Quantified land evaluation (QLE) procedures, a new tool for land-use planning.

Abstract

Qantified Land Evaluation (QLE) procedures have been developed by the Centre for World Food Studies in Amsterdam to assist planners to devise better development strategies which aim at sustainable agricultural production. They use concepts as defined in the FAO Framework on Land Evaluation (1976). Land evaluation is shown to concern not only the technical aspects of agricultural production but also the socioeconomic, political and other conditions under which production takes place in existing or projected land use systems. The QLE approach presented is part of a much wider analytical framework that supports the development of national food policies. The paper discusses the following factors as related to the new procedure: the production situation, the simulation procedure, regional analysis, and application of quantified land evaluation procedures. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)