The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) and the Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC) for the Asian and Pacific Region based in Taiwan will conduct a seminar, “Harnessing the Economic and Socio-Cultural Opportunities of Rural and Farm Tourism,” on May 30 to 31, 2023, followed by educational tours to a number of sites in Cavite on June 1, 2023.
The seminar will be conducted at the R.D. Guerrero III Hall, DOST-PCAARRD Innovation and Technology Center (DPITC) in Los Baños, Laguna, with guests coming from the Asia-Pacific region such as Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
From FFTC, Director Su-San Chang, Deputy Director Tomonari Watanabe, Agricultural Economist Kyonwon Lee, Information Officer Ronald G. Mangubat, and Ms. Natalie Lu are expected to join the participants.
DOST-PCAARRD Executive Director Reynaldo V. Ebora will welcome the delegation and join the discussion during the seminar, which will be moderated by DOST-PCAARRD Technology Transfer and Promotion Division (TTPD) Director Noel A. Catibog and University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Roberto P. Cereno.
As the event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Kako Inoue, associate professor at Miyazaki University in Japan, will highlight “Evolution of Rural Tourism in Japan: Past Experiences and Challenges Ahead.” It will be followed by presentations from other foreign speakers under the following sessions: 1.) Policy Environment that Nurtures Rural and Farm Tourism; 2.) Farm Tourism as Innovative Business Model; 3.) Issues and Key Challenges of Farm Tourism in the AP Region; and 4.) Best Practices and Success Stories in the AP Region.
Filipino farm tourism researchers, advocates, and stakeholders will also be present to shed light on DOST-PCAARRD’s program on Science for the Convergence of Agriculture and Tourism (SciCAT) through Mr. Reynold Ferdinand O Manegdeg of the University of the Philippines - Institute for Small Scale Industries’ (UP ISSI), and Ms. Shiela Elain Silan of the Silan AgriFarm’s. UPLB Vice Chancellor Cereno will educate the participants on the opportunities, challenges, and ways forward of the “farms for fun” in the Philippines.
After the two-day seminar, the participants will tour selected farms in Tagaytay and Cavite such as the Gourmet Farms, SciCAT’s Silan AgriFarm, and Cavite State University’s (CvSU) Agri-Ecotourism Park in Indang, Cavite.
The public is invited to watch and join the seminar via the DOST-PCAARRD and FFTC Facebook pages by registering at: https://km.fftc.org.tw/workshop/19/registration.