Assessment of Land Suitability for Rice Cultivation using Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP): A Study of Birbhum District of West Bengal in Eastern India

ABSTRACT

In order to recognize suitable land for crop cultivation, a scientific assessment of land is the first step towards the optimum productivity. The present study tries to delineate a suitable land area for rice cultivation in the Birbhum district, West Bengal in Eastern India. In order to prepare suitability map for rice cultivation, the collected data from study area and laboratory test results are analyzed in the GIS environment. Study amalgamates various multidimensional factor such as topographic factors (slope and relief) climatic factors (temperature and precipitation), physical properties of soil (soil texture and soil depth) and chemical properties of soil (pH, phosphorous, nitrogen, potassium, sulfur, zinc, iron etc.). The rating values have been assigned to each thematic layer of all parameters through analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Thereafter rating valued all thematic layers have been transformed into a integrated layer, which in turn leads towards the construction of rice suitability map. The whole region has been classified into four suitability classes, namely, highly suitable, moderately suitable, marginally suitable and currently not suitable. The study concludes that areas, with fair potentialities, may be used for paddy cultivation. And the poor potentialities areas may be used for the non-agricultural activities or given actions and target-oriented treatment for the optimal productivity. Study acclaims that only 30.61 per cent of total geographical area of the district is highly suitable for rice cultivation. This covers northern, central, eastern etc. portions of the study area where presence of alluvial soil, gentle topographic slope, abundant availability of soil micronutrients etc. contribute significantly for the high suitability of the rice cultivation. Due to rugged topography, absence of soil micronutrients etc. factors, the western areas of the district are lying in the currently not suitable class.

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