By Dr. Antonio Carmona Báez
For decades now, farming communities across the world have looked to agri-tourism as a means to secure economic diversification and rural socio-economic development. More recently, as commercial and mass tourism (cruise ships, resorts and more recently AirBnB) find the need to reconcile its business practices with the impact of climate change, gentrification and the marginalization of local communities, agri-tourism has been identified as a solution for promoting sustainable, community – centered development that seeks to balance our human need to explore and the preservation of cultural landscapes.
Agritourism is broadly defined as activities that attract visitors to farms or agricultural production sites. From Iran to Italy, the Philippines and St. Martin, agritourism may involve visits to workplaces where agricultural products are elaborated by community artisans. According to Chase, L.C. et. al. (2018), there are five main categories of activities related to agritourism. These are: direct consumer sales at the farm or workstation; agricultural education (schools visits to farms), hospitality (farm-stays overnight or for entire vacations), recreation (hikes, guided tours, horseback riding or participating in production) and entertainment (cultural activities, harvest meals, drinks). Agritourism allows communities to discover and harness the often-hidden talents, traditional knowledge and practices that make their geographical area and history unique.
In St. Martin, we can find such examples and cases of agritourism as Loterie Farm, Vicky’s Key, and Spaceless Gardens. There are many farmers who do not classify their activities as agritourism per se but whose restaurants and other businesses are directly linked to local organic food production (e.g. I-tal Shack). Nevertheless, the potential is far greater than that which has already been tested. In order for St. Martin to release its potential in this area, there needs to be closer collaboration and communication among different local producers and artisans. Moreover, with a high concentration of schools in St. Peters district, a valley that historically was dedicated to significant agricultural production for the entire Netherlands Antilles, school boards and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport can insert aspects of agriculture into academic curricula. In a word, agritourism requires collective effort and support in the form of public-private partnerships.
In 2019, the University of St. Martin (USM) and Eco-Sint Maarten Agriculture Development Centre launched its first undergraduate-level (BA) course in Agroecology (SCI 301), whereby students participated in basic farm fieldwork while learning theory in class. Due to its success, USM hopes to identify other areas in which students and researchers can engage with local farmers and create spaces for the sharing of experiences. Participation in these spaces can of course benefit those involved in agricultural production and their surrounding communities; this leading to St. Martin’s much-needed economic diversification.
To strengthen agritourism, strong operable networks are needed island-wide as well as in our Caribbean region. Many of those who work in agriculture on St. Martin already have natural links to other surrounding islands and other countries within the Caribbean part of the Dutch Kingdom. These social, cultural and economic ties can be used as a springboard for enhancing the attention brought to sustainable practices and community-centred prosperity. With three universities and one teacher training college in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, agritourism can also count on technical, ICT and academic support, and problem-solving research. As St. Martin continues to wrestle with its single-pillar economy, the promotion of agritourism can represent a complex but also workable method of social transformation which uplifts local culture and attracts more intelligent visits by those genuinely interested in getting to know our island and its people.
Readings:
Chase, Lisa C.; Stewart, Mary; Schilling, Brian; Smith, Becky; Walk, Michelle (2018-04-02). “Agritourism: Torward a Conceptual Framework for Industry Analysis”, Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development. 8 (1): 13-19
Neda Torabi Farsani, Sahar Samani Ghotbabadi & Mazyar Altafi (2019) Agricultural heritage as a creative tourism attraction, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 24:6, 541-549
ACB
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