The Philippines has always been a principally agricultural land, but the country’s agro-industry has been threatened by global warming, cartels, and inconsistent farming processes, and there are still millions of hectares of idle land (worth billions of pesos) which have yet to be maximized.
At present, we only have three billion-dollar export crops (banana, coconut, and pineapple) and our imports are at an all-time high.
We want to help the Philippines capitalize on its agricultural potential and transform into a stronger producing country.
The time for this is quite ripe. The government has given its support to the revival of Philippine agriculture. Export opportunities and finance options have opened up for farmers and farm owners.
We’re also already in the age of “Precision Agriculture”. Farming processes are evolving. With today’s technique advancements and cost-effective tools, we can now effectively optimize farm operations and make, if farming is done scientifically, accurate forecasts. This allows us to aim for concrete yield targets, which establishes farming as a solid business rather than a financial gamble.
It’s the rising fruit superstar. Dragon Fruit is globally emerging as a new tropical superfood.
It may be an odd-looking fruit, but it has a surprising number of benefits. Loaded with phytonutrients, antioxidants,healthy fatty acids, Vitamin A, C, and B, and essential minerals, it provides a plethora of ways to aid the maintenance of normal body functions and prevention of diseases.
The Philippine climate is perfect for dragon fruit propagation. The plant, which is classified as a type of cactus, can withstand El Niño (dry season), La Niña (wet season) typhoons, drought, and basic calamities, which makes dragon fruit farming less risky relative to farming coconuts, rice, mangoes, bananas, sugar, cacao, and other high-value vegetables.
The dragon fruit plant can also live for at least 15-20 years, so it’ll take over a decade or decades before replanting would be needed.
Dragon Fruit has surged in popularity globally and has been listed as one of the top super fruits, along with Acai and Goji Berries.
Vietnam, currently the world’s biggest dragon fruit producer, had hit USD 1 Billion in dragon fruit export in 2016. However, despite high production, the country had been unable to meet the global demand in 2017, which entails an estimated 50,000 hectares of dragon fruit plantations.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the 2017 demand requires 500 hectares of plantations. This aligns with how local dragon fruit consumption has been growing at 20% annually for the past years.
A demand decline in both local and export markets, especially if we manage to cover Vietnam’s export shortage, is not expected even in the far future.
While there is a vast selection of good income generating platforms we can now choose from, and the program bears risks as any other business would,
dragon fruit farming offers an attractive risk-reward ratio and highly competitive potential benefits.
Below is a quick and easy guide to our program process.
Challenge in finding good location & regular tenants
Low income from monthly rental value (average of 1% of total asset value) – ROI will not be achieved for at least 8 years
Real return on capital will only be achieved once the property is sold
Income from rent will not be enough to allow for the purchase of other properties
High competition
Broker fees, maintenance fees & realty taxes
Slow income growth
High-risk and volatile
Performance will depend on fund manager
Challenge in finding a profitable location & trusted employees
Competition
Minimal profits
Physical presence is critical
Will give an ROI after 3 years (at a spot cash timeline) and a steady, sizeable income for at least 10 more years
Farm earnings can allow for the purchase of a condominium, or even additional farms, every 2 years
Online portal allows for easy monitoring of your business
Your farm is managed by a team of experts from the agriculture industry