Land suitability analysis using AHP-based multi-criteria decision model for sustainable agriculture in red and lateritic zones of West Bengal, India

Assessment of land suitability for rain-fed cultivation in undulating terrains of red and lateritic zones (RLZ) is essential to enhancing agricultural productivity, given the recurrent droughts that are taking place due to the ongoing climate change. In this study, a GIS-based multi-criterion decision-making approach characterized the agricultural land suitability in Kashipur and Chhatna blocks (RLZs) of West Bengal, India. The land suitability analysis included multiple factors like slope, land use/cover, soil moisture, erosion, depth, texture, pH, geology, the proximity of the surface, and groundwater. The analytic hierarchical process assigned the weights of multiple criteria. The relative importance of agricultural potentiality decided the ranks of the subcriteria. This study mapped the spatial distribution of four potential land types, viz., unsuitable (8.52%), marginally suitable (41.58%), moderately suitable (38.22%), and highly suitable (11.69%). An error matrix generated an accuracy of 85% (on comparing the agricultural land suitability map with the ground data), and the kappa coefficient was 0.8. The findings indicated that the present methodology using AHP with supplemented parameterization provided more persuasive consequences to assess agricultural land use. The present study would optimize the yield by conserving soil and water in different agricultural land to reduce drought risk in RLZs.