Agricultural land use systems: An economic approach to rural land use inventory

ABSTRACT:

A new procedure has been developed to integrate data on agricultural land, labor, capital, management, and technology. Maps, together with supporting data, present a comprehensive spatial characterization of production and cropping practices for a given area. The maps are intended to meet local needs of agricultural development, economic impact assessment, and land evaluation studies. The procedure uses airphoto interpretation techniques in combination with detailed field verification to compile maps of cropping systems. Farmers representing each system are selected randomly and, interviewed on details of farm size and tenure, farm investment, production practices and costs, income, labor distribution, and social characteristics. The data are then summarized and each cropping system, characterized in relation to these variables, constitutes a land use system. Ranking is established according to econometric intensity of crop production. The technique is rapid, inexpensive, and easily understood. It is adaptable to a wide variety of farming methods, landscape conditions, and map scales. It provides a means of classifying and characterizing agricultural production activities in a given area in a quantitative, holistic, but easily comprehensive manner.