ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates that it is feasible to develop a land evaluation system which can be used to assess the implications of specified changes in environmental conditions on food production prospects, and illustrates the utility of the system as a policy assessment tool. A land evaluation system for the agri-food sector of the province of Ontario is outlined, and applied to the selected issue of the expansion of artificial land drainage and its implications for food production potential. The Ontario land evaluation system is comprised of a land-related information base and a variety of analytical tools for integrating selected components or the entire data base. In the policy arena, the approaches to resource assessment implemented via the Ontario land evaluation system have proven to be extremely effective in assessing the effects of alternative courses of action on agricultural production possibilities.
