Site Suitability Analysis for Dairy Buffalo Production in Magdalena, Laguna, Philippines Using Geographic Information System

Site suitability assessment is a crucial step in determining the environmental limits of sustainable dairy buffalo production. This study aimed to assess the suitability of sites for locating potential agricultural lands for smallholder dairy buffalo production in Magdalena, Laguna, Philippines. Physical, agrometeorological, animal health and environmental, and economic factors were selected and the weights of their contributions for site suitability were assessed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Subsequently, all the factors were integrated to generate the site suitability map using geographic information system (GIS). More than 79% (2,701 ha) of the total land area of Magdalena is highly suitable for dairy buffalo production. These areas are mainly influenced by proximity to roads, markets, and water sources, which are the highest-weighted suitability factors. About 0.6 ha (0.02%) of the municipality is considered moderately suitable because of the aggregated factors, including distance to market, distance to livestock and poultry farms, distance to built-up areas, and temperature-humidity index. Validation showed that all the 25 surveyed dairy buffalo farms are in highly suitable areas. GIS and AHP can be effectively used to enhance land-use efficiency and improve the management of dairy buffalo production..