What is in news : Karnataka agriculture department has proposed about 26 potential areas for investors and come out with fresh guidelines to regulate tourist activities on farms as interest surges.

What is Agri Tourism : Agritourism or agrotourism involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm

Details :

• Areas of interest – Experiencing the slow-pace of a rural setting, living on a village farm, orchard or plantation
• The target crowd for this would be the urban population who want to experience rural life
• What are the activities proposed –The director said that tourists would get to experience activities such as milk production, sericulture, bee-keeping, hands-on farming, including picking fruits and vegetables, rides and games and many others.
• Activities would be spread throughout the state, ranging from silk farms of Ramanagara to paddy farms in Mandya and Ballari, areca plantations of central Karnataka to coffee plantations of Malnad.
• The initiative could be owned by an individual farmer or a group of farmers or society. Alongside their farm activities, this will act as an income multiplier for farmers while providing exposure to the urban crowd about rural conditions, said officials.
• Completely different from the current home-stay tour concept.
• A minimum farm area of five acres is a must to offer the agri-tourism activities, with guided tours on farming practices, interaction with farmers and agricultural labourers.