Determination of suitable areas for Urfa pistachio production in Şanlıurfa province using geographical information systems (GIS) and multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) analysis

The agricultural sector is becoming increasingly important as the world population grows. While the world population is increasing rapidly, food production should be increased at the same rate. Because the basic nutritional needs of living things are met thanks to agricultural lands. The principle of sustainability in agriculture has been put forward in order to prevent unconscious agriculture in agricultural lands that are gradually decreasing in the world. Efficient use of agricultural lands is only possible with rational management techniques. For this reason, regional suitability analysis of products is important for the success of sustainable agriculture in terms of increasing efficiency. Since suitability analysis involves multiple criteria, it is a complex process involving Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) analysis. In this study, it is aimed to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHS) analysis, which is one of the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods, to determine suitable areas for Urfa pistachio production in Şanlıurfa province. In order to determine the most suitable areas, average temperature, average lowest temperature in April and May, land use capability class, soil depth, elevation, slope, aspect, proximity to settlements, proximity to roads, proximity to rivers and proximity to water surfaces were selected. Expert opinions were consulted in classifying the criteria and they were divided into 5 categories. In the suitability map of the study area, the areas that are very suitable for pistachio production constitute 14.15% and the areas that are less suitable constitute only 6.46% of the study area.