Application of multi-objective optimization model on prime farmland preservation planning — A case study on Jiangsu province in China

As a developing country, China is experiencing rapid industrialization and urbanization, and facing the problems such as land pollution and decrease of farmland which influence food safety and food security. Protecting farmland is an indisputable and urgent task to China government. This paper constructs a two level multi-objective model for decision-making of the quantity of prime farmland preservation. The first objective is to maximize the comprehensive quality of farmland in the province level, based on an farmland quality assessment system which not only considers counties' economic development and chemical elements such as OM, N, P, and K in top-soil, but also takes heavy metals such as As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni, and Zn into account to guarantee food safety. The second objective is to maximize the total grain production in the province level. Finally, a linear goal programming is used to solve the multi objective model by the software MATLAB7.0. The case study of Jiangsu province showed the feasibility of the linear goal programming. These results could provide scientific instruction for prime farmland protection planning in Jiangsu province.