GIS-based land suitability assessment of C. arabica and C. liberica in the Philippines using multi-criteria decision making approach
2019
Umali, B.P. | Garcia, K.R.S. | Flores, J.A. | Videña, B.S. | Rivera, A.F. | Bagasin, C.C. | Herrera, J.L.B.
Suitability assessment was undertaken to develop a method and design a spatial model to help in identifying sites in the Philippines that are suitable for production of C. arabica and C. liberica. The methodology used for this study integrates Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information System (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques to analyze topography, soils, climate and socio-economic factors by matching them with the requirements for the growth of C. arabica and C. liberica. These factors were evaluated based on existing literature and expert knowledge. An Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to rank the relative importance of each criteria to determine the suitable areas for coffee production and the resulting weights were used to create the suitability maps. In doing so, the derived weights were processed in ArcGIS software to combine suitability criteria, and subsequently land suitability maps for C. arabica and C. liberica were created and then classified using the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) land suitability classes. The study results indicate that the places suitable for C. arabica and C. liberica production cover an area of 176.235.7 sq km (61.7%) and 193.261.08 sq km (68.59%). The relationship of the suitability maps and the current production maps was also investigated and the result shows a direct relationship between the identified suitable areas and existing coffee production areas in the country. Field validation also showed promising relevance with the generated suitability maps. These results could be used by farmers, agricultural extension officers and the country government to devise new strategies on practical sustainable coffee farming in the Philippines.
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