Terrace Cultivation

Photo by Maksym Kaharlytskyi on Unsplash

Terrace cultivation is an agricultural practice that suggests rearranging farmlands or turning hills into farmlands by constructing specific ridge platforms. These platforms are called terraces. The essential and distinguishing feature of terrace agriculture is excavating and moving topsoil to form farmed areas on ridges. The trick is that water flows down to lower platforms when the upper platforms are full. Thus, the amount of water is distributed more or less evenly. 

Farmed areas in agricultural terracing are either level or tilted, depending on the soil infiltration properties. If soil infiltration is sufficient, they are made level. The most popular terrace types in farming are: broad base, narrow base, and grassed back-slope; depending on how steep the hill is. 

• Broad-base terrace farming method is suitable for the gentlest hills, and terrace farming includes all the slopes.
• Grassed back-slope terrace farming is an example of perennial terracing, as the back slope cover is perennial grass. 
• Narrow-base terrace farming is another example of perennial terracing, but in this case, permanent vegetation covers both, the front and back sides. 

This technique of cultivation is credited to the Incas, who developed the farming method of terracing in the Andes. Today, terracing is typical for mountainous rice paddies in Asia. There are various benefits in this method,

• increases land productivity of sloped fields,
• contributes to water conservation; slows down and reduces water runoffs, improves rainwater harvesting,
• prevents soil erosion by decreasing rill formation,
• boosts soil conservation,
• reduces sedimentation and water pollution,
• increases food production by adjusting hilly land for farming,
• adds to ecosystem diversity.

There are some challenges too,

• specific types of machinery required,
• high labor and cost input
• land disturbances that often require additional treatment
• trained people needed to arrange terraces
• preliminary soil testing is required,

Prevention or reduction of soil erosion, as well as soil conservation by terracing, allows using the terraced farmlands in the long run. It attests to the essential role of terracing in sustainable agriculture.

Reference: collected from various sources