From an online game to real life application, why not invest on real farmers instead of just playing a game on your phone or a computer? As a Filipino, find out why FarmOn.ph should be something to be proud of, supported on and invested in.
2009's Most Popular Facebook Game: FarmVille
(Photo credit: ArtGirl's photo edit of Farmville Freak's Farm image and the FarmVille logo by Zynga)
Back in 2009 a farming game craze called FarmVille started on Facebook. I remember almost everyone I know got hooked on playing the game. You plant and harvest crops on a computer game while you Facebook (yes I used it as a verb).
I didn't play the game at the time because I wasn't interested in "farming". Whenever I got the chance, I was either playing Pet Society, Restaurant City and a bit of Cafe World and Mafia Wars or other variations of it.
(Video credit: MrPlayerism2 via YouTube)
As a kid I did grow up planting and harvesting actual vegetables in grade school and high school so maybe that's why I was not interested in any farming game at all.
Fast forward to today and I am still not into farming games... unless it is farming for money? Lol.
Investing via Crowdfunding
If you have just started thinking about growing your money for your future then congratulations because that is a clear sign of finally growing up and thinking like the adult that you are. However if you are still young now and are still in school, chances are you will just read through articles like this like it's nothing. Or not, depending on how you were raised of course.
(Gif animation via giphy.com)
Anyway, investing your money is a sure way to have more money in the future. According to Wikipedia:
In general, to invest is to allocate money (or sometimes another resource, such as time) in the expectation of some benefit in the future – for example, investment in durable goods, in real estate by the service industry, in factories for manufacturing, in product development, and in research and development.
Of course there will be times you will also lose money but that is the nature of investments. It is a risky thing to do but it can benefit you in the long run as long as you keep learning everytime you fail or lose money.
There are different ways of investing and one of them is crowdfunding, which Wikipedia says:
...is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.
Best examples of crowdfunding websites are Kickstarter, which focuses on creativity. A similar one is Patreon for artists like YouTube vloggers, webcomic artists, writers, podcasters, etc.
(Photo credit: Image found on Businesscrowd.co.uk)
In the Philippines, back in 2015 the 1st Philippine Crowdfunding Conference discussed crowdfunding and crowdsourcing and how these concepts can be applied in Philippine businesses. In that conference, Sen. Bam Aquino was one of the guest speakers. He authored the Go Negosyo Act of 2014, which helps support Small and Medium Enterprises where crowdfunding is one of the ways to do so.
What is FarmOn.ph?
According to the About section of FarmOn.ph's Facebook page:
Basically, FarmOn is Farming Game coming to LIFE. That means "FarmOners" will be dealing with REAL FARM… planting REAL CROPS… raising REAL ANIMALS…
Like the virtual farming game, it has now turned into an actual investment possibility because of crowdfunding.
Of course this is not a new thing, it only seems new because in our time, we city folks GenX, GenY and Millenials are too engrossed with playing games online that we are not aware (or we never thought) we can actually do this in real life! Now that we are adults, and with the prevalence of social media, now we think of life and compare whatever we do to the games we played before.
(Photo credit: Screenshot of FarmOn.ph homepage)
It's not games imitating life anymore, it's become life imitating games. Lol. This is the main premise of FarmOn.ph when the company started back in September 2014.
Surprise, surprise it is still going strong until today because I just discovered it a few hours ago! I have never heard of it before because I don't watch TV and even at work I've never heard of anyone talk about it or write about it etc. Maybe I'll tell you more about that on another day.
Going back to the topic, you can watch this video below back in 2014 where the founder, Mr. Teodulo Otoman II was interviewed on how this FarmVille-like investment platform works.
(Video credit: 9TV Philippines via YouTube.com)
In the video they make it sound like it is a game app, which it is not, so don't be confused. What they have now is a website which has an interface of a buying and selling platform including offline aspects in terms of monetary deposits and withdrawals.
Why of course it is an online marketplace where you invest your money. It's not totally done online because even the contracts need to be notarized first and then sent to you online before you start investing by depositing your money to their bank account offline, online or thru money transferring services like Western Union or Palawan Express.
Why The FarmOn.ph's Platform is Commendable
(Photo credit: FarmOn.PH via Facebook)
Growing up in the city and also living in the province, the prevalent mentality of youngsters is that you earn more money when you go to work and live in Metro Manila first, then the pipe dream of going abroad, especially the United States will be second. Why? Because farmers earn too little or way below minimum wage.
(Photo credit: Shubert Ciencia via Wikipedia)
Being a third world country where there are still places with no electricity or roads or more of what we enjoy in the city, it is no surprise that this is the thinking of those who live in an impoverished state. Actually I think it's more of a middle class thinking. The really poor people just want to survive from day to day by begging or selling sampaguita flowers, being jeepney barkers or doing anything at all to earn money and survive.
(Photo credit: Pixabay via PhilStar)
At a tender age, perhaps only a small percentage of children would think of still being a farmer or fisherman when they grow up, unless it is the last resort. Many farmer/fishermen parents do not instill in their young ones the pride of what they do. This is the sorry state of things in some areas of our country. And who can blame them when all this capitalism is thrown in our faces. We are colonial minded after all.
This is where FarmOn.ph comes in, whose main objective is to promote farming and encourage people and young ones to be farmers or at least to decrease the decline of farming related employment. 
(Photo credit: FarmOn.ph via FarmOn.ph)
It is similar to Kiva Microfunds, where people lend money to others, in a sense they are both noble causes. The difference is, this local farming company is a better choice, especially to Filipino investors. Why? Well, aside from helping make the Philippine farming mindset grow, you will also help farmers continue to be farmers who can in turn continue supplying the entire country with fresh produce to eat everyday. Ain't that something?
(Photo Credit: FarmOn.ph Facebook post)
It seems like when this farming company started, you have to be referred by someone before you can be a member, but now I was able to sign up with no problem. Got an email confirmation and no info about getting confirmed/vouched for by a FarmOn.ph member.
How to place an order and invest with them? You can watch a Filipino video in YouTube for a short walkthrough on the initial part of investing at the site. For more info you can always check the company FAQ/Help section or do research online.
(Photo credit: Article via ManilaTimes)
It's about time someone had the guts to actually start a movement like this. Don't you think it is good to support these kinds of endeavors? Not only will your money increase, you'll also be able to help the farmers. That's hitting two birds with one stone. :)
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