Global Journal of Management and Business Research, F: Real Estate, Event and Tourism Management, Volume 22 Issue 3

existing industries such as ecotourism and faith tourism which can complement the farm tourism industry. Aside from hospitable people, other municipalities cited community participation, accessibility, good water and electricity supply, and their farmers as strengths. These characteristics can strengthen farm tourism and enable them to sell unique rural experience to visitors. Moreover, the municipalities also cited weaknesses which can limit farm tourism development in their areas. Both are cognizant about the limited budget, lack of support from other stakeholders, and lack of capital of small farmers to develop farm tourism sites. These weaknesses can be the bases of the LGU for future initiatives. The identification of needs suggests that farm tourism development should be prioritized. In general, the strengths and opportunities identified by the Local Government Units (LGUs) affirm the statement that Camarines Sur has an edge over other provinces in the Bicol Region. This implies that the farm tourism industry can be further developed by capitalizing on each municipality’s resources. The strengths of the municipalities indicate that tourism and agriculture are both major industries. However, interventions from the government are needed to address the weaknesses cited. The interventions should come from the concerned agencies through careful analyses and validation. f) Stakeholders’ Relationship This study applied the Social Network Analysis to determine the existing relationship of stakeholders. However, only the degree of centrality is determined. Degree Centrality is an attribute of individual actors as a consequence of their position. The sizes of nodes (stakeholders) shown in the network map indicate who are the central actors among all stakeholders considering the number of ties they have. Here, the in and out degree centrality are examined. In-degree centrality is the total number of ties the node (stakeholder) has, as a result of referral from other nodes (stakeholders) while the out-degree centrality indicates the number of stakeholders that the node has referred to. Freeman’s approach was used in determining the degree centrality. The SNA was done through a network map which was drawn from the responses of the Key Informants (KIs) of the different agencies. Each of the respondents identified agencies or entities (not limited to the ones included in the study) which they consider as farm tourism stakeholders. There was no limit as to the number of stakeholders they referred to. The network map generated (Figure 1) shows that the DOT is the most central stakeholder as it has the biggest size of node. It has also the highest number of ties for in and out-degree centrality. Considering the in-degree centrality, the DOT and DA-ATI are the central actors. This implies that these agencies are the ones seen by other stakeholders prominent in the farm tourism development. According to the Freeman’s approach, if the actor receives many ties, they are often said to be prominent, or to have high prestige. That is, many others seek to direct ties with them, and this may indicate their importance. This is because that they received the most number of arrows from other stakeholders. For the out-degree centrality, the DOT followed by the CBSUA display highest level of awareness of the stakeholders who need to be involved in the farm tourism industry in Camarines Sur. This implies that these agencies are willing to have a tie or coordination with the stakeholders they referred to Anchoring on the social network analysis, the stakeholders are also analyzed through a power and interest matrix. According to Mayers (2005), stakeholder power can be understood as the extent to which stakeholders are able to persuade or coerce others into making decisions, and following certain courses of action. Power may be derived from the nature of a stakeholder's organization, or their position in relation to other stakeholders (for example, line ministries which control budgets and other departments) while interest is how actors respond and get involved in different farm tourism activities. In this case, the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA), and Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) are classified as stakeholders with high power and interest. Their power is derived from their position as government agencies. In terms of relation to other organizations, the DOT and DA-ATI as shown in the stakeholder’s analysis are central actors considering the in-degree centrality. They are seen as prominent stakeholders. Meanwhile, the DOT and CBSUA are considered actors with the highest level of awareness in terms of stakeholders with crucial role in the farm tourism industry. These characteristics of stakeholders are manifestations of their high interest while their position as government agencies is a manifestation of their high power. On one hand, the Local Government Units (LGUs) are classified as stakeholders with high power but low interest in farm tourism. This is supported by the social network analysis wherein LGUs are seen as an important stakeholder by government agencies as well as farm owner-operators. However, a very limited number of LGUs are functional in the farm tourism industry. None of them has incorporated farm tourism initiatives in their Tourism Development Plans and functions of the Tourism Office as well as the Agriculture office. Lack of personnel to handle farm tourism projects is also a challenge to the LGUs. All of these are manifestations of low interest on farm tourism despite having direct contact with the community and has the full responsibility over the resources in their locality. Meanwhile, farm tourism site owners are seen to be the stakeholders with high interest but low in Governance Framework for Farm Tourism in Camarines Sur, Philippines © 2022 Global Journals 19 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue III Version I Year 2022 ( ) F