A FarmOn Investment Review
Crowdfunding,  INCOME OPPORTUNITIES

FarmOn: A Good Investment? (A FarmOn Investment Review)

This article tells you what FarmOn is all about — including my personal FarmOn investment review.


Before I proceed, I would like to clarify that I am not affiliated with FarmOn in any way. My aim for this post is to solely inform the investing public about FarmOn. You should therefore not take any of this as a piece of financial advice.

If Farmon sparks your interest, I encourage you to make further research about it. You can find relevant information on their site: FarmOn.ph.


Bringing that Farmville game into life

Do you still remember the Farmville craze everyone was hooked to play a decade ago? It was fun being a virtual farmer and a livestock raiser, wasn’t it?

Now, what if such virtual game will be brought into life with real farmers, crops, and livestock?

Here’s a thing: that exciting idea has already been realized here in the Philippines through crowdfunding initiatives such as Cropital and FarmOn.


Table of Contents


What is FarmOn?

FarmOn is a crowdfunding initiative that was developed by Sproads: a web publishing company based in Manila last 2014. As I’ve mentioned earlier, the concept is very much alike with Farmville. The huge difference though is you can’t see your crops growing virtually because they are actually grown for real!

Farmon aims to bridge the gap between the investors and the Filipino farmers to bring that Farmville dream into life. All you have to do is to select crops or livestock you want to fund and wait until the products are harvested and sold into the market. The net profits will then be shared by the farmers and the investors.


Read More: Top 10 Best Investments for Beginners


My Farmon Investment Review

I discovered FarmOn after accidentally clicking an article that says ” This Filipino Farming Game Provides Capital for Real Farmers ” last 2017. I became curious so I made some research on their website, FarmOn.ph.

I was really amazed by farmon’s advocacy but I did not invest right away. I entered in a farmon group in facebook named FarmOn.ph Investing (Investors/Newcomer) instead just to observe and to know the feedback of its investors.

It took me a year before finally convincing myself that this is not just a good investment but is also a great advocacy worth supporting.

Is FarmOn a good investment?

I personally consider farmon as a good investment due to the following reasons:

  • It helps promote agriculture here in the Philippines. More funding, more crops to produce, more agricultural crop/livestock supply for the Filipinos.
  • It helps sustain the livelihood of our farmers.
  • It helps the farmers not to rely on loan sharks for their capital.
  • It helps the Filipino community support our dear Filipino farmers.
  • It gives a considerable amount of profits. Always better than parking your money in the bank.

Does FarmOn have the necessary licenses?

I bet you have seen the circulating SEC advisory about Farmon that was released on year 2016. Upon checking, I saw a message from Farmon regarding such issue:

Courtesy of: www.kriezeldaria.com

FarmOn.ph is not a corporation which is not needed to be registered to SEC. Instead, it is a sole proprietorship which is registered to DTI. We have license and business permits to operate and legal papers and documents registered to DTI. FarmOn.ph has existing 45 hectares farm located in Isabela and Quirino Province, including the office, which we wanted all investors to visit.

And upon further research, I found out that Farmon has already complied its primary SEC license necessary to operate. You can check it in secexpress.ph (Search farmon’s name on the order tab). However, Farmon still doesn’t have the secondary license necessary to solicit investments from the public.

But as per SEC, the secondary license shall only be given to corporations offering securities such as stocks and bonds — and crowdfunding is obviously not a type of security. Until now, SEC hasn’t released rules and guidelines for the crowdfunding initiatives to comply.

SEC is already taking steps to regulate crowdfunding investment here in the Philippines

Just recently, SEC issued a statement about regulating crowdfunding investments here in the Philippines. Finally!

With the rules and regulations governing crowdfunding in place, the Commission hopes to support recent financial innovations on providing easier access to finance especially for smaller business startups or ventures while ensuring the integrity and fairness of financial systems and the protection of investors 


SEC chair Emilio Aquino

I believe the advocacy of farmon is genuine. In fact, it has already been featured in different TV shows here in the Philippines since 2014. It just happened that crowdfunding investment isn’t a common idea here unlike in other industrialized countries. Investments like this haven’t been fully regulated yet, but I hope it will be implemented soon.


Read More: Cropital: A Philippine Crowdfunding Agribusiness Investment


How to Contribute in Farmon?

Disclaimer: Some of the following can be found in farmon 1.0’s FAQ, but I just added some points based on my personal experience of being a FarmOner.

FarmOn’s three major farming cycle phases:

Farmon runs its crowdfunding initiative per cycle. As this time of writing (July 2019), farmon is currently on its 23rd farming cycle since 2014. That’s approximately 3-4 farming cycles a year.

In my own experience, each farming cycle is comprised of three phases: (1) Registration phase, (2) Real farming phase, and (3) Profit-sharing phase.


Registration phase:

Before the start of real farming, Farmon will inform the public about the upcoming farming cycle on their facebook page. The following information will be provided during the registration phase:

  • The duration of the farming cycle registration (it normally runs in more or less a month).
  • The crops/livestock to be grown.
  • The starting date of real farming.

This is how their announcement looks like:

Farmon investment review: registration period

A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Fund in FarmOn

1. Go to their website: farmon.ph

2. If you’re a first-time investor, you have to fill out their registration form. You will be asked to provide some of your personal information and your valid ID to confirm your identity.

3. Select farm locations you want to fund. Currently, there are seven farm locations which are dispersed in Isabela and Cagayan.

Farmon investment review: farm

Note: The Open tab is only clickable during the registration period.

Once you select your desired farm location to fund, you will see the available crops to be funded in that particular farm. And since the farm lands are obviously scarce, it is therefore understandable that funding crops in farmon is a first come first serve basis.

Farmon investment review: product details

You will see how much of the total crops is totally funded and how many days to go before the funding is closed. If a particular crop is already 100% funded even before the registration period, it will be automatically closed.

Conversely, if the registration period has already ended without being 100% funded, the farming of such crop will still proceed based on the amount being funded.

Below the crops’ funding information, there’s the product details. As you can see, minimum amount, plot size, and planting duration are shown.

4. Add your desired products to your cart. After picking the farm and the crops/livestock, you have to indicate the number of plots or heads you want to fund. If you’re an old investor and you want to reinvest your previous profits to fund your next set of crops, just leave a note on the box provided.

Farmon investment review: add products to your cart

You have the option to have your contract notarized with a notary fee of P 250. Notary fee is not necessary though. But if your funding is already big, I encourage you to have your contract notarized for legality purposes.

5. Place your orders. You should place your orders afterwards in order to complete your product request. You have to bear in mind that you cannot add other products or change your chosen products after clicking that “Place my orders now” button.

Farmon investment review: add products to cart
Farmon investment review: place your orders

Important Note:- Product requests will only remain for 10 days on your cart. Make sure to place your order if your decision is final.

6. Wait for the official contract. Normally, you will receive your contract 3-7 days after placing your orders. Once you receive such contract, just follow what is indicated on their message.

This is an example of the message I got from farmon. You can see this in User Control Panel > Message Centre:

Farmon investment review: downloadable contract
  • Print the contract.
  • Pay your product dues based on the payment methods indicated on the contract. Make sure to settle your payment before your contract payment due date.
  • Take a photo of your proof of payment. If you funded through online banking, just take a screenshot of your transaction.
  • Affix your signature on the printed contract, take a photo/scanned copy of it and send it back to farmon by replying to their message.
  • Complete the payment form farmon provided on their message and attach your proof of payment.

There’s no need to check your farmon account daily since you will receive notifications like this to the email you just used for your account login:

Farmon investment review: email notifications

So make sure the email you provided is updated. 

7. Wait for your products to be reflected in your account. After the confirmation/validation of payment, your products and transaction history will be posted on your account before the start of the real farming. 

Farmon investment review: active product
USER CONTROL PANEL > USER HOME

Important Notes:

  • After receiving your contract, you will be given 3-6 banking days to complete your product dues. Otherwise, your contract will be forfeited. You will have to wait for the next cycle for your next funding opportunity by then.
  • Payment made after 6 banking days automatically forfeits your contract. This is to give way for other investors who want to fund as well. Your payment can be refunded but you shall bear the costs and expenses to get your money back (e.g. bank transaction fees or remittance fees).

Frequently asked questions during registration period

Is there a registration fee?

Yes, there is. A one-time registration fee of P300 will be included on the contract.

Am I required to pay the notarized contract?

No. It is upon your own discretion. But it would be better to have your contract notarized especially if you funded a considerable amount.

Is there a minimum and maximum amount to invest?

Minimum is P1,500 (1 plot) while the maximum is P300,000.


Read More: Why Do People Invest In Stocks? Here Are Five Big Reasons


Real farming phase:

What are the risks involved?

I bet we all know the risks involved in farming — and that is the force of nature. Climate change and natural disaster are the primary drivers of such risks. While it is almost impossible to eliminate these threats, farmon consistently find ways on how to lessen those by applying various technological solutions.

What will happen if my crops/livestock will be devastated?

In case the farm has been devastated, FarmOn will replant crops as well as raise livestock again without any cost on your part. On the downside, you have to wait for a longer time than usual in order to have your crops/livestock to be regrown. But that sounds better rather than waiting for nothing, isn’t it?

It is actually stipulated on the contract:


In the event that an unforeseen circumstance such as super typhoon and the like strikes and destroys the crop and/or livestock, FarmOn will replace them with seedlings and young animals, NO EXTRA CHARGES from the FarmOner. FarmOn.ph will also be responsible for providing fertilizers and the like for the crops. In addition, FarmOn.ph will also shoulder vitamin shots and necessary medications for the livestock, with NO REQUIRED EXTRA FEES from the FarmOner.

This has actually happened last October 2018 when typhoon Rosita hit the Northern part of the Philippines. And this was the message from FarmOn:


Profit sharing phase:

How much is the return on investment?

Your return on investment will greatly depend on the crops/livestock you funded as well as its farm location. The returns are not guaranteed since the net profits of each farm isn’t fixed. But based on what I have observed, the ROI ranges an average of 12-15%. You can always ask FarmOn about the ROI in their message center.

Just go to USER CONTROL PANEL > MESSAGE CENTRE and send them a message. Here is an example of the ROI for the 23rd farming cycle, courtesy to a fellow FarmOner.

Farmon investment review: return on investment

When will I receive my profits?

You will receive your profits after the duration FarmOn indicated on the product details. You will start counting the months AFTER the start of real farming.

Farmon investment review: product description

For instance, you picked crops with 4-6 months harvesting period. If real farming starts on September 2019, then you can expect for your profits in January-March 2020.

Farmon strictly follows a profit distribution of First Pay, First Out basis. Those who paid and confirmed their payment first will be the first ones to receive their profit.

How can I withdraw the money?

Withdrawal requests are ONLY AVAILABLE during the 1st up to the 10th day of each month. You can submit a withdrawal request in your FarmOn account.

  • Login to your FarmOn account
  • Go to USER CONTROL PANEL > USER HOME
  • Scroll down to your VAULT SUMMARY and click WITHDRAW.
    • NOTE: Check your balance amount. That’s the amount that you can withdraw
  • Select your preferred payment method

You have to take note that your withdrawal amount will be less the bank or remittance transaction fees (if there’s any). So if you are thinking of withdrawing little amount, think twice. You might be paying more for the fees more than your profits.

When will I receive the money withdrawed?

Withdrawal requests will be processed every end of the month and will be sent to your preferred payment method.

Frequently asked question during profit-sharing phase

Why am I getting different ROI from others?

You have to take note that the profit distribution is based on the net proceeds of the crops/livestock. The returns of your products will greatly rely on the following factors:

  • Crops / livestock being funded
  • Market price of the crops/livestock
  • Harvesting period of the products you funded 
  • Farm location

Read More: Are you prepared to invest?


Final thoughts about Farmon

As time advances, the technology also progresses. It’s nice to know that there are some people who are using technology as an advantage to initiate a movement like this. Such initiative greatly helps one of the most undervalued workers — our farmers, to sustain their livelihood. Because sooner or later, these cultivators will seek for greener pastures leaving the farms behind. It’s important to note that the ones who are putting the energy bars on our plate deserve our utmost support too.

Sheila is a civil engineer by profession but has switched careers to become a copywriter. She loves making sales through stories that are relatable to the average person. She's also a sucker for memes and thinks she’s the funniest person in the world (even though she knows that’s not true). Her favorite drink is Kopiko Brown coffee, but she'll also take tea or beer if it's offered.

3 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *