Objective spatial analytic hierarchy process for identification of potential agroforestry areas

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Ahmad, Tauqueer^{; *} | Rai, Anil | Singh, Randhir

Affiliations: Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi, India

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is a structured technique for dealing with complex decisions. In this paper, we propose a new AHP technique using Geographic Information System (GIS) termed as “Objective Spatial Analytic Hierarchy Process (OSAHP)” for identification of potential agroforestry areas by integrating spatial data with ground survey data. The developed OSAHP technique is objective in nature as it is based on sound statistical techniques. This technique is used to categorize all the villages of Yamunanagar district of Haryana State into three classes i.e. High, Moderate and Low potential for agroforestry so that farmers of the district can be advised to adopt/grow agroforestry in the villages that are highly potential or even moderately potential for agroforestry.

Keywords: Agroforestry, AHP, objective spatial AHP, suitability index, GIS

DOI: 10.3233/MAS-2011-0212

Journal: Model Assisted Statistics and Applications, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 65-73, 2012