International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887) Volume 89 – No 8, March 2014 37 Application of AHP Method in Determining Priorities of Conversion of Unusedland to Food Land in Minahasa Tenggara Adi Setiawan Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Satya Wacana Christian University Jl. Diponegoro 52-60 Salatiga, Indonesia Eko Sediyono Graduate School of Information System, Satya Wacana Christian University Jl. Diponegoro 52-60 Salatiga, Indonesia Dirk A. L. Moekoe Student of Graduate School of Information System, Satya Wacana Christian University Jl. Diponegoro 52-60 Salatiga, Indonesia ABSTRACT This paper discusses the problem of how to identify the evaluation criteria in order to determine conversion of unused land into food land in Minahasa Tenggara and how to determine priorities of food commodities targeted districts as new food in Minahasa Tenggara using AHP method. The results showed that food commodities recommended in the conversion of unused land into food land is corn commodity. Corn became a major priority for qualified technical and non - technical evaluation criteria food land. Districts that are in top priority is the district Touluaan where eight variables land evaluation of food, both technical and non - variable technically qualified with the highest priority as a target districts over the land. District Silian Raya and Pasan are two districts with the lowest priority (the lowest composite score) due to the low capacity of the soil, difficulty in accessing the area and access to the required technology. Keywords Analytic hierarchy process (AHP), unused land, food land, Minahasa Tenggara. 1. INTRODUCTION Research application of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method in conversion of unused land into land for food in Minahasa Tenggara aims to assess and to map the existing agricultural resources and is intended to provide decision- making tools for policy makers and implementers of development, in utilizing appropriate resources, in the context of food security and to increase in the number of public welfare 30.7 % of the population works in the agricultural sector [1]. According to the Security and Vulnerability Map of Food or Food Security and Vulnerability Atlas (FSVA) 2009, Minahasa Tenggara (data is included in the Minahasa Selatan as a district parent) included in the district food security conditions are relatively very safe [2]. This is consistent with the data in Figures 2012 Minahasa Tenggara, which illustrates that the Minahasa Tenggara as a whole is in a high food surplus. Conditions domestic food production surplus over consumption ratio of cereal production compared with consumption of 4.60 (five times greater production than consumption). Conditions of surplus food production is not directly proportional to the welfare of society in which there is still 17.65 % of the population living below the poverty line. Access individual/household to food, to economic social and physical food security are key factors that is needed to optimize the utilization of unused land to improve poor people's access to food. Appropriate safeguards required in opening a new food land. In 2011, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) renew the land evaluation models that have been released previously, namely the principles in land evaluation [3]. This model considers only technical criteria, while decision-making in land clearing by farmers is also determined by non - technical variables such as economic benefits gained by the opening of the land. Therefore, in addition to technical variables, variables nontechnical directly related to the effort to move and build a farm described by Mosher, also considered as criteria in the prioritization of land use [4]. Determination of the priority factors of new food land evaluation criteria using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). AHP method is used because it is an effective approach in decision-making to describe the problems that are complex and multi-criteria in selecting the best alternative from a set of alternatives [5] [6]. Output is produced in the form of food commodities and factors priority target districts clearing new food, which is a recommendation for local governments in order expansion of food and increased food production areas. The problem in this research are how to identify the opening of the evaluation criteria in order to determine conversion of unused land into food land in Minahasa Tenggara; and how to set the priority of food commodities and land clearing priority target districts new food in Minahasa Tenggara district using AHP method. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Previous Research Research on the use of AHP as a decision support models (Decision Support Model) that supports decision-making in agriculture and food security at various levels of decision- making both at the operational, tactical and strategic among them : - The article titled Farming Differentiation in the Rural - urban Interface of the Middle Mountains, Nepal : Application of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Modeling [6]. This study investigated the dominant differentiation factor farm by using AHP method in the rural-urban interface in the Kathmandu Valley are pockets of vegetable production supplying a large amount of vegetables in the city. Four and 7