The Analysis of Multi-Objective to Allocate Area for Growing Economic Crops for Sustainable City Development: A Case Study in Sa Kaeo Province

Abstract

This research applies the portfolio selection model in order to determine the proportion of economic crops in Sa Kaeo province, consisting of rice, cassava, sugarcane, and maize subject to the expected return and the lowest investment risk. The crop allocation was first analyzed using Microsoft Excel Solver and then applied multi-objective analysis in order to find suitable crop areas. Three objectives for crop location were considered: the suitability of the soil, rain water quantity, and distance to the market. The weights of the criteria varied according to four testing policies: 1) when the soil suitability is the most important criterion; 2) when the rain water quantity is of most concern; 3) when the distance to the market is the most important criterion; and 4) when there is an equal importance of the rain water quantity and the distance to the market. These decision criteria were formulated using linear programming and were optimized using LP Solve using the Python script. The results demonstrated that the proposed method would help city planners determine the weights in the multi-objective optimization model more easily. The resulting optimal solution specified how many rai were allocated for which sub-district and products in order to make the crop production in Sa Kaeo most efficient. This proposed crop planning method could be used for sustainable city development.