||Kisan farming खेत मे फसल काटता हुआ मशिक Or खेत मे हल चलाता हुआ टेक्टर||

The technique is credited to ancient Incas, who developed the farming method of terracing in the Andes. Today, terracing is typical for mountainous rice paddies in Asia. Yet, terrace farming advantages make it a beneficial experience to borrow for any hilly terrains, both paddies or drylands, with various crops to grow.
So, why is terrace farming important in hilly areas? The benefits of terracing are quite numerous, which proves its importance for humans and nature. In particular, terrace agriculture:
Increases farmability and land productivity of sloped fields.
Contributes to water conservation: slows down and reduces water runoffs, improves rainwater harvesting.
Prevents soil erosion by decreasing rill formations.
Boosts soil conservation.
Reduces sedimentation and water pollution. Water stays long enough for heavy particles to settle down and prevent downstream sedimentation and pollution of water bodies, but short enough not to harm crops.
Increases food production by adjusting hilly land for farming.
Adds to ecosystem diversity.
However, there are relative disadvantages of terrace farming as well. Thus, certain challenges of terracing include:
specific machinery to push and level the soil;
high labor and cost inputs;
land disturbance that often requires additional treatment;
hiring trained staff to arrange terraces;
preliminary soil testing (slipping soils are not suitable).
What Is The Purpose Of Terrace Farming?
All terracing techniques allow farmers to retain or remove water and reduce the steepness of the hill. In fact, the purpose of terrace farming is to intercept water in a designated channel and remove it via constructed erosion-resistant ditches or subsurface pipe outlets. This proves the efficiency of terracing to stop erosion and contribute to soil conservation.
How Does Terrace Farming Help In Conserving Soil?
Terracing helps retain soil cover and fertility since water flows do not wash off the topsoil and nutrients.
So, what is terracing in soil conservation?
The slope is no longer as steep as it initially was.
Water runoffs are slower due to leveled areas.
Water streams do not flow on the earth’s surface as they usually do on hilly lands. Water is either collected in channels or runs under the surface via outlets and pipes.
Farming on a terrace is an efficient soil conservation practice. However, it requires regular inspection and maintenance at the same time. Thus, in efficient terrace farming, it is essential to check the ridges and grass cover, improving where necessary. Another issue of the terracing practice is the sedimentation of channels, which is resolved with cleaning and planting buffer strips. Also, the outlets and pipes should be clean and free from vegetation residue and particles that may block them.
preventing soil erosion with terrace farming
How Does Terracing Prevent & Reduce Soil Erosion?
Since water comes down through designated outlets, terracing prevents the formation of soil-eroding rills. How does terrace farming prevent soil erosion? In fact, terraces break the slope, splitting one big slope into several smaller ones, making it less steep, and the force of water due to gravitation is less destructive.
However, this is not the only way of terracing to prevent soil erosion. Additionally, vegetation on front and back slopes mitigates the risk of destruction by water and wind.
If a farmer sees visible signs of erosion or has decreased yields season by season, and the field elevation is uneven (sloped), it is worth opting for terracing to stop erosion and boost yields. With EOSDA Crop Monitoring, farmers can get data on field elevation and how the productivity of the field has changed over time. It shows the trend of how the vegetation was developing over a selected period. With this information, a farmer can decide on productivity zones of the field and treat each zone differently (depending on the needs).
elevation map of a field
Elevation map of an oats field.
productivity map of a field
Productivity map of an oats field.
In fact, the functionality of EOSDA Crop Monitoring is quite comprehensive, so after implementing a terracing system, it will help monitor the state of crops with its soil moisture data, vegetation indices analytics, weather forecasts, historical insights, and more.
Crops Grown In Terrace Farming
The choice of species depends on their productivity in highlands and sensitivity to waterlogging since terraces tend to accumulate moisture. For example, rice grows in paddies, but its productivity drops on elevations higher than 375 m .
Nonetheless, terrace farming crops are rather diverse. These are grains, legumes, medicinal and culinary herbs, berries, nuts, fruits, vegetables, etc. In particular, examples of common crops farmed by terrace farming include:
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