An online professional refresher course on agro-ecotourism, developed by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Organization of American States (OAS), got under way on 10 September, with 96 students in 21 countries of the Americas.

Students are taking part in Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States of America, Uruguay and Venezuela, all of which are Institute member countries.

The course, which was developed by IICA’s Distance Training Center (CECADI) and the Department of Human Development of the OAS, will be spread over a 14-week period and will be given online via the Virtual Classroom of the Educational Portal of the Americas.

“The people interested in this training are the inhabitants of rural or remote areas, who find it difficult to take part in onsite educational courses,” explained James French, IICA Director of Technical Leadership and Knowledge Management, who, together with Marie Levens, Director of the Department of Human Development of the OAS, welcomed the virtual students.

The program is the result of coordinated work by specialists in the Web and multimedia graphic design and experts in education, training and curriculum and instructional design. The IICA specialist in agro-ecotourism was also involved, along with a geographer specializing in nature tourism and territorial management.

The course, entitled “Agro-ecotourism: Basic elements for implementing an innovative tourism project,” is targeted at entrepreneurs, farmers, technical personnel and/or inhabitants of rural areas interested in the development, planning, organization and administration of agro-ecotourism enterprises.

After completing the course’s eight modules, students will have acquired the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to plan, coordinate and implement projects that make sustainable use of the social, natural and cultural resources of their surroundings.

The participants will be equipped to use the technical terms related to agro-ecotourism, conduct feasibility studies and impact assessments of their projects and use the best practices available for market studies and marketing.

IICA’s Director of Technical Leadership and Knowledge Management urged all the course participants to maintain constant and effective communication. “Both things are essential to achieve the objectives set in the course,” he said during his opening remarks.