Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo Advocates for the "Tree of Life" With the "Save Our Coconuts" Project

Screen Queen Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo recently led Coco Mama’s “Save Our Coconuts” project, a coconut tree planting activity launched in General Santos City, South Cotabato, to help revitalize the local coconut industry and improve the livelihood of coconut farmers.

The Philippines is one of the world’s biggest producers of coconuts, ranking as the second largest exporter in the industry across the globe. However, the coconut industry is currently facing major challenges. According to the Philippine Coconut Authority, about 20% of the country’s coconut trees are now senile, giving off lower yields and needing replacement. 

Coco Mama, the country’s leading local gata brand, vows to help ease this problem as it launches the “Save Our Coconuts” project. The project commits to initially distributing 100,000 quality coconut seedlings in five years to replace aging trees, providing lasting income to smallholder Filipino coconut farmers. 

Coco Mama brand ambassador Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo expressed how honored and thankful she is to be part of the campaign. “Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that the things we consume daily, like gata, come from the efforts of our hard-working farmers. With the ‘Save Our Coconuts’ project, I am not only able to promote our traditional and nutritious gata dishes to Filipino households but also to make a difference in the lives of the people who help harvest the food we put to the table for our families,” Judy Ann shared.

The actress and entrepreneur also sees this project as a teachable moment for today’s youth."The coconut tree is such a giving tree. With all the benefits we can get from it, hindi lang tayo ang nagbe-benefit dito kundi lalo na iyong mga farmers natin, mga pamilya nila, mga anak, apo, and all. It's a very important project that's so close to my heart and I want to keep doing these projects para malaman ng kabataan na hindi natatapos sa pagsisimula ng umaga na nasa social media ka na agad. Let's teach our children to plant. Let's teach each and every one of them to love Mother Nature because it will love us back," Judy Ann remarked. She planted a coconut tree to commemorate the event and spent the day showing support for the community of coconut farmers, mostly made up of the B’laan tribe, in the area.

Giving life to coconut trees is indeed a gift that keeps on giving. Aptly referred to as the “tree of life,” the coconut tree and all parts of it, from top to bottom, can be utilized to help sustain human life.

Launched on World Coconut Day, the Coco Mama tree planting activity was held with the help and support of representatives from the Philippine Coconut Authority, City Environment and Natural Resources Office – General Santos City, Local Government Unit of General Santos City, Century Pacific Agricultural Ventures Inc., and coconut farmers.

“Through Coco Mama's ‘Save Our Coconuts’ project, we make our commitment to provide quality seedlings to smallholder farmer communities in the region. After all, our mission has always been to delight consumers whenever they prepare classic Filipino gata recipes, and part of this delight is in knowing that the brand they love is also doing its part in helping the coconut farmers,” said Coco Mama Marketing Director Bryan Lingan.

Coco Mama’s “Save Our Coconuts” Project is part of the brand’s efforts to contribute to the Philippine Coconut Authority’s bigger mission of rehabilitating the coconut industry and uplifting the lives of the coconut farmers.