[RESEARCH NOTE]

Optimizing Agroforestry Plantation in Los Baños, Laguna

Christinne B. Tan* and Mark Lexter D. de Lara

Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics,
University of the Philippines Los Baños,
College, Laguna 4031 Philippines

*Corresponding author: cbtan7@up.edu.ph

[Download]
Tan C, de Lara ML. 2023. Optimizing Agroforestry Plantation
in Los Baños, Laguna. Philipp J Sci 152(6): 2407–2412.
https://doi.org/10.56899/152.6B.13

 

ABSTRACT

Agroforestry has been a necessary practice as a land management system to aid the growing pressure on the forestry land. To support the local farmers in the Learning Laboratory for Agroforestry in Los Baños, Laguna who practice this system, a linear programming model was constructed to maximize the profit while considering the land, labor hours, rotation age constraints, and the combination of crops. The crops used in this study were grouped into nitrogen and non-nitrogen fixers, and combinations of alternation of these crops were formulated while taking rotation ages into account. The maximum profit was calculated using the Linear Programming Solver or LiPS. The model allocated the total land area to the combination of cucumber, string beans, and tomato, as it was the most profitable. Results indicate that the second-best option was the combination of bitter gourd and string beans, as it had the second smallest reduced cost. Also, the maximum profit increased by PHP 264.43 per square meter increase in the land area available. Hence, it is suggested that the local farmers must expand their land areas or increase the selling prices to obtain higher profits.