Agatha Christie was a forward-thinker. Not just in her masterful plotting of murder plots, but financially, too.
As her commercial success grew, the Queen of Crime began signing her book rights over to family and friends.
In her autobiography, she says, “The fact that you can sit down and write something, and then it passes from you to someone else, is a much happier and more natural feeling than handing out cheques or things of that kind. You may say it is all the same in the end, but it is not the same.”
Four years ago, it was these words that got me thinking seriously about legacy… and, not just leaving one flat sum behind for my family, but something lasting.
“That’s it,” I told myself, “when I write a book, I’m going to sign the rights over to my children.”
Four years on, I see the hole in my plot. Unless you’re a commercial success like Christie, book royalties don’t amount to much (and certainly not after the first few years).
Not to mention that I still haven’t written a word of a novel…
I need a Plan B.
Fortunately, there are attractive options out there today for providing a lasting source of income. Options that don’t require late nights at your desk… or multiple rewrites.
Standing head above the rest right now—as you’ve read in these dispatches before—is agricultural land.
I’m not talking about buying farmland for capital appreciation (though that’s a possibility)… but of planting your land with a globally-in-demand crop that will provide you with an annual paycheck.
The legacy aspect is strong with productive land. When you focus on the right crop, it can produce fruit (and, in turn, income for you) for 40 to 80 years. After that, through grafting, its lifetime can be extended so that it continues to produce income for your kids or grandkids… in much the same way that, in its 67th year running in London’s West End, Christie’s play The Mousetrap continues to provide for her only grandchild.
But legacy isn’t the only aspect that makes an investment in productive land one of the best long-term real estate plays today.
Arable land is scarce.
Right now, only about 4% of the world’s land mass remains to be planted. Meanwhile, the global population is growing… and all these people need to be fed.
When you choose your land, your crop, and your management company (so you don’t have to do any actual farming) wisely… the returns can be high—as much as a 45% return on investment… as is the case with one developer we work with in Panama…
Your Hands-Off, Farm-In-A-Box Solution
You’ve probably heard us talk about these guys before—their previous projects of lime, mango, and avocado opportunities were snapped up by Live and Invest Overseas readers. They offer an easy, highly-rewarding solution for you to break into the micro-farming game.
They’ve tried and tested their farming methods all over Central and South America where they grow and export crops to Europe and the United States. Not only are they adopting the latest farming technologies, but their focus is on organic and sustainable farming… and they’re giving back to the local community, too.
The group holds more than 20 organic certifications… which ensures they keep their standards to the highest. If you’ve been thinking about riding the green wave, this is your chance.
In Peru, they’ve worked with local farmers to help them make the leap from traditional to organic farming. The company developed a co-op structure with the local farmers, which was possible because of the high farmer population in that country.
But Panama, where they’re now concentrating their efforts, doesn’t have the same local pool to draw from. Which means opportunity for small investors looking for big rewards…
This developer recently presented their farm-in-a-box solution at our Global Property Summit and found an eager crowd in the room. Already, a number of your fellow readers are in the process of purchasing their own parcels to be planted with limes, mangos or avocados.
Today, let’s focus on mangos…
Why Mangos?
You may not be too familiar with them, but mangos are the most eaten tree fruit in the world. The global market is massive—except in two very important places…
The mango markets in the United States and Europe are in their infancy… but expanding big time. The USDA’s figures for mango consumption between 1980 and 2012 show an increase of a staggering 896%, from 0.25 pounds per person to 2.49 pounds per person, on average. The most recent set of data, from 2017, shows that Americans now eat 3.42 pounds of mango per person.
That’s a serious trend in demand, and, with this current opportunity in Panama, you’re in line to profit from it.
Of course, you’re investing in more than a fruit… you’re actually purchasing a turn-key mango plantation in Panama with its infrastructure and organic technology already in place.
Best of all, as the labor, farming, and processing are all done in Panama, it means you’re getting a first-world-quality product at developing-world costs…
Bottom line, you can own a 1-hectare mango-producing parcel for just US$41,000 today.
How Soon Will You See A Return?
Mangos, as you know, grow on trees… and trees take time to grow.
Specifically, mango trees take about 10 years to grow to maturity. They produce fruit for up to 80 years, but they don’t start producing them until around year 4… when you can expect your plantation to produce about 30,000 pounds of mangos (or about US$5,000 in net cash flow to you).
As the years go on, your trees will grow and so will the fruit output… to 60,000 pounds in year nine for a net payout of around US$14,000. That number is projected to increase gradually until year 15, when you can expect at least US$17,000 (net) in annual payments every year going forward.
Combining the early years of zero returns (when the trees are growing) brings you to an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of about 18% over 30 years.
Again, the entire capital required for the investment is only US$41,000. The plantation projects a yield on investment for at least 30 years, which equals more than US$430,000 in net returns after 30 years.
Which brings me back to the legacy element…
One more bonus of leaving a working farm-in-a-box behind for your loved ones is that they won’t be hit by local property taxes (or other associated administrative headaches) as they would with an overseas apartment or villa.
And, unlike a piece of traditional real estate, they don’t have to sell it on (and face capital gains) to reap some financial reward. The profits from the fruit sales will continue to come their way… year after year…
Back to the more immediate future… the sooner you get in, the longer you’ll get to enjoy the profits yourself.
Lynn Mulvihill
