Land Grading Analysis Based on Farmer Opinions using Fuzzy AHP

Abstract

In land consolidation (LC) projects, grading is one of the most critical stages in determining parcel values fairly and accurately. The fact that the grading process is based on scientific methods, can be proven with mathematical calculations, and reflects farmers' opinions, increases the application's reliability and acceptability. In this study, as part of the LC project in Boyalılar village, Daday district, Kastamonu province, an expert team of farmers familiar with the LC area evaluated the parcels using the pairwise comparison method. These comparisons were analyzed using the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Agricultural advantages on the land were determined based on the farmer's knowledge, and the results were compared with grading maps prepared by the State Hydraulic Works (DSI). The study's findings revealed that the agricultural assessments of expert farmers and the soil index maps produced by the official institution were largely consistent. This demonstrates the parallelism between local knowledge and scientific data. However, differences were identified in the spatial assessments. While the DSI method only considers the administrative unit center and roads, farmer experts emphasized that proximity to the district center and neighboring villages should also be considered among the factors affecting parcel values. It was determined that location scoring should consider not only the administrative centers of the LC area but also proximity to all surrounding administrative units. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that interviews with farmers familiar with the application area can be reliable in rating studies, saving both time and reducing costs.