Agritourism For Rural Development: An Analysis of Farmers’ Training Needs

Agritourism has emerged as a promising strategy for income supplementation among marginal and smallholder farmers, particularly in geographically constrained rural areas. This study investigates the socio-economic profile and training needs of farmers involved in agritourism ventures. A total of 200 respondents were surveyed and findings indicated that the majority of participants were middle-aged male farmers with limited formal education and marginal landholdings. Training needs identified across seven core domains using Weighted Mean Score (WMS) analysis were guest management, financial management, administration, marketing, procurement, linkages/networking, and allied farm and non-farm activities. Guest management and financial skills emerged as top priorities, with training in Medicare (WMS = 1.910), accounting (WMS = 1.925), and digital marketing (WMS = 1.810) being highly sought. Additional preferences were expressed for training in sericulture (WMS = 2.270), beekeeping (WMS = 2.265), vegetable (WMS = 2.220) and fruit cultivation (WMS = 2.115). Farmers also showed interest for hands-on, one-week training programs conducted at ATCs. Findings offer policy-relevant insights for designing location-specific training infrastructure and efficient training modules to enhance agritourism’s contribution to rural development and farmer income stability.