Thoughts on Developing a Leisure Farm: Shared by a Crop Farmer
I. A farm must pursue integrated agricultural and tourism development
In essence, leisure agriculture was born out of agriculture, emerging as an upgraded transformation of traditional agriculture. Compared with our traditional crop and livestock farms, a leisure farm should still produce the same things; it simply turns the original agricultural production process into experience activities that attract visitors, brings agricultural products straight from the field to the table, sells products directly to visitors instead of to farmers' markets and supermarket distributors, and converts ancillary production facilities into visitor reception and service facilities. In this way, a single agricultural production chain is expanded into two or even more industrial chains. Most agricultural products are consumed without leaving the fields, and output value and benefits multiply, allowing agriculture and sightseeing to complement and reinforce each other.
Practice shows that with the development of leisure agriculture and rural tourism, well-run leisure farms can earn more from tourism than from agriculture. However, a farm cannot completely transform into a purely leisure and vacation business, because agriculture not only qualifies for relevant subsidies, but more importantly, agriculture is the foundation and root of leisure agriculture. Only with labels such as place of origin, geographical indication, organic agriculture, and ecological agriculture does the leisure farm business have a soul and a foundation to stand on.
For example, many classic leisure farms in Taiwan, China, originally started as nurseries and flower, fruit, and vegetable growing operations. After decades of development, they have become important ecological vacation areas across Taiwan, China, yet cultivated land still accounts for more than 60% of their operating area, and visitors' dining consumption and green plant displays are all produced by the farms themselves. This is a major difference between leisure agriculture and rural tourism in Taiwan, China and that in the mainland, and it is worth serious reflection.
II. A farm should develop according to a one-product, one-industry model
In my view, a leisure farm should be based on primary industry, with integrated development of secondary and tertiary industries, possessing a complete system of elements for providing visitors with food, accommodation, travel, shopping, and entertainment, and moreover operating as a self-circulating, self-contained system with self-production and self-sales. The crops in each farm's fields are at once a landscape system, table ingredients, and the source of raw materials for souvenirs and DIY crafts; a farm estate often integrates multiple functions such as agricultural production, scientific research, processing, sightseeing, and vacationing, with each functional body forming a symbiotic and complementary relationship; leisure agriculture accounts for an increasingly high proportion of industrial income and leads and guides the development of other industries.
For example, we have a rice-themed leisure farm here. It used to be a rice production demonstration planting base, but after transitioning to leisure agriculture, it formed a multifunctional industrial complex of sightseeing, leisure, homestays, and agricultural product processing and sales, and it is thriving vigorously. I believe a good leisure farm business should be a classic creative industry: even a single grain of rice, a single flower, or a single fruit must be turned into an industrial legend and become the regional champion in its category. Leisure agriculture should focus on and lead with one product, with one enterprise devoted to one theme, adopting the company-plus-farmers and base-plus-processing-plant model, making a single product refined, detailed, serialized, and with an extended industrial chain.
III. A farm must strive to secure national support policies
In recent years, there have been more and more support and assistance policies for leisure agriculture, the pace of land reform has come closer and closer, and related policies on land transfer have been introduced and improved day by day. Just a few days ago, I saw that the Ministry of Agriculture, together with multiple ministries and commissions, issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Leisure Agriculture." This document will help further advance the leisure agriculture industry. Therefore, farms must seize policy opportunities in a timely manner and accurately judge the situation so as to better use and apply policies flexibly, give farms a relatively good development environment, and achieve good economic benefits.
In the development of leisure farms, support from industry associations such as leisure agriculture associations is also needed. In the future, I estimate that our government will also gradually improve agricultural support policies, and government funding subsidies, project applications, external promotion, and training programs will all rely on industry association organizations.
Major universities and research institutions should join or establish associations. Following the example of Hunan Biological and Electromechanical Polytechnic, they should form specialized expert teams for leisure farm services, directly participate in leisure agriculture and rural tourism practice, and help improve the quality of leisure agriculture.
IV. A farm must establish the concept of ecological and environmental protection
My ideal leisure farm should be one where no bare yellow earth is exposed to the sky and no litter falls on the ground. Only in this way can it truly reflect the ecology and living environment of a leisure farm. A leisure farm should be rooted in the countryside, with lush trees and birdsong and fragrant flowers, where various native species and original ecosystems are well protected, and domestic and production emissions are well treated. Even in the most remote places, white garbage should rarely be seen. The farm's agricultural production should adopt ecological, green, and organic methods. In each leisure farm with distinctive thematic features, there should be an ecosystem of insects chirping and birds singing under clear breezes and bright moonlight. Ecological, green, and organic food should become the farm's greatest selling point, while beautiful scenery is secondary.
The production, life, and ecology of leisure agriculture are the farm's promotion and enhancement of the "three livings," and therefore should also entail strict protection of the environment. Maintaining environmental protection and protecting ecology is not only the duty of the farm but should also be the conscious action of all people and society. Leisure farms should be good at using and amplifying these advantages, focusing on green, organic, and original ecological brands to expand publicity, improve competitive strength, and achieve good economic benefits.
V. A farm must provide warm, people-oriented humanistic service
I believe that the natural scenery resources of farms are generally quite ordinary. Some plots with unremarkable appearance can often be cultivated into unique park tourism landscapes through planning and design and creative packaging, and with the popularity of mobile phones and WeChat, they have also become people's sharing highlights. In some cases, it is precisely because a farm's cultural creativity and service can compensate for, or even surpass, the scenery itself as its core competitiveness.
When visitors come to a farm, they should personally feel the farm's courtesy, quality, and class. Service staff with modest smiles on their faces, gentle and calm tones, humble and courteous speech and behavior, and careful attention to visitors' various feelings, while also promoting their own products with full love and confidence, can all leave a deep impression on guests. This is because the target customer groups of most farms are families and children. Therefore, in creating products and services, farms should focus on the participatory experience of family members and natural environment practice education for children, such as parent-child activities and water activities. Major holidays should feature themed activities that attract and suit family members, and DIY activities that attract children are essentials, and so on.
For example, in Taiwan, China, no matter how small the farm, guidebooks, route maps, and interpretive signage boards are all available, and tour guides and interpreters all have deep professional backgrounds or have received systematic training.
This is a major feature of sightseeing agriculture in Taiwan, China. Therefore, a farm's scenery may not be entirely satisfactory, but by maintaining excellent service, visitors will not feel that their trip was regrettable.
Through this learning, I have come to understand the true charm of combining leisure agriculture with agricultural tourism. I am now also actively preparing to turn my own land into a leisure farm. The above is a bit of what I have learned; please criticize and correct anything that is wrong, teacher.
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The leisure agriculture professional textbook series is the teaching and research achievement of the leisure agriculture professional professor team at Hunan Biological and Electromechanical Polytechnic. Published by China Agricultural University Press, it is currently the most cutting-edge leisure agriculture professional textbook nationwide. It is suitable for investors in leisure agriculture and rural tourism projects, park production and operation management personnel, and planning and design personnel for learning and improvement, and is also suitable for farm quality and efficiency improvement, secondary and higher education textbooks, new-type professional farmer training, and personal fine collections, etc.