Land suitability mapping for groundnut production in southern region of Borno state, Nigeria

Abstract

Groundnut (Arachis hypogea) is a leguminous oilseed crop cultivated in the semi-arid and subtropical region of the world. In West Africa, groundnut plays an important role. This includes food production for household consumption, cash crops, sources of employment, and incomes for smallholders in rural households. In Nigeria, it was among the major sources of income before the oil boom. Some of the activities surrounding its production are the development of commerce, employment, and foreign exchange. This study aims to identify the most suitable sites for groundnut production in the Southern Borno Region, Nigeria with the objectives to identify areas of groundnut cultivation within the southern Borno region and to conduct a suitability analysis for groundnut production within the study area. Primary and secondary data and questionnaires were used in this study. Climatic data such as Temperature, Rainfall, Precipitation, Wind speed, Relative Humidity, Soil, and Topographic data were also used. The parameters were overlaid using the weighted overlaid operation in ArcGIS 10.3 and ranked from the most suitable to the least suitable for wheat production within the study region. The result of the study revealed that groundnut is cultivated in all parts of Southern Borno Region. It revealed that areas around Askira/Uba, Chibok and Damboa are the most suitable site for groundnut cultivation. This study demonstrates the capabilities of Remote Sensing and GIS Systems for multi-criteria analysis in Land Suitability Mapping. It is recommended that farmers around Askira/Uba, Chibok and Damboa be encouraged to cultivate more groundnuts.