Spatio-Temporal Expansion of Built-Up Areas and its Impact on Farmland and Food Security of Peshawar Valley, Pakistan.

The study emphasizes the spatio-temporal expansion of built-up areas and its impact on farmland and primary crop production of Peshawar valley, Pakistan. The build-up needs to be with more significant planning to avoid any inconvenience among agricultural land and infrastructure. Built-up is necessary; however, it is worth mentioning to feed 11.23 million people in the district. The region's land is the most fertile and productive in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Data were taken from the Agricultural Bureau of Statistics from 1990 to 2020, and the satellite imageries of the region were acquired from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). ARIMA technique is employed to get the forecasted values regarding Acreage, Yield, and Production of crops till 2050 in Peshawar valley. Remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS) were used to analyze the satellite imageries. The analysis showed a persistent increase in built-up areas from 1990 to 2020 as the built-up area increased by 57090 hectares. However, the barren land indicates a decreasing pattern of growth, decreasing by 102452 hectares in Peshawar valley. The analysis disclosed a consistent increase in the Production of crops. On the other hand, the per capita share of inhabitants in crop production showed a decreasing trend from 1990 to 2020, attributed to the rapid increase in population. The prediction showed that the per capita share of inhabitants in major crop production would decrease further. In 2050, the study area will be unable to feed its inhabitants due to the rapid increase in population and the built-up environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]