By: Agbor C. F.; Akintunde-Alo A. D.;
Abstract:
Abstract.
To avoid conflicts resulting from pressure on forest and agricultural land for the production of food in Ibarapa
area, there is a need to maximize the use of agricultural land using different agroforestry practices. One major
way to achieve this is to evaluate agricultural land use using physical and ecological datasets as demonstrated
by previous studies. Therefore, this study is set to develop an up-to-date multi-criterion evaluation (MCE) of landuse suitability for Taungya Farming system in the mixed forest zone dominated by Parkia biglobosa, using
physical and ecological criteria in the study area. The selected criteria were assembled and the weights of their
respective contributions to land suitability for agricultural uses were assessed using an analytic hierarchical
process (AHP) in Idrisi, with a weighting sum of one and an acceptable consistency ratio (Cr) of 0.24. The result
of this study found about 92% of the area was suitable for crop production, except for areas close to the
settlements or developed areas. It also shows that 17% of the total area could support agroforestry, especially in
the southern and northern parts of the region. While this study could be useful in assessing the agricultural land
use potential, it could also provide guidance for local agricultural offices, agricultural extension workers and
farmers to act in more structured and strategic ways for sustainable agricultural planning and programming in
the area.
Keywords: Multicriteria evaluation; Taungya Farming system; Analytic hierarchical process; Sustainable agricultural planning;
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