Project Title: Scope and Feasibility of Agricultural

Tourism in Rangamati District

Course Title: Project Planning and Management

Course Code: AGEC-523
Date of Submission: 25-12-2022

Submitted To Submitted By

Dr. Ripon Kumar Mondol Aditya Dasgupta

Associate Professor Reg: 22-010153
Dept. of Agricultural Economics, MSc. in Agricultural Economics
SAU. Semester-01
Dept. of Agricultural Economics,
SAU
Project Title: Scope and Feasibility of Agricultural Tourism in Rangamati
District.
1. Background:
Bangladesh is a South Asian country renowned for its agriculture and natural beauty. Evergreen forests
and numerous river systems cover its land area. As a result, the tourism industry in Bangladesh is a
significant contributor to the country’s GDP. Bangladesh's tourism sector has grown with the pace of the
country's economic growth in the past decade, as more and more people are having sizeable disposable
income. Though Bangladesh does not get a big number of foreign tourists, it has millions of domestic
tourists who go for vacations often. According to different tour operators, the number of domestic tourists
rose. Tourism's contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at 3.02 per cent by the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). But most of these tourists visit destinations like the Cox’s Bazar
sea beach, Saint Martin’s island, the Chittagong Hill Tracts, numerous tourist spots in Sylhet and other
districts. There is still another highly lucrative branch of tourism, i.e. agricultural tourism (or agritourism)
which is still not popular in Bangladesh. Agritourism, as it is defined most broadly, involves any
agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. In other words, any
income-generating activity conducted on a working farm or ranch for the enjoyment and education of
visitors. Agritourism includes the interpretation of the natural, cultural, historical, and environmental
assets of the land and the people working on it. People have become more interested in how their food is
produced. They want to meet farmers and processors and talk with them about what goes into food
production. Farmers and ranchers use this interest to develop traffic at their farm or ranch, and interest in
the quality of their products, as well as awareness of their products.

2. Identification of Problem
Regional and rural communities in Rangamati faces many complex challenges, including downturn in
traditional industries such as agriculture and mining, scarcity of water, heavy temperature and
environmental disasters, and flow on issues such as declining populations, isolation and social hardship.
To address these issues and become more resilient and sustainable, these communities require economic
diversification. Agritourism is one potential for this diversification. However, the potential of agritourism
is currently limited. Even for a talented farmer and small businessman, there are significant barriers to
starting an agritourism business. There are no capacity building programs or tools to assist farmers to
develop successful and sustainable agritourism businesses.
3. Significance:
Tourism has become one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world over the past
six decades. Agritourism has an important role in creating a more direct connection between the primary
producers and the end consumer. For primary producers, it provides an opportunity to supplement their
income and market their produce through alternative channels, often attracting a premium price, or
capturing margin that would otherwise be captured elsewhere in the food value chain, whilst gathering
valuable direct feedback from end consumers about their produce and emerging consumer preferences.
 Generate a supplementary revenue stream or product for farmers.
 Reconnect people with farming and the land – reignite the connection between city and country.
 Contribute to local economies.
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  Provide the opportunity for additional employment opportunities in rural and regional
communities.

4. Objective
1. Develop a national strategy for agritourism in Hilly Arear of BD that:
• Summarizes the directions needed to sustainably grow the sector.
• Define the barriers constraining farmers and regions from developing agritourism
• Identify and share practical solutions where barriers have been overcome.
• Defines the product gaps in the market
2. Design and build capacity building tools to inspire farmers, help them determine them
involvement in agritourism and assist them to develop competitive and sustainable agritourism
product by:
• Developing case studies demonstrating the diversity and innovation of agritourism.
• Developing guidelines.
• Developing monitoring tools
• Providing a central point of contact for ongoing advice.
3. Raise the profile of agritourism among target markets through communications and marketing

5. Project Planning Step

5.1 Project Sustainability:
Sustainability has become a priority in the last decades. If we consider hilly regions, agritourism, an
activity strongly related to local communities, represents an opportunity to ensure the sustainability of
settlements and of the environment. Working on project, a project manager must be concerned about the
improvement of business conditions. One component of a project that might is project sustainability to
ensure the project needs over time. Learning about this concept can help to understand why it's important
in the project management world and how it might be used. This project is sustainable due to the following
reason:
 The existence of a prosperous hilly region, rich in natural and anthropic resources;
 People interested in practicing such an activity;
 The services offered by these people: accommodation and meals;
 The existence of a material basis (i.e., means of transport, access roads, tourist units,
various leisure possibilities) and an appropriate legislative framework for carrying out this
activity
5.2 Technical Feasibility:
Technical Feasibility consists some major factor that directly play a vital role for an effective Project.
These factors are location selection, technology selection, capacity planning, layout planning, raw
materials, utility such as water, power, waste planning, Government incentives considerations and
scheduling implementation. This project is based on Rangamati District and these factors are available in
this district. It is right location for this project and right location is a key ingredient for this business.

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Political stability of Rangamati is always relaxed. Again due to the hilly area the availability of resources
in this district incredible which is one of the positive side of this project.
5.3 Financial Feasibility
Potential new or expanded budget expenses Potential income sources for agritourism
1. Buildings (new construction or improvements) 1. Admission fee
2. Increased utilities costs 2. Tour fee
3. Fencing 3. Sales of fresh farm products
4. Legal/accounting costs 4. Sales of processed or value-added products
5. New equipment 5. Craft/souvenir sales
6. Permits 6. Activity fee
7. Land 7. Tasting fee
8. Taxes 8. Facility rental
9. Restroom facilities 9. Show fee
10. Hand-washing stations 10. Farm lodging
11. Marketing 11. Food service

For the period of: January 1 – December 31

Cash Receipts
Farm Stand 6,50,000 (approximately 52,000/month, 1 2 , 500/week)
Cash Expenses (-)
Variable Expenses
Cost of Goods Sold 1,50,000 (cost of material inputs and labor used to produce food)
Farm Stand Labor 52,000 Staffed one afternoon per week. Other times are self-
serve.
Licenses and Permits 5000
Marketing, Advertising, 35000 15500/year Facebook advertising, 5 0 0 0 / y e a r transactional
Promotion ad in printnewspaper 8 weeks, 4500/year for business
cards, 10000/year bill board.
Office Supplies 3000 ink cartridge
Packaging Supplies 8000 paper bags
Bags, Jars, Boxes, Labels, etc 10000 labels with farm logo
Pest Control 12000 mouse and rat traps, fly paper
Processing Services 4500
Repairs and Maintenance 7500 replacement floorboard
Supplies 75000 hanging scale , mulch , annuals potted flowers
Training 1500 only one employee, training did not cost anything
Other
Total Variable Expenses 2,88,500
Fixed Expenses
Interest 0

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 Insurance 45,000 Providing yearly installment per year base
Machinery, Equipment 65,000
Lease — Land 15,000
Property Tax 12000 Accounted for in cost of goods sold, building exempt under
“currentuse”
Utilities — heat 12000
Utilities — electric 24500 2050/per month cost
Utilities — water 20000 1670/per month cost

Telephone 4000 350/per month

Website/Internet Expense 12500 Web, Internet ½ of month bill

Other
Total Fixed Expenses 2,10,000
TOTAL CASH EXPENSES 4,98,500
RECEIPTS MINUS EXPENSES 1,51,500 6,50,000-4,98,500

Capital Contributions (+)

Loan 0
Grant 0
Sale of Capital Assets 0
Other 0
Capital Expenditures (-)
Construction Materials (walls,roof, shelving, insulation, bathroom, display 65,000
stands, etc.)
Plumbing, Electrical 4,500
Design/Architect 8,000
General Contractor 7,500
Equipment (cash registers,refrigerators, coolers, freezers) 50,000
Debt Service (-) 0
Total Capital Expenditure 90,000
NET RETAINED CASH 1,51,500-90,000=61500
EARNINGS (Surplus)

6. Recommendation:
Agri-tourism has a bright future for our country's economy. In many countries this sector has progressed
far but in our country it has not progressed at all. My proposed project is based on the heart of Rangamati
which is one of the popular tourist spot of Bangladesh. A lot of tourist visited every year in this tourist
place. If this project is implemented properly, the economy of the people of this place will be revealed. If
proper funds are available for this project such as government incentives, it will play a vital role in our
domestic economy, but in that case, we must be very conscious in the implementation of this project,
proper management, proper use of money must be ensured.

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7. Reference
1. Adamov, T., Ciolac, R., Iancu, T., Brad, I., Peț, E., Popescu, G., & Șmuleac, L. (2020).
Sustainability of Agritourism Activity. Initiatives and Challenges in Romanian Mountain Rural
Regions. Sustainability, 12(6), 2502. MDPI AG. Retrieved from:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12062502
2. Hasan, R. K. B. A. M. (2021, November 28). Tourism’s share 3.02% in GDP. The Daily Star. V
Retrieved
from: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/industries/tourism/news/tourisms-share-
302pc-gdp-2904556
3. Reza, S. (2019, September). Economics of agro-based tourism in Bangladesh. The Independent.
Retrieved from: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/project-
sustainability.
4. What Is Project Sustainability? A Definitive Guide. (2023, April). Retrieved from:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/project-
sustainability. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/project-sustainability
5. Biuso, Emily (2007,November 23). Down on the Farm with Your Sleeves Rolled Up. The New
York Times. Retrieved from:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/travel/escapes/23agritourism.html?sq=agritouri
s&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=all.

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