Opportunities & Challenges of Agritourism

Abstract

Agritourism has a potential to reduce farm uncertainty by supplementing an additional income and creating a job opportunity in the rural sector. However, starting and managing Agritourism business can be a challenging and risky for farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs in the absence of a professional skills set. Such challenges can be addressed through a need based professional certifi cation/diploma/degree course/programme. In order to cater these needs/ challenges, a panel discussion on "Scope, Opportunities and Challenges of Agritourism'' was organized by the School of Agribusiness and Rural Management (SAB&RM) of the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University (RPCAU), Samastipur, Pusa, Bihar on 28th January, 2021 through a Virtual Mode with the objective of evolving a consensus on implementation of an eff ective skill development courses on Agritourism as part of the National Agricultural Higher Educational Project (NAHEP). Six distinguished panelists from both Industry and Academia were participated in the panel discussion. This panel discussion has come up with a suggestion to start a one year Post Graduate Diploma in Agritourism course to train interested students, working professionals and the budding entrepreneurs to contribute towards this industry and the farming community.