African Agronomy Journal (Agri/Plant Science): a mixed-methods study of Agri/Plant Science mechanisms and measurable outcomes across African contexts

Agronomic performance in Egypt varies sharply between Nile Valley alluvium, deltaic clays and reclaimed desert fringes, yet advisory frameworks often treat suitability as a field-scale attribute rather than a spatial continuum shaped by terrain and water movement. This methodological protocol develops a reproducible geographic information systems framework centred on a composite spatial index that integrates Slope, Drainage density, Rainfall intensity, Land cover, Soil permeability, Elevation and Distance to channels to characterise where soil-water conditions favour or constrain rainfed and supplementary-irrigated cropping. The framework proposes governorate-level spatial units, open elevation, climate, soil and land-cover inputs, and operations including kernel density estimation, buffer analysis and network connectivity assessment, implemented through the analysis workflow (Script 1). Figure 1 delineates the administrative units of Egypt, Figure 2 organises the spatial logic into regional distribution, hotspot, coverage and connectivity views, Figure 3 formalises the threshold trade-off between classified area and classification confidence, and Figure 4 provides the choropleth logic for the composite spatial index. The contribution is a transferable, agronomically grounded specification for suitability mapping that clarifies assumptions, weighting choices and interpretive limits before field calibration.