A multiple criteria decision analysis for agricultural planning of new crop alternatives in Turkey

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Ayvaz-Çavdaroğlu, Nur^{; *}

Affiliations: Business Administration, Kadir Has Üniversitesi, Istanbul, Turkey

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. Nur Ayvaz-Çavdaroğlu, Business Administration, Kadir Has Üniversitesi, Istanbul, Turkey. E-mail: nur.cavdaroglu@khas.edu.tr.

Abstract: Agriculture is a crucial and strategic sector for developing countries. The agricultural sector in Turkey has been suffering from regression in recent years due to several reasons. In an attempt to reverse this process, we analyze the cultivation possibilities of high profit-margin crops in Turkish lands and develop a ranking among eight alternative crops. To perform a comprehensive analysis encompassing several dimensions, three MCDM methods are utilized; namely fuzzy AHP to determine the weights of evaluation criteria, and TOPSIS and PROMETHEE to develop a ranking among the crop alternatives. The crop alternatives are evaluated against several economic, technical, social and environmental criteria. The results favor the cultivation of soy bean, goji berry and buckwheat, while tamarind appears to be the least favored crop among the considered alternatives. The analysis results are enhanced with a sensitivity analysis.

Keywords: Multi criteria decision making, fuzzy AHP, TOPSIS, PROMETHEE, agricultural planning, sensitivity analysis

DOI: 10.3233/JIFS-201701

Journal: Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 10737-10749, 2021