Author : Bucao, Dionisio S.; Utrera, Rodel T.; Galacgac, Evangeline S.; Sagsagat, Franklin C.

Summary : Garlic, known as the white gold of Ilocos, relies on factors like day-length, temperature, relative humidity, and topography for its productivity. With the decreasing areas devoted to garlic due to climate variability, it is imperative to identify suitable areas for possible expansion to increase production volume and reduce importation. Soil samples were gathered throughout Region 1 to characterize the physical and chemical properties of the soils and identify suitable areas for garlic production. Four factors were used to delineate suitable areas: soil properties, climate, water availability, and topography. Agroclimatic analysis indicates that only 15,687 ha are highly suitable for garlic in Region 1, and Ilocos Norte shares about 97%. About 233,980 ha are moderately suitable, while 708,266 ha are marginally suitable. Scenario analysis indicates that the climatic suitability for garlic in the current and future (2030 and 2050) will drastically change from the current to 2050 due to increased temperature. In the regional context, a total of 34,800 ha are highly suitable for garlic, mostly in Ilocos Norte (78%), 187,300 ha are moderately suitable, 325,000 ha are marginally suitable, and 679,300 ha are unsuitable in the current scenario. However, a decrease of about 89% and 33% of the highly suitable and moderately suitable areas, respectively, will be observed in 2030. An increase of 12.4% and 7.6% in marginally suitable and unsuitable regions, respectively, will be observed in the same year.