Indigenous evaluation of farmlands: A case study in Shaping Village in Hequ County, Shanxi Province

Evaluation of farmlands is a local-based process that requires local farmers to combine substantial indigenous farming knowledge. Local farmers are the creators, users and maintainers of their farmlands for long periods of time. This case study mapped, recorded and assessed the farmland evaluation system of local farmlands formed in the early 1980s in Shaping Village, Hequ County. An integrated geospatial methodology from geography and anthropology was used in the case study to record the process of evaluation of farmland and its influencing factors, upon which the farmland evaluation system was built. The results showed that: 1) Farmlands in Shaping Village evaluated by 18 indigenous farmers in 1982 were ranked into 6 grades. The proportions of the areas of the first 4 grades to the total area of farmlands were 1.32%, 7.81%, 19.14% and 17.43%, respectively. These 4 grades of farmlands had sound soil quality and were mainly used for growing food and cash crops. The last 2 grades of farmlands had inferior soil quality and were used for arbor forests, shrubs and grass, with area proportions relative to total area of 9.28% and 48.77%, respectively. 2) Fourteen factors were taken in account by farmers during evaluation of farmlands, including natural, social and economic factors; 3) The weights of these factors were decided with Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) based on scored values by local farmers. The order of weight of these factors was: yield per unit area ≥ soil fertility ≥ soil texture ≥ land use type ≥ distance ≥ slope gradient ≥ water retention and supply ≥ slope aspect ≥ slope position ≥ soil depth ≥ road accessibility ≥ country road ≥ field area ≥ soil erosion degree. Among these factors, yield per unit area, soil fertility, soil texture and land use type were the main factors. 4) Base on transformation from "local" description into "scientific" expression, the main characters of different grades of farmland according to the local farmers' evaluation were consistent with the results of AHP. The results suggested that local farmers in particular regions had accumulated abundant knowledge on the use and management of farmlands, which was logical and rational. The farmland evaluation developed by local farmers was more reliable than the short-term appraisal by experts, which was directly applicable in the evaluation of farmlands at village level. Therefore indigenous evaluation of farmlands was a better method that was in line with local natural, social and economic conditions of villages. The study concluded by recommending that future communications between local and scientific knowledge should be enhanced in evaluating farmlands so as to build more locally-adjusted and applicable farmland-sustainable management systems.