GIS Mapping of Salt Farms and Salt Supply Chain Actors in the Visayas and Mindanao, Philippines

Abstract

The 2010 survey of the Nutrition Council of the Philippines (NCP) revealed dramatic changes in the level of participation of the salt supply chain actors and their production, processing, and marketing activities. Among the industry’s biggest challenges are: salt remains excluded from the list of priority commodities of the government; the changes in weather patterns due to climate change which adversely impact the production cycle; prominence of traditional methods of production; and low productivity of local farms. While remote sensing technologies including geographic information system (GIS) mapping have been widely adopted for the improvement of agricultural productivity in the Philippines, use of such in research that focuses on salt production and supply chain is still very limited. GIS maps are perceived as effective information library and decision support tool that can help the supply chain of the neglected salt industry. This study focused on the mapping of salt farms and their supply chain actors from selected salt production sites in the Visayas and Mindanao islands. Eleven provinces were included in the surveys of market intermediaries and end-consumers who were traced from salt producers. Their geographic coordinates were recorded and satellite and Google Earth images of the supply chain actors were digitized in ArcGIS 10.5 software to generate the maps, physical characteristics of which were examined for possible patterns. Results show that in Mindanao, the market areas (or the salt traders) are concentrated in Zamboanga del Sur particularly in Aurora and Zamboanga City, but the producers are in Alubijid and El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental. In the Visayas, traders are more scattered and are greater in number than in Mindanao.