Abstract: Maize constitutes a major agrarian production for use
by the vast population but despite its economic importance; it has not
been produced to meet the economic needs of the country. Achieving
optimum yield in maize can meaningfully be supported by land
suitability analysis in order to guarantee self-sufficiency for future
production optimization. This study examines land suitability for
maize production through the analysis of the physicochemical
variations in soil properties and other land attributes over space using
a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework.
Physicochemical parameters of importance selected include slope,
landuse, physical and chemical properties of the soil, and climatic
variables. Landsat imagery was used to categorize the landuse,
Shuttle Radar Topographic Mapping (SRTM) generated the slope and
soil samples were analyzed for its physical and chemical components.
Suitability was categorized into highly, moderately and marginally
suitable based on Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)
classification, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)
technique of GIS. This result can be used by small scale farmers for
efficient decision making in the allocation of land for maize
production.