Contribution to the land suitability analysis for potential surface irrigation development using remote sensing and GIS-MCE of the Soroka watershed, northwestern Ethiopia

Lands are one of the most important assets of countries globally. Their potential, suitability, quality, and quantity are directly related to agricultural development and food safety. Sustainable agricultural production using irrigation is the most important goal of development for developing countries like Ethiopia, where chronic food shortages occur on a recurrent basis while the country has abundant surface water resources. The main purpose of this study is to identify potential lands suitable for surface irrigation using a nexus of geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, multi-criteria evaluation (MCE), and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) techniques. In this study, different factors were considered, such as slope, soil properties (depth, drainage, texture, and stoniness), land use change, river proximity, road distance, stream power index, and topographic wetness index. The ranks of influencing criteria were designated based on expert judgments and correlation analysis, while the relative weights were determined using a pairwise comparison matrix. Weighted overlay analysis was done using the ArcGIS tool, and then the suitability of each factor was evaluated. The results showed that 18.31% (225.54 km2), 67.83% (835.46 km2), and 13.68% (170.69 km2) of the watershed area were highly suitable, moderately suitable, and marginally suitable for surface irrigation, respectively. The downstream and near-central parts of the study area are highly suitable for surface irrigation. This study is important for policymakers and national and regional irrigation development experts to develop irrigation projects in the future at the Soroka watershed. This kind of study is vital to boost agricultural production, improve community livelihoods, and contribute to food security.