INTEGRATING GIS, TABU SEARCH, AND AGRONOMIC SCHEDULING FOR OPTIMIZING AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY UTILIZATION IN ETHIOPIAN FARMING SYSTEMS: A CASE STUDY OF HITOSA FARMERS’ COOPERATIVE UNION

Smallholder mechanization in Ethiopia remains low and operationally inefficient, constraining productivity and food security. This study develops and tests a data-driven framework that integrates GIS, Tabu Search, and agronomic scheduling to optimize machinery utilization for the Hitosa Farmers’ Cooperative Union. A mixed-methods design combined a full census of the union’s fleet, GPS field tracking, climate and land-use GIS analysis, CROPWAT-based crop calendars, and time-motion measurements. Optimization as performed using Tabu Search and integer/nonlinear programming implemented in MATLAB and ArcGIS to minimize total travel distance, balance workload, and reduce total operational cost. Spatially differentiated scheduling and route optimization reduced machinery idle time by 30% and produced average fuel savings of 11.28% (23.34% in Hetosa Woreda). According to the assessment, there were 1,230–1,300 hours of inefficient travel and 123,852 ETB in direct labor losses; the estimated revenue losses from combine harvesting and foregone tillage were 2.16 million ETB and 3.33 million ETB, respectively. According to a geospatial demand analysis, 117 tractors (130 HP) or 94 tractors (150 HP) were needed for seedbed preparation, and 137 combine harvesters (220 HP) were estimated to be needed throughout the union's service area. While prioritizing equipment allocation based on crop timeliness and terrain, the updated scheduling and routing decreased the overall distance variance between machines. Cooperative mechanization yields quantifiable economic and environmental benefits when GIS, optimization algorithms, and agronomic calendars are integrated. GPS-enabled devices, centralized logistics, and scheduled fleet replacement are among the priorities; cooperative systems can be compared using the suggested framework to improve service sustainability, dependability, and cost-effectiveness.