Organic agro tourism of Sikkim: An initiative for sustainable rural development, women empowerment and green environmental practices

Abstract

Sikkim is the first state of India to bring a resolution in the state assembly to convert the state from the Inorganic system to an organic system of farming in the year 2003, which was formally declared as 100% Organic State in 2016. Other states later followed Sikkim and took a similar decision. Honble Chief Minister floated the idea of declaring NE states as Organic Zone and to request Govt. of India to include in the National policy for Agriculture. The age-old traditional system of farming practised by farmers of Sikkim is in no way different from the modern-day organic farming system. Organic farming is a practice being adopted by the farming community of the state for ages. But in due course of time when chemical fertilizers and pesticides came into use the supply of plant nutrients and control of diseases, the noble practice slowly started fading and chemicals took over in certain crops over a while. Still, the consumption of fertilizers and pesticides was very low as compared to other states of India and far below the national average. Many of the crops never encountered chemicals and have been growing at the strength of organic inputs. This had certainly made the organic movement easier. Now, when the entire world is concerned about the maintenance of the environment and ecology for better living, it is time for all of us to think about it seriously and support the cause. In this context, tourism and agriculture especially organic farming practices are sectors that best complement each other, and the interaction between them has pushed agro-tourism to the forefront. The primary locomotives of this type of tourism are Rural Areas. In this study, the importance of agro-tourism as a tool for rural empowerment and development model, especially, its role in alleviating the poverty of the concerned area is considered with a special focus on Sikkim's Organic Farming. The material for this study consists of the data that were gathered through questionnaires during the exploration and application stages of a project initiated in different Villages in the east district of India's first Organic State of Sikkim. In this study, it has been found that rural household standings are determined by their spouses’ educational levels and their household income. It has also been determined that rural folks are willing to participate in activities that would bring income, and in that sense, they would want their villages to be opened to tourism. The present study has shown that Sikkim carries great potential inapplicability of Organic agritourism and can be a torchbearer to other parts of India as well as the entire World.