A multi-criteria model for land valuation in the land consolidation

Highlights

• The purpose of this study was to develop a new model based on multi-criteria calculations.

• The new model is suitable for today's technologies and addresses the weakness in the current land valuation methods.

• In our study, we also created three different models to investigate how the parameters were apportioned during the land evaluation.

• We found that, while the deduction rate was 4.97% in the current method, they were 4.89%, 4.86% and 4.85% in our new models, respectively.

• Consequently, it is suggested that our models could be used instead of the current method in the land consolidation works in Turkey.

Abstract

Land consolidation is an effective technique in land management that contributes to sustainable rural development. Land valuation is one of the most important steps in land consolidation because it plays an important role in the reallocation process. Land valuation is also an important problem in Turkey as in many countries in the world. Because the lands will be reallocated at the end of the consolidation process, it is very important to determine the precise value of each parcel. However, the methods used in land valuation in many countries lag behind current techniques and technologies. For this reason, a new method for land valuation is needed. The purpose of this study was to develop a new model based on multi-criteria calculations that is suitable for today's technologies and addresses the weakness in the current land valuation methods. In a case study of Solak, Antalya, Turkey, we identified fourteen key land value factors. Those factors were assigned weights by the Land Valuation Committee, academic staff, engineers, and local landowners. The weights were then integrated into a framework called the Land Quality Index. The land quality index factors are the criteria for evaluating the geographical, physical, and socio-economic structure of the region. The scores for each factor on each parcel were determined using GIS software. The total score of fourteen factors was then converted to a 100-point scale, that comprised the Land Quality Index. The land value of each parcel was determined by adding the soil index to the Land Quality Index. In our study, we also created three different models to investigate how the parameters were apportioned during the land valuation. We found that, while the current method used by the government agency (General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works) classified the lands into five groups, our methods classified the lands into 17, 20, 24 groups, respectively. In addition, while the deduction rate was 4.97 % in the current method, they were 4.89 %, 4.86 % and 4.85 % in our new models, respectively. The method we proposed in this study determined land values more accurately, precisely, and fairly compared to current method used by General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works. It is suggested that our models could be used instead of the current method in the land consolidation works in Turkey.

Introduction

With its favorable climate and geographical conditions, Turkey is one of the leading countries in the world in the field of agriculture and food. Its agricultural lands cover 35.89 % of the country’s surface area (Uyan, 2016; Uyan et al., 2015). There are almost four million agricultural holdings in Turkey. However, in the vast majority of agricultural holdings, plots are small, scattered, irregular in shape and lacking in any transport network (Demetriou et al., 2012; Kirmikil and Arici, 2013). These conditions cause farming families to grow products on increasingly small and scattered parcels of land with decreasing yields (Arıcı and Akkaya Aslan, 2014; Yağanoğlu et al., 2000). In 1950, the average size of a farm in Turkey was 10 ha. In 1980 it was 6.8 ha, in 1990 it was 5.9 ha, and in 2001 it had increased by a small amount and it was 6.1 ha with the starting of land consolidation works (Cay et al., 2010; Gun, 2003; Uyan, 2016). However, this value is still lag behind the average agricultural holding size of European countries. This illustrates how rapidly the fragmentation of agricultural land in Turkey has occurred.

The fragmentation of agricultural land is one of the biggest obstacles to sustainable agriculture and rational agricultural development in Turkey. Conditions associated with this problem include the small size and irregular shape of parcels, the distance between parcels and the owner’s farmstead, and the existence of many boundary lines (Demetriou et al., 2012; Tezcan et al., 2018a). This pattern hinders mechanization and causes inefficient production. The cost to alleviate those adverse effects has resulted in a reduction in farmers’ net incomes (Cay and Uyan, 2013; de Lisle and de, 1982; Demetriou et al., 2012; King and Burton, 1982; Latruffe and Piet, 2014). The primary cause of land fragmentation has been population pressure on agricultural land. Turkey loses $10 billion annually because of this fragmentation (Uyan, 2016; Uyan et al., 2015). Land consolidation (LC) is considered to be the most effective approach for solving land fragmentation (Akkaya Aslan et al., 2018; Asiama et al., 2017; Yomralioglu et al., 2007).

Land consolidation involves environmental and cultural protections, conservation of areas having high natural value, recreation, village renewal, regional projects, and other measures to benefit the living and working conditions of rural residents. LC can also change the land tenure structure and provide necessary infrastructure such as roads and irrigation networks (Akkaya Aslan et al., 2018; Demetriou, 2016; Demetriou et al., 2012; Muchová et al., 2018; Sklenicka, 2006; Thomas, 2006). Land consolidation includes all the procedures for exchanging, re-arranging and expanding farmland parcels to increase farm productivity (Asiama et al., 2017).

The fundamental principle behind the LC ensures that, after consolidation, each landowner shall have a property with an aggregate value that is the same (after deducting the landowners’ land contribution for infrastructure) as the value of the property before consolidation (Demetriou, 2016; Muchová et al., 2018). To achieve this, land valuation should be done in a detailed manner (Tezcan et al., 2018a). Land valuation is a comprehensive appraisal process intended to either assign the agronomic value based on soil quality or land productivity (using a relative dimensionless score) to all parcels of the consolidated area and all of their contents (i.e. trees, wells, buildings, etc.) (Demetriou, 2016).

Clark (1973) and Tezcan et al. (2018a) suggest that fourteen land valuation criteria should be used to determine agricultural land value. On the other hand, Wyatt (1996) divided the land valuation criteria into four groups: physical attributes, legal factors, locational characteristics, and economic conditions. Branković et al. (2015) observed that land value classification in Serbia is based on soil fertility, climate conditions, and economic factors. Buday et al. (2018) argues that it is necessary to objectively determine land prices and, in particular, take into account other factors that greatly influence the price of land. Other factors that affect the land value are parcel location, anthropogenic factors such as national parks, protected landscape areas, and zones for water resources protection and farming techniques. Many researchers and organizations from different countries have conducted various studies to determine the land value in detail (Asiama et al., 2018; Demetriou, 2018; FAO, 2003; Kucukmehmetoglu and Geymen, 2016; Scarelli and Venzi, 2004). Muchová et al. (2018) proposed that it is necessary for a new system of the land valuation that takes into account properly/correctly selected factors, whose values or quality strongly influence the given area.

The parcel index method is used to determine the agricultural value of parcels in the land consolidation studies in Turkey. In this method, land value is determined according to three criteria: soil index, productivity score, and location index (Tezcan et al., 2018a). In its calculations, the proportional amount of the soil index, productivity score, and location index are 70 %, 10 %, and 20 %, respectively. However, there is no explanation of how those proportions were determined. This aspect of the land valuation process needs to be further developed. In light of the studies cited above, there is no available method for land valuation in the Turkish land consolidation process. Because fragmented parcels are eventually reallocated, agricultural land values should be determined in a precise, fair, and detailed manner. Otherwise, there is the potential for doubt and resistance among the landowners and possible delay of the project.

Our study proposes a new framework and method for assessing the observable and measurable soil characteristics together that will meet international criteria. The aim of the study is to develop a new model that includes fourteen land valuation criteria and suitable for each condition, location, and project. We compared our proposed method with that used by the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (SHW). To determine the parcel index which means the agricultural land value, our approach includes international criteria which are soil quality, regional, spatial, physical, and socio-economic characteristics that provide more accurate and detailed results. In addition, we developed three new models by changing the proportions of the parameters in the equation to determine the most accurate, fair, and appropriate process.