Combining SWOT analysis and neutrosophic cognitive maps for multi-criteria decision making: a case study of organic agriculture in India

Abstract

The conventional agricultural system heavily depends on chemicals and inorganic fertilizers, which cause environmental issues. Organic agriculture impacts 6 of the 17 Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Strategies to develop organic agriculture have used SWOT and MCDM techniques for analysis. However, the examination of the influence of one strategy over the other strategies has yet to be investigated. This paper proposes a model that combines the existing SWOT analysis with neutrosophic cognitive maps (NCM) models to analyze interconnections among the various strategies obtained from SWOT. This research deploys the proposed SWOT–NCM model to analyze the case study of developing organic farming in Tamil Nadu, India. It offers insights into the strategy’s influence over other strategies so that the best is given maximum importance while implementing organic farming. The framework captures the interconnections and ranks the strategies by order of influence, providing fresh insights by taking the farmers’ perspective while working with the strategies from the SWOT analysis to model an NCM. A comparative analysis of this SWOT–NCM model with other MCDM models that use SWOT to analyze the agriculture problem, and a sensitivity analysis of the proposed model, is performed. According to our study, the best possible strategy to encourage organic farming is minimum support price (MSP) and centralized procurement. This proposed model can analyze other MCDM problems that use SWOT analysis.

The Significance of Organic Horticulture in Mitigating Climate Change and Promoting the Production of Healthier Fruits and Vegetables

“…The exclusion of chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers leads to lower environmental impacts [58][59][60][61][62][63] Requires more land to produce a similar yield to conventional, and it demands more labor [58] Positive environmental impacts [58] Adaptation of organic cultivation at a large scale may lead to land use change [64] Product quality More nutritional, healthier, and safer produce [25,28,37,38,41] Lower yields compared to conventional production [58,60] Highly marketable produce [18,27] Insect, pest, and disease damage to produce [24,65,66] Production yields Lower yields with improved nutritional value [25] Lower yields compared to conventional production [58,60] Lower yields demand higher prices [1,25] Some consumers cannot afford to buy at higher prices [1,25] Soil fertility High soil organic matter content, encouraging soil biological activity [67] Degraded soil can take time to recover [68] Reduction in environmental degradation [65] Face similar environmental problems (increased wind, downstream sedimentation, and losses in biodiversity, water quality, and habitat loss) [69] Organic fertilizer…”

“…Use of naturally occurring products, such as manure, crop rotation, and crop residues [16] High prices for organic fertilizers and a lack of organic means [69] Farmers can use Indigenous knowledge to produce organic fertilizer [68] The limited supply and variation of organic products in specialized stores [65] Economy It is highly profitable and increases employment year round [64] Sometimes a lack of access to financial facilities for organic farming [65] Government and policymaker involvement can boost organic agriculture's hope for the future [66] A decrease in organic farmers in certain countries due to the drop in profit during the first years of converting from conventional to organic farming [70] Education Use of Indigenous knowledge [66] Low level of farmer literacy [65] Applying and executing scientific achievements [65] The weakness of educational and promotional planning [65] Environmental and climate…”

“…In organic farming, drought-tolerant crops can be used [32,71] Reduction in soil organic matter when there is little rainfall [67] Less rainfall is good for harvesting season [69] Soil becomes more acidic (salinization) when rainfall decreases [67]…”

Strategic Analysis for Advancing Smart Agriculture with the Analytic SWOT/PESTLE Framework: A Case for Turkey

“…Sustainability and Agricultural Practices [13,29,30] BWM-WASPAS, neutrosophic cognitive maps (NCM), TOWS matrix analysis Agricultural Strategy and Education [27,28,31] AHP, TOWS matrix analysis Technology Assessment in Agriculture [32,33] -Innovative Approaches in Agriculture [34][35][36][37][38][39]] -…”