Prioritization of Arable Crops Using Multiple Criteria and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Method, Case Study: Markazi Province - Farahan Plain

Due to the increasing population growthand limited resources available, achieving a suitable cropping pattern from which maximum utilization of production factors and inputs, especially water as a limiting factor, can be obtained, is an undeniable necessity. The aim of this study was to rank arable crops in the Farahan plain using multiple criteria and analytic hierarchy process. Forthis purpose using AHP method cultivable crops were ranked based on four indices of water, food, energy and economic profit and also the combination of these four indices. The results of AHP analysis showed that the economic profit criteria with a weight of 0.35 and then water consumption with a weight of 0.31 are the most important factors in prioritizing arable crops in the Farahan plain. The value of consistency ratio in all criteria and sub-criteria was less than 0.1, which indicates the acceptable level of agreement in the analysis. The results showed that the first priority of cultivation in the region based on water consumption criteria, were saffron, cumin and camelina, basedon calorie production, were forage sorghum, potato and corn, based on energy consumption were, forage sorghum, forage corn and grapes and based on the economic benefits were, lavender, thyme and borage, respectively. The results showed that the current cropping pattern in the study area is not an acceptable cropping pattern and optimizing the cropping pattern based on the multiple criteria and prioritizing crop cultivation based on these criteria should be on the agenda of managers and decision makers. Prioritization of crops cultivation based on the fourcriteria mentioned in this study provides the foundation for the gradual implementation of the optimal cropping pattern in the plains. Therefore, according to the results obtained in this study, it is suggested to use multi criteria decision-making methods to prioritize arable cropsand select the optimumcropping pattern.