.
