Green Global
Foundation   Journal
...an emerging window for scientific research and publication across the globe

LAND SUITABILITY EVALUATION FOR COCOA PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA USING FUZZY METHODOLOGY (Pages : 13 - 20)

This study applies fuzzy set techniques to evaluate soils for cocoa in Nigeria. Soil samples were collected across cocoa growing ecologies extending from Southwestern to Southeastern Nigeria. Ten land characteristics fitted to membership functions combined to a land suitability index on the interval [0, 1] using the Semantic Import (SI) model. Land suitability for cocoa ranged from 0.53 to 0.78 with a mean of 0.68. CEC, sand content, and months of dry season with median membership values of 0.38, 0.41 and 0.64 respectively are the main constraints for cocoa production in the study area. Relationship between cocoa yield and land suitability index suggests that yield declines at the rate of 16 kg ha ) 65 . 0 ( 2 = R -1 for every 1% decline in land suitability index. We discuss strategies for ameliorating the identified constraints for sustainable cocoa production. Download