Application of geo-spatial techniques to assess banana cultivation potential zones:

Abstract

The population of the planet and Uganda in particular is growing dramatically which is a challenge to food security. Tororo’s population growth rate is estimated at 2.7%. It is therefore, important that the district increases its agricultural productivity to a rate that supersedes its population growth rate in order to improve food availability as well as access to food. Musa spp is the world’s fourth most important food commodity after rice, wheat and maize (Arinaitwe, 2016) and so increasing its production would find a sustainable development solution to zero hunger. This is because of the crop’s all-year-round fruiting habit coupled with high yield, and this ensures continuous supply of food. Due to food insecurity and poor economic growth in the country, there is a strong need for assessments of agricultural potential of the existing soils in order to determine their suitability for banana cultivation. Physical and remote sensed data has been used in this research and validated for accuracy and reliability using both actual and empirical data models.