The Importance Of Land Evaluation

Land evaluation is the assessment of the suitability of land for defined land uses. According to FAO (1995) Land can be defined as a delineable area of the earth 's terrestrial surface, which encompasses all features of the biosphere immediately or beneath this surface; including those of the near surface- climate, soil and terrain forms; the surface hydrology which comprises shallow lakes, rivers, marshes swamps and etc.; near-surface sedimentary layers and associated groundwater reserve; the animal and plant populations; the human settlements and the physical outcomes of past and present human activities (terracing, water storage or drainage structures, roads, buildings. etc.).

However, Land evaluation is concerned with the process of assessing

Land suitability is assessed and classified with respect to specified kinds of use: This principle is the most essential one of suitability evaluation. It embodies recognition of the fact that each kind of land use has different requirements. As an example, an alluvial flood plain with impeded drainage might be highly suitable for cultivating rice plant but not suitable for various forms of agriculture or for forestry. The concept of land suitability is only meaningful in terms of specific kinds of land use, each with their own requirements, e.g. for soil moisture, rooting depth etc. Each type of land qualities such as moisture availability or drainage condition are compared with each kind of land use requirements. Therefore, the land itself and the land use are similarly important to the evaluation of land suitability. ii. Evaluation requires a comparison of the benefits obtained and the inputs needed on different types of land: Land in itself, without input, rarely if ever possesses productive potential; even the collection of wild fruits requires labour, whilst the use of natural wilderness for nature conservation requires measures for its protection. Assessment of Suitability for each use is made by comparing the required input, such as labour or fertilizer, with the goods produced or other profits

iv. Evaluation is made in terms relevant to the physical, economic and social context of the concerned area: in any way, the context within which evaluation takes place is formed by such factors as the regional climate, the living standards of the population, availability and cost of labour, need for employment, the local or export markets, land tenure systems which are socially and politically acceptable, and capital availability. It would, for example, be unrealistic to say that land was suitable for non-mechanized rice cultivation, requiring large amounts of low-cost labour, in a country with high labour costs. The assumptions underlying evaluation will differ from one country to another and, to some extent, between different zones of the same country. Many of these factors are often implicitly assumed; to avoid misunderstanding and to assist in comparisons between different areas, such assumptions should explicitly be stated.

v. Suitability refers to use on a sustained basis: when making assessment of the suitability the aspect of environmental degradation should be taken into account. There might, for example, be land use forms which had appeared to be highly profitable in the short run but were likely to lead to soil erosion, progressive pasture degradation, or adverse changes in river regimes downstream. Such consequences would outweigh the short-term profitability and for this reason the land might be classed as not suitable for such