Land suitability analysis for decision-making in cassava (Manihot Spp.) cultivation in southern part of Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the physical land suitability for cassava cultivation in southern part of Adamawa State using Multi-criteria evaluation and GIS technique. Within the study area, the production of cassava is mainly for food and there are only little opportunities for its commercial development. Therefore it is necessary to carry out land suitability analysis in order to provide information on the study area that would guide in sustaining long term production of cassava on commercial basis. The environmental variables examined were Mean Annual rainfall, Mean Temperature, Length of rainfall, Relief and Soil. The primary data were sourced by means of field survey to obtain the coordinates of the current cassava growing areas for mapping. The five factor maps were reclassified based on environmental requirement of cassava crop in the IDRISI Taiga environment and different weights were assigned to each factor to represent their relative importance using the pair-wise comparison matrix. The result, which is explicitly revealed on a single map, indicates that the areas that are suitable for cassava cultivation constitutes 65.92% while those that are not suitable amounts to 34.08%. Similarly, the current cassava growing areas were mapped and the areas identified are Dissol, Mbulo, Maitani, Farang, Timdore and Wadore which fell within the suitable category. The study therefore recommends that cassava production should be encouraged among farmers so as to utilize the proportion of land area found to be suitable for cassava production in Southern Adamawa State. Keywords: Land suitability, Cassava cultivation, Multi-criteria evaluation, Pair-wise Comparison Matrix, IDRISITaiga