An Agro-ecological Land Suitability Analysis Using GIS For Oil Palm Plantation in Southern Thailand

Due to rapid increase in the demand of Natural Rubber (NR) few years ago, NR price sore very higher. The rubber plantation in Thailand expanded very fast to non traditional areas with the result Thai become the biggest NR exporting country in the world. However, the average yield is still lower compared to experimental yield of RRIT (Rubber Research Institute of Thailand) or just 60 % (RRIT, 1998). This is due to many of new rubber planting areas, which are not suitable. The Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives thus has set 'The complete cycle development strategies for natural rubber' in the medium-term measures by reducing the rubber planting areas by 300,000 rai (1 rai = 0.16ha) through replanting with oil palm. The aim of this study is to find out land having lowest potential for rubber production (R3) but highest for oil palm production (P1). Find areas which are unsuitable for rubber and can be replaced by oil palm in order to get a better agricultural production. The study was applied upon Krabi province, Thailand. Crops requirement, degree of limitation to crops growth, climatic data, crops yield, soil map, topographic map etc., were used to evaluate land potential for both rubber and oil palm production according to FAO framework (Sys, 1992). An Agro-ecological suitability map for rubber and oil palm were produced. This was done by mean of GIS. The database was generated and guide map for the decision makers in view of suitable crop substitution was prepared.