231 Received: 2 March 2024 Revised: 12 March 2024 Final Accepted 27 March 2024 Copyright  authors 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10854417

Rice is very essential food crop of global significance, serving as a primary source of nutrition for over half of the world's population. Anambra State's agriculture embodies a mosaic of landforms, soil types, and climate patterns. These geographical variations offer distinct opportunities and challenges for rice cultivation. These challenges require a systematic and comprehensive assessment to inform evidence-based decision-making and mitigate potential adverse impacts on food security and livelihoods. Therefore, the primary aim of this project is to evaluate the suitability of rice farming in Anambra State, Nigeria, using a multi-criteria decision process (MCDP).  This research utilized a GIS-based multi-criteria decision-making process for rice farming suitability assessment in Anambra State, Nigeria by analyzing some suitability factors such as the topographic factors (slope and drainage pattern), soil factors (soil textures), climate factors (temperature and rainfall), and Land use/land cover of the study area. The instruments used include the following hardware: HP Laptop PC and HP Deskjet printer (for plotting of the map on paper). More so, the following software were used; MS Office Word, ArcGIS version 10.8, Global Mapper 18.1 and MS Office Excel. The data sources include existing datasets and published literature accessed online/GIS Lab, Unizik. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data, including soil maps, land use patterns, and climate data which were obtained from relevant government agencies and research institutions. The data utilized in this research were Sentinel-2 imagery, Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and soil type map covering the study area. The thematic layers for the aforementioned suitability factors of the study area were created in order to assess their individual impact on the suitability of land for rice cultivation. The land suitability map for rice farming in Anambra State was produced using the weighted overlay toolset in GIS, based on the combined analysis of the thematic layers. The research resulted to a comprehensive land suitability map. The findings reveal that a significant portion (49.13%) of the study area is moderately suitable for rice cultivation, with potential for increased output through interventions like irrigation systems and sustainable fertilizer application. Additionally, a substantial percentage (31.32%) of the land is highly suitable, warranting prioritized attention from both public and private investors. The research concludes with a set of comprehensive recommendations based on the result, making it a valuable resource for policymakers, investors, future researchers, etc. to enhance sustainable rice cultivation practices and address food insecurity challenges in Anambra State.