Assessment of Agro - Tourism Potential in Pune District

Agro-tourism has a combined theme of agriculture and rural life. It is connected with customs, beliefs, nature and culture. Agro-tourism includes various activities such as buying a product from a farm stand, fruit picking or feeding animals, and staying on a farm (Taware, 2015). Agriculture is the most important occupation but today it has become unprofitable due to the irregular monsoon, Prices fluctuations of Agro-Products and some internal weaknesses in the agriculture sector. Hence, Agro-tourism is needed to do some innovative activities in agriculture, which will help farmers and rural peoples. Agro-tourism is one alternative for improving the incomes and potential economic viability of small farms and rural communities. Maharashtra is the first state in India, which had started an Agro-tourism centre on a commercial basis. Whereas in the Pune district, Pandurang Taware started an Agro-tourism centre at Palshi, Baramati, in 2005. Today, Pune district has the highest number of Agro-tourism centres in Maharashtra and India.