Multicrop land suitability for cereal-forage legume cropping system in Ethiopia

Mixed crop–livestock farming dominates Ethiopian agriculture but faces persistent challenges related to feed shortages, soil degradation, and declining productivity. Integrating forage legumes into cereal-based systems offers a promising pathway to enhance soil fertility, livestock feed availability, and system resilience; however, spatially explicit guidance on suitable cereal–forage combinations remains limited. This study assessed land suitability for mixed cereal–forage legume cropping systems across Ethiopia using a GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Four major cereal crops (wheat, barley, maize, and teff) and four forage legumes (lablab, alfalfa, cowpea, and vetch) were evaluated based on climate, soil, topographic, and land-use factors. Crop-specific suitability maps were generated and optimized to identify the most suitable cereal and forage legume at the pixel level and subsequently combined to produce a multicrop suitability map for integrated systems. Results indicate that rainfall and temperature are the dominant drivers of suitability for both cereals and forage legumes, while soil fertility parameters play a critical supporting role. Lablab and cowpea showed broad adaptability across central and western highlands, whereas alfalfa and vetch were more restricted to cooler, higher-elevation zones. Multicrop suitability analysis revealed extensive areas suitable for cereal–forage combinations, particularly barley–lablab, wheat–lablab, teff–lablab, and alfalfa-based systems in selected highland zones. The findings provide spatially explicit evidence to support targeted integration of forage legumes into cereal systems, offering a pathway for sustainable intensification, improved feed availability, enhanced soil health, and climate-resilient mixed farming systems in Ethiopia.