Land suitability assessment for surface irrigation development at Ethiopian highlands using geospatial technology

Abstract

Irrigation development necessitates suitable lands for higher yield production and the development of long-term irrigation systems. The purpose of this research was to identify appropriate irrigation lands for irrigation in the Minch Yekest watershed in West Amhara, Ethiopia. Geospatial and multi-criteria decision-making techniques were used in this study. For land suitability analysis for surface irrigation, slope, land use, altitude, distance from the water source, soil characteristics, and available water storage capacity parameters were used. To find the best location for surface irrigation, the values were weighted and combined using the weighted overlay tool. The irrigation land suitability of each physical land parameter was classified into four suitability classes (S1, S2, S3, and N) based on the Food and Agricultural Organization guideline. According to the findings, 63% of the watershed area is highly suitable, 6.25% is moderately suitable, 28.69% is marginally suitable, and 2.06% is not suitable for the aforementioned purposes. The methodological approach and study findings could help policymakers make better decisions when developing irrigation projects in Ethiopia.

Optimal production areas of underutilized indigenous crops and their role under climate change: Focus on Bambara groundnut

“…Delineating accurate suitability areas for the cultivation of crops is essential under climate change as it improves decisions on crop production and irrigation development to promote food and water security (Magidi et al, 2021b;Hagos et al, 2022). However, the main drawback in achieving accurate statistics on cropped area and the most suitable areas for specific crops has been the lack of reliable input data at reasonably high spatial resolution.…”

“…There is more that still needs to be done on developing input datasets at acceptable spatial resolution as the current ones are too coarse to derive accurate statistics on spatial distribution and extent of irrigation (Magidi et al, 2021a). As the datasets used in this study may not be readily available in other regions, other crop suitability areas mapping approaches such as the multi-criteria decision method (MCDM) can be used and to achieve reliable results (Jahanshiri et al, 2020;Hagos et al, 2022).…”

“…Cropland suitability mapping is an assessment of land performance when used to produce specific crops (Jahanshiri et al, 2020). It is a prerequisite to achieving optimum utilization of the available land resources for sustainable agriculture production (FAO, 1976;Li et al, 2010;Hagos et al, 2022). Adaptation of crop growth to local agro-ecological conditions' capabilities and constraints is a key principle of sustainable land management (Pretty and Bharucha, 2014;Viana et al, 2022).…”

Solar-based irrigation systems as a game changer to improve agricultural practices in sub-Sahara Africa: A case study from Mali

“…Recent studies employed a multiple-criteria-decision-making method and determined features such as accessibility to water sources, soil, slope, and land use and land cover (LULC) as important factors for surface irrigation site-suitability selection (e.g., Girma et al, 2020;Hagos et al, 2022). Similar spatial thematic layers and additional high-resolution datasets were collected and used in a mathematical algorithm in a GIS environment to facilitate the identification and selection of potential sites for SBISs in rural Mali (e.g., Kamaraju et al, 1996;Murthy, 2000;IWMI, 2019).…”

Modeling Eragrostis tef Zucc and Hordeum vulgare L cropland in response to food insecurity in the Southwestern parts of Ethiopia

“…Land suitability is the degree of pertinence of land for a certain use and answers the question, "what is to grow where?” [ [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] ]. Whereas land evaluation is the land assessment when used to bid spatial information on the major restraints and prospects of land use for a specific user type, which will direct decision-makers on how resources are optimally utilized [ [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] ]. Land suitability evaluation for crops spots the limiting factors of crop production and empowers decision-makers to develop crop management for sustainable agricultural production.…”