SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF AGRO-ECOSYSTEM SUITABILITY FOR PRODUCTION OF STAPLE FOODS IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY South western highlands Rwanda & Burundi 1. INTRODUCTION 3. RESULTS OF MAIZE SUITABILITY ANALYSIS In the Water, Land, Ecosystems and Trade in Staples (WaLETS) project, funded by CGIAR- WLE program, GIS tools are being used to analyse, classify, and map land in the East African Community (EAC) based on natural suitability for cultivation of rain-fed maize, beans (i.e., bush and climbing beans), and rice (i.e., upland and lowland rice) by matching their specific requirements with the actual land characteristics. These crops have been targeted because they are major sources of nutrients and calories in the region, are widely traded in the local and regional markets, and are among the important staple food representative of subsistence agriculture in the region. The underlying research questions are: What are the major agro-ecosystems in the EAC region as differentiated by their natural suitability for production of the three staple crops; and, What is the extent of mismatch between agro-ecosystems suitability and their actual use for the production of the three staple crops? The following maps are the outputs of the suitability analysis of the project sites for maize production: Lake zone region Southern highland region Kyoga plains Lake Victoria basin 2.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1 GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE 4. MISMATCH BETWEEN AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS SUITABILITY AND THEIR ACTUAL USE FOR MAIZE PRODUCTION As an example, the analysis revealed the following gaps, in spatial terms, in the Lake zone and Southern highland regions of Tanzania: 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate that spatial suitability of agro-ecosystems for production of staple food crops in the EAC can be evaluated using GIS and open-access data approach. According to the maps developed, most of the land in the agro-ecosystems studied is moderately suitable for maize production except for Rwanda and Burundi. Suitability for maize production is marginal in most of the land in the latter areas. Although the results are insightful, they should be interpreted with caution, mainly, because the data available for analysis and their resolution were limited. The suitability maps developed can support geographic targeting of various options, such as fostering specialisation in different agro-ecologies and improving land for optimal production and trade in food staples in the EAC. 2.2 FLOWCHART OF PROCEDURES 6. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Challenges: Data available for analysis and their resolution were limited Gathering and compiling data from the different countries on time was difficult Getting objective and consistent information about the suitability rules/ threshold/ criteria from the experts and literature for the different crops was also difficult Opportunity: The outputs will be useful in the work of on-going projects within KALRO, e.g., the multi-purpose legume project that is being implemented in western Kenya. The project can use the outputs to design their experiments/ trials, characterize their sites 2.3 MAIZE SUITABILITY RULES/ CRITERIA