There are a few members here from PR you need to develop a strong relationship with them. You could probably search the forums and find them then private message. Good thing to have outside income farming can be a negative income for years, but can also be very satisfying. Buying land is quite different from buying in the USA.
How is buying land in Puerto Rico different from buying it somewhere else in the US? Is there some ordinance against mainland US citizens buying land that I'm missing, or did you just not realize that Puerto Rico is a part of the US?
Check out this tool for planning long-term planting
https://www.agroforestryx.com/
Looks interesting. I'll definitely keep that tool in mind when I decide on the property.
Avoid Cat 4 & 5 hurricanes like the plague. There are probably still a lot of messed up areas from Irma's and Maria's onslaught in 2017.
Yeah, I live in Florida, so I'm used to dealing with hurricanes. The only difference in Puerto Rico is how much longer it takes a corrupt, bankrupt government to repair infrastructure. That's why I'm planning on having my own power and water, so I don't have to depend on local infrastructure.
livingenergyfarm.org Check them out. Alexis in an innovator.
Looks similar to what I want to do. Thanks!
There are so many things to think about. If you are lucky and get a place with good soil like alluvial or basalt derived and have access to irrigation water and have a dwelling the real work can start.Are you hoping to make money selling fruit to the local markets? If so you have to make sure you can have them accepted and that you have the right fruits. Productivity per are, prices, season, harvesting and storage all have to be considered. If you want to supply restaurants, do tasting tours, propagate and sell plants or seeds then there are more thing to think about. Hurricane proofing trees, fertilizing, pruning and pesticides is another thing.
Now what to grow and for what reason and when will each fruit? Can you get specialty fruits others don't have and can you wait until trees start to fruit?
Good point on the soil. I'll definitely have to do a soil analysis before I buy any land. And I definitely want to sell fruits that people in Puerto Rico would want. I would love to have mangosteen be a main crop, but I understand it's not that popular there. Maybe I could export most of the excess to the mainland US; at ~$15 a pound here, it could actually be a good cash crop. I'll probably have some mangoes and guanabana, with ever-bearing citrus varieties and bananas for when the others aren't producing.
And of course, the real fun starts when I'm growing things not to sell, but for myself. I'd love to develop a huge collection of tropical fruit from all areas of the world... eventually. An idea I have is to have a setup similar to the Fruit and Spice Park's visitor center, where people from all over can get fresh, rare fruits, and also smoothies, preserved stuff, and souvenirs. But I have to start small.