A Decision Support System for Crop Planning by Use of Geoinformation Technology

Abstract

Thailand has had and continues to have problems with improper and worthless use of land, a situation that had led to widespread soil degradation and erosion in some parts of the country. Further research, education and policies are needed in order to avoid such poor outcomes and ensure that land practices are carried out in
a sustainable fashion. Furthermore, land use needs to be conducted in accordance with laws, regulations, and academic principles. The objective of this research was to develop a geo-informatics database that could be used to support decision making in land use planning. The database needed to be an internet-accessible decision support system. It was noted that the database should ideally be able to provide critical information in the areas of 1) restrictions and conditions for land use, 2) smart utilization and conservation of resources as part of sustainable land use practices, and 3) guidelines for decision making support to ensure the maximum benefits of land use. Therefore, the researchers developed a tool that enabled interested parties to access the ArcGIS system
Geo-processing service via a web browser. The efficiency level of the developed system was evaluated as moderate (C), scoring 79 out of 100 points on Google speed test. The total time taken to download and display the entire content of a web page in the browser window (load time) was 4.49 seconds and a good quality of map image was displayed. In addition, 12 experts who tested the system agreed that the researched and developed internet accessible decision support system for land use planning provides users with a simple, convenient, and fast way of accessing the information needed for checking land use requirements.