Title: Cropland selection decision framework: an application to oil palm cultivation in Colombia

Authors: Rafael Guillermo García-Cáceres; Ángela María Niño-Navarrete

Addresses: School of Industrial Engineering, Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia – UPTC, Sogamoso, Colombia ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia

Abstract: A reference framework for the evaluation of potentially suitable cropping areas is introduced. Such purpose is attained through the assessment of an ample series of productivity-and-sustainability-related criteria, which are typically applicable to perennial crops. This novel conceptual development is applied to a case study addressing the aptness of Colombian oil palm lands, with the aid of stochastic multi-criteria acceptability analysis ordinal (SMAA-O) as a decision support system. Based on a holistic set of 155 criteria embedded in nine categories that are applicable to any area unit, the framework in question integrates agribusiness, productivity and sustainability.

Keywords: oil palm; land selection; SMAA-O; MCDM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2023.134802

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2023 Vol.46 No.3, pp.346 - 374

Received: 24 Feb 2021
Accepted: 28 Jun 2021
Published online: 13 Nov 2023 *

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