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Assessing potential land suitable for surface irrigation using GIS and AHP techniques in the Rift Valley Lakes Basin, Ethiopia

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Abstract

Irrigation suitability land classification is very important for irrigation projects future planning and development by identifying land resource potentials for sustained irrigated agricultural production. The irrigation land suitability factors considered in this study were physical soil properties namely soil depth, soil drainage and soil texture as well as the slope of the land, land use, and proximity to water sources. The objectives of this study were twofold: (1) to assess suitable land for surface irrigation, (2) to assess suitable land for small-, medium-, and large-scale surface irrigation. Analytic Hierarchy Process with the integration of GIS-based multi-criterion decision making was utilized to evaluate land suitability for surface irrigation. The degree of irrigation land suitability was classified into four classes such as highly suitable (S1), moderately suitable (S2), marginally suitable (S3), and currently not suitable (N). The result indicated that out of the total Rift Valley Lakes Basin (RVLB) area, about 6.2% (195,164.25 ha) and 72.2% (2,275,134.20 ha) is found to be highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) for surface irrigation, respectively. Only 0.32% (10,154.84 ha) of RVLB land area was not suitable for surface irrigation. Out of the total RVLB area, about 13.9% (439,550.26 ha) area is permanently not suitable for irrigation. Highly suitable (S1) land area for large-scale surface irrigation is only 0.11% (3106.6 ha) in the RVLB. Thus, very little highly suitable large-scale surface irrigation is available in the RVLB because the slope is the major limiting factor. However, the largest RVLB land area (71.29%) is moderately suitable for large-scale surface irrigation. Thus, with some technology inputs to adjust the limiting factors, there is a huge potential for large-scale surface irrigation in the RVLB provided that water is available for irrigation.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported financially by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Regional State, Water and Irrigation Development Bureau, Irrigation Construction and Scheme Administration Agency and by International Foundation for Science (IFS).

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  1. Faculty of Biosystems and Water Resources Engineering, Hawassa University, P.O.Box.05, Hawassa, Ethiopia

    Alemayehu Muluneh, Teshale Tadesse & Rediet Girma

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  1. Alemayehu Muluneh
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  2. Teshale Tadesse
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  3. Rediet Girma
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Correspondence to Alemayehu Muluneh.

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Muluneh, A., Tadesse, T. & Girma, R. Assessing potential land suitable for surface irrigation using GIS and AHP techniques in the Rift Valley Lakes Basin, Ethiopia. Sustain. Water Resour. Manag. 8, 46 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-022-00632-1

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