Agricultural tourism has grown to be a Rs 13.14 crore industry in Maharashtra, despite not getting any financial or marketing assistance from the government. There are 127 set-ups across the state offering tourists a chance to experience a slice of rural life.

The findings were revealed in a survey carried out by the Baramati Agri and Rural Tourism Training, Research and Development Center, a private body working towards providing a boost to agricultural tourism.

"More than 3.3 lakh tourists visited these agri-tourism centers in Maharashtra in 2012-13, but the potential is much greater. There are estimates that suggest that, if 10% of domestic tourists in Maharashtra travel to these destinations, it can become a Rs 2,800 crore industry," said Pandurang Taware, director of the centre, said on Thursday.

Taware said the main hurdle facing farmers running these centers is the lack of backing from the government. Agri-tourism is not on the government's agenda, he said.

"It is important to realize that running an agri-tourism centre can be a great source of supplementary income for farmers. But they are neither supported by the agriculture department nor by the tourism department," Taware said.

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