PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE FARMING TO SUPPORT FOOD SECURITY IN WETLANDS USING SPATIAL CONCEPT BASED ON LAND SUITABILITY FOR PADDY FIELDS

Abstract

The existence of land resources should be assessed to provide appropriate land use and management information, especially for agricultural development. The Pulang Pisau district has wetlands dominated by swampland areas that have potential for farming activities; therefore, it is important to develop a spatial concept as a basic area development for the future. The study provided a spatial concept based on land resource evaluation for paddy field development. In this study, the methods of land suitability evaluation and geographic information system (GIS) application were utilized as the tools for analysis. The information obtained from this study can be used as basic consideration in land use planning for agriculture in general. The findings indicate that the land suitability classification for paddy fields in wetlands is marginally suitable. The total area of wetlands assessed is 393,419 hectares, with 60.78% (239,112 hectares) consisting of mineral soils and 39.22% (154,307 hectares) consisting of organic soils. The farming technology specific to location can then be implemented to optimize land management to develop paddy fields in the wetlands of Pulang Pisau district. The extensification program can be targeted toward available areas, while intensification programs can focus on developing paddy fields in existing farming areas using location-specific technology.