A comparison of multicriteria decision analysis techniques for determining beekeeping suitability

Over the past decade, the importance of the beekeeping activities has been emphasized in the field of biodiversity, ecosystems, agriculture, and human health. Thus, deciding correct beekeeping activities seems essential to maintain and improve productivity and efficiency. Due to this importance, considering the economic contributions of beekeeping to the rural area, the need for suitability analysis concept has been revealed. At this point, multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) and geographical information system (GIS) integration provides efficient solutions to the complex structure of decision-making process for beekeeping activities. In this study, site suitability analysis for beekeeping via analytical hierarchy process (AHP), the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and vise kriterijumska optimizacija I kompromisno resenje (VIKOR) was carried out to increase honey productivity and compare MCDA techniques for Konya city in Turkey. Slope, elevation, aspect, distance to water resources, roads and settlements, precipitation, and flora criteria were included to determine suitability. The requirements, expectations, and limitations of beekeeping activities were specified with the participation of experts and stakeholders. The final suitability maps resulted from each method were validated with existing 117 beekeeping locations and Turkish Statistical Institute 2015 beekeeping statistics for Konya province. Considering existing beekeeper locations, AHP has 82%, VIKOR 88%, and TOPSIS 91% overlapping rates with the suitability maps. According to the correlation R values between total beekeeper count and suitability rates, VIKOR has 0.70, TOPSIS 0.68 and AHP 0.66.