Factors affecting agricultural land use for vegetables production- a case study of the state of Selangor, Malaysia

Economic transformation and growth had resulted into increased population and change in taste of the people of Selangor, Malaysia. Evidence shows that the people have graduated from the consumption of highly starchy food to the consumption of more proteinous food, fruits and vegetables. This changing taste will hitherto produce effects on the sizes of agricultural land use for production of different agricultural crops. A case of drivers of agricultural land use for vegetables production (ALUVP) is assessed in this study. ALUVP was compared with the potential driving variables at three different scales using Spatial Analyst 3.2 in an arcGIS 9.2 environments. Findings indicated that vegetables are found cultivated in mixed cropping systems with coconut, orchard, paddy, rubber, idle grass, whereas there were observed competition between vegetables production and oil palm, swamp/forest for land use. Factors such as maximum temperature, average temperature, slope, population density and soil series have inverse relations with ALUVP while distance to lake, major river, minor roads, road density, number of raining days, percentage urban residents have direct relationships with it (ALUVP). Drivers of ALUVP differ at different scales of analysis with the effects of accessibility becoming more pronounced at lower scales of analysis than at higher scale. With reference to competition for land use within and between agricultural sector and other more profitable non - agricultural sectors, it is unlikely that the government policy initiative of achieving self sufficiency in vegetables production by the year 2010 will be achieved.   Key words: Agricultural land use for vegetables production (ALUVP), changing taste, economic transformation and growth, mixed cropping and policy initiatives.