Multicriteria Methodology for the Efficient Programming of Agricultural Cultivation Activities in a Colombian Region

Table 1

The objective, criteria, and variables in MCDA models agricultural application.

Location	Objective	Criteria	Variables
Ardebil, Irán	Determine the suitability of the land for agriculture [7]; Establish crop priority planning policies in 66 separate land units in the study area [10]	NR	(i) Soil depth; (ii) Earrings; (iii) pH; (iv) Electrical conductivity; (v) Percentage of exchangeable sodium; (vi) Calcium carbonate equivalent; (vii) Plaster content
		PHR	(i) Climatic characteristics
Sídney, Australia	Develop spatial modelling procedures for the suitability analysis of agricultural land with the use of geographic information systems (GIS) [8]	NR	(i) Soil suitability index, considering soil productivity; (ii) Erosion tolerance index to minimise erosion risk; (iii) Runoff curve to regulate the discharge of water resources; (iv) Proximity to the body of water (minimise pollution to the water resource)
		CI	Soil access measure (maximise)
Golfo of Edremit–NW Turquía	Determine the right site for cultivation [9]	NR	(i) Land use capacity classes; (ii) Soil depth; (iii) Soil limiting factors (drainage and salinity)
		PHR	(i) Average temperature and minimum temperature in critical periods
Italia-Campania and Molise	Landscape planning tool [12]	NR	(i) Changes in land use with energy crops over a period of time; (ii) Ecological and environmental indicators; (iii) Analysis of environmental fragmentation with landscape metrics
		CI	(i) Economic benefits for farmers
Bundelkhand, India	Assess socioeconomic sustainability from drought vulnerability using an AHP methodology [16]	CI	(i) Agricultural work
		SC	(i) Population density; (ii) Marginalised population; (iii) Farmers; (iv) Literacy rate
Northern Ghana	Strategic planning of agricultural land use [19]	NR	(i) Resource; (ii) Efficiency (RUE); (iii) Sustainability in maize production systems; (iv) Environmental costs of producing maize, use measured as total energy
		QY	(i) Benefits of maize, measured in food supply from grain kcal/year and potential electricity (bioenergy)
Ramsar, Irán	Determine the suitability of the land for agriculture [11]	NR	(i) Elevation; (ii) Tilt angle; (iii) Rainfall
		PHR	(i) Maximum and minimum temperature
California	Assess the use of water for irrigation on agricultural land [14]	NR	(i) Water policies; (ii) Irrigation status
		PHR	(i) Weather conditions
		CI	(i) Wastewater treatment plants (volume of decarding and adequate treatment processes)
		QY	(i) Type of harvest
Ebenat, Ethiopía	Identification of suitable sites for rainwater harvesting [13]	NR	(i) Land use/land cover; (ii) Soil texture; (iii) Rainfall volume measurement; (iv) Slope of the ground; (v) Runoff density; (vi) Topography
		CI	(i) Distance between settlements and roads
Jaipur district and Bhadrak, India	Identify a tool to manage water resources and make decisions to mitigate threats of flooding, drought, soil erosion, improve soil moisture, and crop intensity using [15]	NR	(i) Land use/land cover; Geomorphology; (i) Earrings; (ii) Stream density-soil type; (iii) Surface runoff
Colombia	Development of a tool for the zoning and definition of soil suitability of agricultural production chains (crops, livestock, poultry, and livestock) [17]	NR	(i) Soil criteria (depth, texture, moisture, nutrients, and pH); (ii) Relief (slope); (iii) Ecological integrity and water availability
		PHR	(i) Climate (temperature, thermal floor, and rainfall); (ii) Threats from natural phenomena and risk of erosion
		CI	(i) Labour (availability) and connectivity according to access roads and proximity to urban areas; (ii) Technological infrastructure and technological balance in primary production
		SC	(i) The participation of organisations and the distribution of land

NR: natural resources: soil and water, PHR: plant health risk, CI: cost of implementation, SC: socio-cultural, QY: quality and the yield of the crop. Source: the authors.