Selecting a sustainable array of machinery by integrating analytic hierarchy process with gray relational analysis

Abstract

One of the key factors that contribute to the proper growth and development of agricultural mechanization is the selection of a sustainable combination of agricultural machinery. This study aims to evaluate and select a sustainable combination of agricultural machinery for rice cultivation in a specific region using hybrid decision-making of AHP-fuzzy GRA methods. First, the agricultural operation program and related types of agricultural machinery applied in the region were investigated. Then several sub-criteria were selected for the selection process, in three main criteria (economic, social, and environmental) using literature, chosen by Delphi scores and weighted by pairwise comparison. Finally, available machinery options for each operation were ranked using fuzzy gray relational analysis. Results showed that hybrid methods are powerful tools for solving similar problems confronted with qualitative and quantitative criteria.