ISLAMABAD – Universities of Pakistan and China have decided to promoteagriculture tourism with an objective to explore economic opportunities andimprove people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
Muhammad Nawaz Sharif of University of Agriculture Multan (MNS-UAM) hassigned a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the International Instituteof Business and Economics (Qinhuangdao Hebei-China) to help promoteagriculture tourism in both the countries.This was stated by Dean of Agriculture and Environment Professor Dr ShafqatSaeed while talking to APP here Saturday. He visited China in recent pastand inked the agreement for cooperation to promote agriculture tourism.
He said that it would be an excellent opportunity for the peoples of thetwo countries to experience and learn about a lifestyle that was quitedifferent than their own.The Dean said that agricultural tourism was a worldwide trend, whichoffered city dwellers a chance to escape urban concrete and re-discovertheir rural roots. Agricultural tourism is a relatively new market fortourists and entrepreneurs. He said that interaction of individuals withfarm life also carries an educational aspect, along with businessopportunities.
People tend to enjoy learning about items and processes that they will notparticipate directly. Agri-tourism is becoming an important activity todevelop opportunities as more population has moved to cities and have losttheir connection to where agriculture is done, added Dr Shafqat.He said the agri-tourism also includes a set of economic and socialactivities that occur and link travel with the products, services, andexperiences of agriculture fields.
To another question about the new trend at international level, he saidthat agricultural tourism has seen a boost in popularity in the recentyears at international level. It allowed people to stay at fullyfunctioning farms in order to observe the work routines and activities thatare carried out in the agriculture business on day-to-day basis.
When asked how the Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture can help Chineseagri-tourists during their Pakistan visit, Dr Shafqat Saeed said thatPakistan, especially south Punjab, had many agricultural recreational sitesand harvest festivals. He said that Chinese entrepreneurs, farmers, orother tourists would visit mango and citrus orchards etc., and also enjoylocal harvesting season festivals.
They could observe working of our farmers in orchards and other agriculturefields. They could observe our culture, our traditions, hospitality andalso explore business opportunities. He said that the University ofAgriculture would facilitate visitors in many ways. It would help in makingcomplete visit plans, business plans and provide guides so that thetourists could have maximum awareness of our agricultural activities andbusiness opportunities.—APP