CROP SUITABILITY AND EVALUATION OF COCONUT(Cocos nucifera) PRODUCTION IN BARANGAY BATOMELONG,GENERAL SANTOS CITY USING GIS

Crop suitability analysis is a method of land evaluation, which measures the degree of appropriateness of land for a certain use. The aim of this research was to identify the suitable land for the production of coconut (Cocos nucifera) using Geographic Information System software. The study was carried out in Barangay Batomelong, General Santos City. Agriculture is the mainstay of local economy in the study area, but the production is very low because some of the crops being introduced are not doing well. Therefore, there is a need to identify the suitable areas for growing various crops to achieve maximum potential yield. Three suitability criteria i.e. soil (texture, pH, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), climate (rainfall, temperature and relative humidity) and topography （elevation and slope) were evaluated based on agronomist expert opinions and FAO guideline for rainfed agriculture. An Analytical Hierarchical Process was used to determine relative importance of criteria and the resulting weights were used to construct the suitability maps/layers using Quantum GIS software.The results of this research revealed that the study area is marginally suitable for Coconut. Hence, Coconut production in Barangay Batomelong may not really produce well without addressing the identified parameters impacting its production performance. The results of this study could be used by the local government to guide the local farmers in Barangay Batomelong in managing their coconut production.