The Land Suitability GIS Module uses spatial data to assist policy makers and agricultural stakeholders with production alternatives based on land use factors and environmental data. This spatial data is stored and referenced on the Maps.tt spatial data platform, another AgriNeTT module. This platform contains such spatial data as map overlays which include rivers, roads and soil data. With such data, this module aims to create an application which can display such data to the users in a simple and clear manner. The work in this module has produced the AgriMaps Mobile and Web applications.
The AgriMaps Mobile and Web Application provides a user with features regarding an area of land based on their GPS coordinates or the GPS coordinates of a point of interest. The application shows information regarding physical features, such as proximity to water sources and pipelines, access roads, and land contours. It uses a soil capability map to provide information on the soil series, pH, calcium, magnesium and other characteristic features of the soil observed. The application also has a Recommender feature that can assist farmers in determining how suitable their land is for a given crop or what the best crop to plant on their land is.
From a planning perspective, agricultural planners can benefit from the application as it can determine which crops are best suited to various farm lands across the country. The application builds on an existing Land Capability Survey by assessing soil suitability along with major land and geographic features in order to determine the best crops to cultivate.
