Agro-Eco-Resource Zonation (AERZ) for sustainable agriculture using GIS and AHP techniques in Indian Punjab

Abstract

Punjab state has set the standard for agricultural growth and was the initiator of the Green Revolution in India, producing the highest quality wheat, rice, cotton and other crops. Although Punjab’s land is fertile but over time, but ecological resources, i.e. climate, soil and groundwater have got altered due to which farmers are still unaware to decide which crops are best to grow in their areas for the highest yields and highest financial returns. Agro-Eco-Resource zonation (AERZ) is a classification technique that uses meteorological, soil and groundwater data of the targeted region for proper zonation with higher priority towards crop suitability factors. In the present study 8 major factors (minimum temperature, maximum temperature, rainfall, soil organic carbon, soil texture, soil pH, groundwater depth and groundwater level fluctuations) were used for creating zones for the entire state of Punjab. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used for assigning weightage to each factor and the inverse distance weighting interpolation was used to create the thematic maps after importing the data into a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) using attribute tables. These maps were then superimposed so that it would be possible for zoning by using all the stated factors. Based on the degree of suitability for agriculture from highest to lowest, AERZ were identified on a final map. The AERZ map were then validated by comparing them with the rice and wheat productivity data maps. The state was classified into 4 major classes, wherein the zone 4 had conditions most suitable for agricultural crops while zone 1 had constraints and so was least suitable for cultivating crops. The geographical area under zone 3 was nearly 50% followed by zone 4 (30%), zone 2 (19%) and zone 1 (0.7%). The roadmap for sustaining the agricultural productivity in the state revealed that cultivation of resource intensive crops (Rice/ Basmati rice, Wheat, Maize and Vegetables) should be curtailed to only 30% (zone 4) of the total geographical area of the state. Further, the agro-eco-resource constrained ~ 1% (zone 1) of the land area may preferably be kept fallow or used for forest cover. Therefore, AERZ using AHP and GIS techniques is a useful tool for agricultural planning and management. It helps in identifying the best crops that can be grown in a particular region, which in turn helps in improving the efficiency and productivity of agricultural production.