Abstract

Research study on production systems in agricultural planning has been considered as an important approach for the formation and direction of sustainable development policies. In this regard, zoning of agriculture is seen as a basic strategy to understand the current agricultural situation, and it is a suitable model for the evaluation of land resources as well as for the purposes of better planning and management of these agricultural resources. This study aimed at zoning of the province of Hamedan using six main indicators mainly related to agricultural development. The data were gathered via a thorough library research on the available documents and the review of the related literature. The area of study included nine townships of the province of Hamedan. The collected data were analyzed using multi-criteria decision by TODIM software. Then, the outputs of the gathered data were analyzed using GIS software. The quantitative results of the research showed that the levels of development of the townships in Hamedan based on the intended agricultural indicators were not the same and each township had some strengths and weaknesses depending on the conditions and the indicators. From the point of natural human indicators, Kaboudarahang (1 = T), Malayer (0.949 = T) presented high levels. Regarding infrastructure services, Kabudrahang (1 = T), Bahar (0.956 = T) showed high levels. With regard to cultivation situation, Razan city (1 = T) and Kabudrahang (979 = T) and with respect to gardening indicators Hamedan (0.677 = T) and Malayer (1 = T) demonstrated the highest level. But concerning animal livestock indicators, Namaland (1 = T), and Hamadan (0.874 = T) displayed the highest level of development. With respect to the total indicator, Malayer with (1 = T) and Kabudrahang with (0.995 = T) were identified as developed cities. Finally, Famenin was recognized as an undeveloped city and Tvsyrkan as a less developed area. Asadabad and Bahar were distinguished as relatively developed areas while Malayer, Hamedan, Kabudrahang, Razan and Nahavand were distinguished as developed areas. To achieve a balanced agricultural development in the province, more attention must be paid to the differences, capacities, improvement and modernization of agricultural infrastructure as well as agricultural planning and policymaking. Keywords: Zoning, agricultural development, the province of Hamedan, TODIM.