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pl.De.Ap. has piloted his coconut project in Liliw Laguna last week, an ambitious project of planting 100M coconut trees across the Philippines, that he first shared with GMA News Online in July.

Together with some 20 farmers from across the province, the popstar displayed his know-how of intercropping, an old farming practice of planting different crops on the same land. At the 30-plus-hectare Esmeris Farm in Liliw, Apl planted various seedlings of malungay, cacao, and coffee between young coconut trees that were already standing.

"Before I moved to the US, I come from a farming family, so I used to help my grandfather, tending to a lot of water buffaloes and also tending to crops like sweet potato, corn, and kamoteng kahoy," Apl tells GMA Integrated News.

By employing intercropping, the initial aim of planting 100M coconut trees has not only extended to 380M trees, but has also ensured healthier soils and most importantly, and is now poised to provide coconut farmers with additional crops to their portfolio.

"We're going to go above and beyond, creating a food forest," Apl said. "So intercropping around the coconuts can help replenish the soil and provide extra revenue for the farmers."

In the pandemic, Apl took the opportunity to go back to his roots in agriculture. In the same time, he met Sadhguru, an Indian yogi and mystic, "who taught me about soil degradation and the danger of degradation around the world."

"As a farmer, I took that as a challenge and a responsibility," he said.