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International Journal of Food Science and Agriculture

ISSN Print: 2578-3467 Downloads: 456306 Total View: 4804415
Frequency: quarterly ISSN Online: 2578-3475 CODEN: IJFSJ3
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ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/ijfsa.2025.12.001

An Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Combined with Geographic Information System (GIS) to Assess Soil Fertility for the Cultivation of Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) in Loul Sessene, Senegal

El Hadji Moussa Diop1,2,*, Demo Koita1, Alpha Ousmane Toure1,3, Ndeye Arame Gueye2

1Laboratory of Water, Energy, Environment and Industrial Processes (L3EPI), Ecole Supérieure Polytechnique/Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, BP 5085, Senegal.

2School of Industrial and Biological Engineering (ESGIB), Dakar 11000, Senegal.

3College of Engineering, School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.

*Corresponding author: El Hadji Moussa Diop

Published: November 17,2025

Abstract

Millet (Pennisetum glaucum), a subsistence crop in the groundnut basin of Senegal, was faced with multiple edaphic constraints. Thus, to guarantee self-sufficiency and food sovereignty without affecting the agroecological balance, precision agriculture is necessary. Thus, an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), according to SAATY, combined with a Geographic Information System, was used to effectively prioritize and overlay the different physicochemical soil parameters according to their relative importance to fertility. The aim is to identify the most suitable areas for sustainable millet cultivation. Consequently, a systematic random sampling plan with 100 m intervals covering 84 soil samples on the horizon (0-20 cm) was carried out to determine a number of parameters. These parameters taken into account in the assessment of soil fertility were texture, pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The soil characterization results revealed a predominance of sandy-loam soils with respective proportions of 77.85 and 14.79%, limiting water and nutrient retention. The soils were relatively poor in organic matter (from 0.366 to 0.841%), nitrogen (from 0.030 to 0.053%), and phosphorus (from 4.76 to 10 ppm), with lower concentrations in the center. On the other hand, CEC (8.65 to 62.39 meq/100g) and potassium (from 39 to 347.37 ppm) were generally high, especially in the Southeast and part of the center of the commune, due to salinity stress. Furthermore, in these areas, the ESP ranged from 15.00 to 98.35%. Thus, the geospatial analysis showed that 41% of the municipal territory (in the west) was fertile for millet cultivation, 32% moderately fertile (practically in the southeast), and 27% low fertility (generally in the center).

Keywords

Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP); soil, fertility; millet (Pennisetum glaucum)

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How to cite this paper

An Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Combined with Geographic Information System (GIS) to Assess Soil Fertility for the Cultivation of Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) in Loul Sessene, Senegal

How to cite this paper: El Hadji Moussa Diop, Demo Koita, Alpha Ousmane Toure, Ndeye Arame Gueye. (2025) An Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Combined with Geographic Information System (GIS) to Assess Soil Fertility for the Cultivation of Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) in Loul Sessene, Senegal. International Journal of Food Science and Agriculture, 9(4), 254-265.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/ijfsa.2025.12.001

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