Agro-ecological zone based farm planning at Thaba Ya Batho small agricultural holdings: planning and production perspectives

Abstract

This study assesses agricultural planning and production perspective on smallholder farms of Boschplaats 91 JR using an integration of a geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS). The main objective was to evaluate the use of agro-ecological zoning (AEZ) in planning and its role in promoting sustainable agricultural production on a smallholder farm. This was achieved through processing, analysis and interpretation of satellite images together with in situ spatial data for land suitability evaluation. SPOT-5 images, which were acquired from 2006 through to 2011 were used to detect change that took place in the study area. Agro-ecological parameters such as soil, climate and terrain are limiting factors that would have a negative impact on agricultural production. Soil degradation is also a major problem to food security in Thaba Ya Batho smallholder farms and presents environmental constraints to agricultural expansion. Suitable land that could increase food production was identified and mapped. This contributes to delineation of the suitability of the land and demarcating areas of high agricultural potential. The results show that a GIS and RS make it possible to plan and monitor the use of the environment on Thaba Ya Batho smallholdings. The analysis of climate, soil and terrain has shown that more than 80% of the study area is suitable for both irrigated and dryland production. A number of key constraints faced by smallholder farmers are presented. Lack of experience and poor agricultural planning were found to be among limiting factors to production. Despite the scale at which agro-ecological zones are generated, they still play significant role in planning of agricultural production