Identifying Suitable Areas for Plantation of Organic Products Using GIS and AHP

Abstract

Organic farming is a technique, which involves cultivation of plants in natural ways. In Malaysia, because the organic food industry is still small-scale, over 60% of organic foods are still imported and it is not possible for the availability and output of organic goods to meet the local demand and need. This study was intended to utilize the GIS and AHP technique to identify suitable areas for organic farming in Sabak Bernam, Malaysia. The study was conducted based on the objectives where criteria for organic farming were identified through background research. Pair-wise comparison (PWCM) method using questionnaires answered by experts were used to determine the weights for each of the parameters used. For this study, seven (7) criteria were considered. The criteria were then weighted according to importance and those weighted criteria were combined to produce a suitability map. A site suitability model was built using the Modelbuilder tool in Arcmap. The model used the AHP and Weighted Overlay basis which provides promising result for the analysis of finding suitable sites for organic farming. Results obtained showed that the majority of land within the Sabak Bernam district is suitable to carry out organic cultivation where the land is far from road networks, contains high organic matter content, gentle slopes with flat aspects low elevation and less than 10 meters from drainages. While land deemed not suitable involves land in dense urban area. This simultaneously means that the land is too close to road networks where underground contamination is a major possibility.