Los Baños, Laguna – It’s not always about football with the Azkals.
Born and raised in Leyte, Azkals manager Dan Palami is looking at providing livelihood opportunities for the residents of Yolanda-affected areas in Tacloban, Leyte by planting a 10-hectare land with coconut. To develop the farm, Palami and Azkals coach Thomas Dooley visited PCAARRD to consult with the government agency regarding the best and high-yielding coconut variety to plant.
During the visit, Dr. Ponciano Batugal, PCAARRD Chair of the Coconut and Palm Oil Industry Cluster, suggested to have a two-hectare model farm, which can then be replicated in other areas of Leyte. Currently, coconut is one of the identified commodities under the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Uma-ahon initiative for Yolanda-stricken communities, which was started in February 2014. A total of 28,500 hectares for coconut is being rehabilitated under the program.
Dr. Batugal also stressed that coconut has a huge potential in the market as it can be processed into high-value and high-nutrient products such as coconut water, coco sugar, and virgin coconut oil, which can also be exported. According to Dr. Batugal, coconut water has the potential to replace popular sports drinks in the market, while coco sugar is ideal for diabetics with its low glycemic index. Moreover, the coconut shell can be converted to activated carbon, which is used to filter water.
Aside from being the manager of the Philippine football team, Dan Palami manages his own company, Autre Porte Global Inc., a railway engineering company. He is also a graduate of the University of the Philippines, where he attained his accountancy degree.