Why are terraces built for farming?
Terraces are built on steep slopes to create flat surfaces on which crops are grown. They are built to prevent soil erosion.
Terraces are built on steep slopes to create flat surfaces on which crops are grown. They are built to prevent soil erosion.
Ans : The people of Chizami have their own individual fields but they also work collectively in each other’s fields. They form groups of six or eight and take an entire mountainside to clean the weeds on it. All groups eat together once their work for the day is over.
In Nagaland, jhum farmers normally grew multiple crops as decided by the community. The pattern of jhum practiced in the state consists of the burning of trees, felling, drying and burning of the jhum field followed by sowing, inter-cultural operation, harvest, and fallowing.
Terrace Farming in Nagaland: This is a village called Chizami which is in Phek district in Nagaland. The people of this village belong to the Chakhesang community. They do ‘terrace’ cultivation.
Terraces are made using low walls of Earth up the side of the hills, these allow the farmers to make flat areas for planting their crops – the terraces.
Terrace farming is the practice of cutting flat areas out of a hilly or mountainous landscape in order to grow crops. It is a practice that has been in use from the rice fields of Asia to the steep slopes of the Andes in South America.
There are three types of terraces: bench terraced farmlands, sloping terraced farmlands and combination level terraced farmlands.
The primary advantage of terraces is improved soil erosion control. Secondary advantages of terraces include elimination of grass waterways that can be difficult to maintain and reductions in flooding. Disadvantages include the capital cost of building terraces, and the time required to maintain terraces.
Terrace farming is carried out on the slopes of the mountains. Terraces are built on the slopes of the mountains to create flat lands to grow crops. Terrace farming is useful as it slows down the speed of water running down the mountains. This conserves fertile top soil.
It has around 600 households with a population of 3,000 that is largely involved in Jhum cultivation, a slash-and-burn type of agriculture that is traditionally practised in the hilly terrains of north-east India.