Land Suitability Assessment and Landuse Planning: A Prerequisite for Food Security and Climate Change Adaptation

Though Ghana’s crop yield growth rate was at 17%, 5% of every 1.2 million Ghanaians have insufficient and limited access to nutritious food. Climate change and climate variability have enormously affected the state of agricultural productivity and hence could result in food insecurity. As many ongoing projects use Boolean suitability analysis, land use planning, management recommendations sores, it still remains inadequate to support rural resource poor farmers. This then, is affecting livelihood and agricultural productivity. In this paper, a geostatistical quantitative method to support a geographic information system (GIS) based on multi-criteria decision support system (GMCDSS) for an enhanced land suitability assessment (LSA) and landuse planning (LP) was devised.

James, S.; Forkuo, E. K.; Asamoah, E.; Yeboah, E.; Nketia, K.

2014

English

Though Ghana’s crop yield growth rate was at 17%, 5% of every 1.2 million Ghanaians have insufficient and limited access to nutritious food. Climate change and climate variability have enormously affected the state of agricultural productivity and hence could result in food insecurity. As many ongoing projects use Boolean suitability analysis, land use planning, management recommendations sores, it still remains inadequate to support rural resource poor farmers. This then, is affecting livelihood and agricultural productivity. In this paper, a geostatistical quantitative method to support a geographic information system (GIS) based on multi-criteria decision support system (GMCDSS) for an enhanced land suitability assessment (LSA) and landuse planning (LP) was devised. Project findings indicated that, recommended farm inputs could be estimated and applied accordingly at farm plot levels. Soil amendment indicators (e.g., 1.0 t/ha lime + 1.0 t/ha gypsum was estimated for liming) was quantified and currently, farmers can save money in soil fertility management. It has shown that, instead of applying 5.0 t/ha poultry manure (PM) or five bags of N-P-K fertilizer (rate of 15:15:15 N-P2O5-K2O/ha) + two bags of sulphate of ammonia (SA), a farmer may apply 2.0 t/ha PM + two bags 15:15:15 N-P2O5-K2O/ha + one bag of SA. GMCDSS assessment has proved to be fundamental in: (1) urban planning; (2) ensuring food security; (3) poverty reduction and interventions to the effects of climate change and climate variability.