Zoning of agroclimatic and productive areas for quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) in Peru; an integration of F-AHP, TOPSIS, and GIS

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an Andean crop of high nutritional value that is resistant to adverse climatic conditions. However, its sustainable expansion in Peru faces limitations due to the lack of detailed spatial information on areas suitable for cultivation, especially under climate change scenarios. The objective of this study was to define the agroclimatic and productive zones suitable for quinoa cultivation in Peru, taking into account current conditions (1970–2000) and projected climate change scenarios (2041–2060 and 2081–2100). Multicriteria evaluation techniques were integrated using the Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (F-AHP) method to weight the criteria and the technique of Order of Preference by Similarity to the ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to classify the alternatives in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Future projections were assessed under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5). The results indicated that 45.71% of the national territory is marginally suitable and 10.95% is moderately suitable. Under future scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5), a slight reduction in marginal areas and an increase in moderately suitable and highly suitable areas are projected, especially towards the end of the period 2081–2100. For the SSP5-8.5 scenario, highly suitable areas could increase to 1.09% of the territory and moderately suitable areas to 14.08%. These results show a spatial redistribution of suitability, highlighting the need for adaptive agricultural policies, climate resilient planning strategies, and targeted territorial management to support sustainable quinoa expansion in Peru.