Development and implementation of an interactive Spatial Decision Support System for decision makers in Benin to evaluate agricultural land resources—Case study: AGROLAND

Abstract

The sustainable use of agricultural land resources with concern to food security is essential, particularly in developing countries, where yields depend primarily on the biophysical conditions. To support decision making concerning national agricultural land usage, a computer based Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) was developed. Within this SDSS, named AGROLAND, decision makers are able to visualise and evaluate biophysical agricultural land resources based on a marginality index for agricultural land use (MI). Data derived from remote sensing like MODIS or SRTM are thereby interesting and embolden sources to derive natural constraints. MI is calculated by using a fuzzy logic determination algorithm within the interactive SDSS. In AGROLAND, possibilities of user interactions during runtime as well as advanced model-based raster analyses are implemented to generate MI. This paper explicates (i) the development of AGROLAND for Benin, and (ii) the system implementation in institutions optimizing management strategies on the national scale.