Multicriteria based priority mapping: charting agroecological pathways in India

Kumar, G.; Sikka, A.; Behera, A.; Malaiappan, S. 2024. Multicriteria based priority mapping: charting agroecological pathways in India. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Initiative on Agroecology. 15p.

The report, titled "Multicriteria-Based Priority Mapping: Charting Agroecological Pathways in India," presents a comprehensive analysis aimed at addressing India’s dual challenges of achieving food security and ensuring environmental sustainability. India, with 18% of the global population and access to only 2.4% of the world’s land and 4% of renewable water resources, faces immense pressure to adopt resource-efficient and sustainable agricultural practices. This study employs a robust multi-criteria decision-making framework, integrating diverse datasets and stakeholder inputs, to guide the prioritization of agroecological interventions.

Two distinct agroecological priority maps were developed in the study. The first map reflects the priorities of Agricultural System Actors and Stakeholders (ASAS), who focus on rainfed, low-productivity zones to minimize risks to food security. The second map incorporates the perspectives of agroecological advocates, who emphasize the restoration of environmentally degraded, high-input agricultural regions. Both maps integrate critical biophysical, climatic, and agricultural factors, including net primary productivity, fertilizer consumption, rainfall patterns, groundwater levels, and aridity indices, among others. These criteria were weighted using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), ensuring alignment with the specific objectives of each stakeholder group.

The study’s findings highlight high-priority zones for agroecological practices that balance yield improvements and environmental restoration. Approximately 1.5% of agricultural land shows overlap in high-priority class between the two stakeholder groups, indicating consensus on some areas. However, the remaining land reveals significant tradeoffs between food security and environmental sustainability objectives, underscoring the complexity of harmonizing these goals. The maps provide insights into spatial prioritization, identifying key zones for targeted interventions, including regions prone to resource degradation and climate vulnerability.

This report emphasizes the importance of participatory decision-making, dynamic policy formulation, and periodic updates to the agroecological priority maps. It advocates for enhancing stakeholder engagement through wider consultations and workshops, adopting advanced analytical techniques like Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and integrating new data layers to improve map precision. Furthermore, the study highlights the need for multilocation trials to validate the findings and tailor agroecological practices to diverse agro-climatic conditions. By aligning regional needs with national and global sustainability goals, the proposed methodology offers a pathway to scale agroecological practices effectively.

The report concludes with recommendations to refine the priority maps, build capacity and awareness among stakeholders, and integrate findings into national policies and resource allocation strategies. These efforts aim to promote sustainable farming systems, ensuring food security for future generations while mitigating environmental degradation and enhancing resilience to climate variability. This pioneering approach to agroecological prioritization provides a replicable model for addressing similar challenges globally, emphasizing the need for contextual adaptation to local conditions.