Gunnedah Shire Council is supporting proposed NSW Government changes to the state planning system that will allow more Gunnedah farmers to open farm-stay and farm-gate operations.
At the March meeting yesterday, Council endorsed a recommendation to advise the NSW Department of Planning and Environment to include the proposed Farm Stay Accommodation and Farm Gate Premise Clauses, into the Gunnedah Local Environmental Plan 2012.
This will allow "agritourism", "farm experience" and "farm gate premises" in the zones that now have "agriculture" as a permissible land use.
Gunnedah Mayor Jamie Chaffey said Council applauded the NSW Government's move to streamline the approval of agritourism ventures.
"No one is more aware of how tough it can be on the land than our own Gunnedah Shire farmers," Cr Chaffey said.
"We've been through a heart-breaking drought that cut our farming families to the bone. Then, when the rain finally fell, along came the floods and of course the pandemic that kept them isolated, a mouse plague and an economic rollercoaster. It's a hard but absolutely critical way to make a living.
"We strongly support allowing our farmers to diversify and build their resilience. We are on board this proposed move by the NSW Government to make it possible for primary producers to diversify their business to include farm stays, farm gate operations and other forms of agritourism.
"The pandemic has shown Australians the value of the true country experience, and we are perfectly located to grow agritourism. It will help us show the rest of the country, and the world, the things we value about where we live."
It is anticipated that these changes will provide farmers with the ability to source additional income and to allow them to be more resilient when recovering from natural disasters and the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is "agritourism"?
The NSW Government describes "agritourism" as a tourism-related experience or product that connects agricultural products, people or places with visitors on a farm or rural land for enjoyment, education, or to participate in activities and events.
Agritourism activities include direct shopfront outlets with produce tastings, regional markets, farm and winery tours, cooking classes, food and wine festivals, farm stays, restaurants sourcing local produce, self-picking experiences and farm gate sales. The term also covers farm-stay, camping and other on-farm accommodation, farm tours and activities, and events based on farms for their scenic quality, such as weddings.
More broadly, agritourism allows regional economies to showcase what's special about the region, its unique growing conditions and natural resources and provides a visitor draw card from which other regional tourism businesses and experiences can benefit.
Caption: Jack Hewitt with his pigs at his farm near Kelvin, NSW
