Zoning tthe Distribution of Required Agricultural Tractor Power in Khuzestan Province Using FCM Cluster Analysis

Planning for development of mechanization is one of the most important components in development of agriculture sector. Awareness about mechanization status in a region can help planners to apply the most principled planning methods to minimize regional inequalities. Cluster analysis as a planning tool enables planners to classify and interpret regions in an appropriate manner based on the existing homogeneity between them. Therefore, present study aimed to zoning of agricultural needed tractor power distribution in Khuzestan province using FCM cluster analysis. For assessment of clustering function, some assessment tools including four validation functions, coefficient of division and fuzzy division entropy and also two functions based on the concept of density within clusters and clusters separation, were used. Based on the validation results, the optimal number of clusters was obtained as 2. Degree of membership higher than 40% was considered as lower limit of counties accountability in each cluster. According to this, the number of members in cluster 1 and 2 was 16 and 18, respectively. Spatial analysis of clusters showed that northern and eastern regions of Khuzestan province are located in cluster 1 and have not good status in terms of power and are in the priority from the point of view of need to tractor power distribution. Central regions to south and some parts of eastern regions are belonged to cluster 2 and their status is relatively better for access to power.