Legesse, Dagnachew (PhD)Abebe, Alemayehu2018-06-282023-11-092018-06-282023-11-092004-07http://10.90.10.223:4000/handle/123456789/4594Proper use of the land depends on the suitability of land for specific purposes. It is indeed of paramount importance to identify suitable land for livestock production while causing minimum impact to the environment. In this study, an attempt was made to identify suitable areas for livestock production using GIS methodology. Spatial modeling techniques are utilized to generate the land suitability model. The model is run in ArcGIS platform by using evaluation criteria: land use/land cover, soil classification slope and water availability through multicriteria decision marking rules. The model results revealed that 40.5% of the study area is most suitable for livestock production. In addition, 30% of the sub basin is indeed moderately suitable for animal production. Further, 8% of the study area is identified to be least suitable. On the other hand, areas that are found to be currently not suitable and permanently not suitable are 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. Tana sub basin is optimally located on suitable land for livestock production. That is, most of the basin is covered by optimal land use land cover, gentle slope, fertile soil type, and optimal water availability. However, the current livestock distribution exists on unsuitable areas. The results of the NDVI indices indicate that the basin has available feed source for animal production especially in the rainy season whereas in the dry season crop residue could serve as a feed source for the livestock. Furthermore, water availability is the most important factor that determines livestock production. Under this study, water availability is analyzed using buffering tools in a GIS. The results depict that most of the study areas are accessible or proximal to water resources (lakes, water points, and rivers) for livestock drinking. That is, most of the water resources are accessible for livestock production within the study area. This output indeed could be used as a method for assessing livestock water productivity in the basin. Keywords: GIS, Suitability Model, Water Availability, Feed, Livestock, Tana Sub Basin, Blue NileenGISSuitability ModelWater AvailabilityFeedLivestockTana Sub BasinBlue NileThesis