Land evaluation, key factor of successful agricultural development

摘要

For the first time, in 2008, Senegal arable land areas have been re-estimated. In most west SAHEL countries, the arable lands for less than 20% of the national territory. This research using two methods, provides new results for arable land superficies for the Senegalese territory that are over three times larger than the previous estimations. Both methods use GIS tools and thus differ from basic maps used in the analyses: the first goes through 149 Soil and Terrain data base units while the second method considers firstly, pedoclimatic zones overlaid with hydrological data. Adequate methods and techniques are recommended for land conservation and productivity improvement, depending on identified soil quality. To refine conceptual notions and updatedata continuous land and water resources assessment is needed in order to guide land use in terms of soil capability.