Agricultural Land Suitability Analysis For Major Crops Using Geospatial Technology : A Case Study Of Diga District, East Wollega Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Land suitability analysis is the evaluation and grouping of specific areas of land in termsof their suitability for a defined use. However, land suitability analysis, by its nature is acomplex process and involves considerations of multi-criteria evaluation which considersnot only physical conditions but also environmental, social, and economic factors. Hence, this study aimed to analyze land suitability analysis for some selected crops productions(tef , wheat, and barley) in Diga District, East Wollega Zone, Western Oromia, Ethiopia, using geospatial techniques and multi-criteria evaluation. Ten factors namely: land-useland-covers, road, soil (depth, texture, drainage, and pH), climate (rainfall andtemperature), and topography (elevation and slope) were evaluated and prioritized as perthe judgment of agronomist experts. Factors were weighted in a hierarchical order usingthe analytical hierarchy process approach to produce their weights of importance to theland suitability for an agricultural area. The weighted overlay was used to incorporate alllayers of factors to produce a composite factor map. Weighted overlay analysis wasadopted to integrate all weighted factors to produce the final suitability map. The finalsuitability map classified the whole Diga District area into five suitability classes. Accordingly, 6.73% highly suitable for tef , 4.41% highly suitable for wheat, 4.14%, forbarley, 6.45%, 12.93%, and 11.19% were found to be moderately suitable for tef wheatand barley respectively and 14.51%, 9.44%, and 9.45% were found to be marginallysuitable for tef , wheat and barley, while 5.22%, 6.77 % and 8.77% were currently notsuitable for tef , wheat, and barley. Therefore, the final suitability map provides a usefulguide for future agricultural land use. Thus, the study implies the ef ectiveness ofgeospatial technology and MCE to handle land suitability analysis aimed at identifyingenvironmentally safe and economically feasible sites for future agricultural areas. Thestudy would support the planning experts to increase crop production to improve farmer?��?slife hood, and also supports the government in formulating ef ective agricultural policies toincrease agricultural