Land Suitability Evaluation for Tea and Food Crops in Kabarole District, Western

Kabarole District to assess the physical and economic suitability of the land for tea, maize and bananas. Physical suitability was evaluated using a soil map for the study area. Soil types with their parameters of Cation Exchange Capacity, base saturation, pH, organic matter, nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous were studied. Climate of the area was studied using annual monthly rainfall and temperature values for the area for more than thirty years. Production costs, market prices and annual yields per hectare for tea, maize and bananas were computed. Using Net Present Value approach, the economic suitability of each crop was computed. The economic and physical parameters were entered into a model built in Automated Land Evaluation System (ALES) software using the decision trees. Overall suitability evaluation results were produced for each of the respective crops. Results of the study indicated that different soil types (management units) had varying suitability among the three crops. Tea registered higher overall economic suitability followed by bananas and then maize. However, bananas presented a higher overall physical suitability on all soil types followed by tea and maize. The study recommends conducting a mini agro-ecological zonation in planning and decision for maximum utilization of the land resources for a potential LUT is an important in ensuring improved agricultural livelihoods and household income. Keywords—Automated land evaluation system, Economic suitabil-ity Land evaluation, Physical suitability. I