Which farming system uses stepped fields on hillsides for crops such as rice?

• A. Terrace farming
• B. Irrigation
• C. Desertification
• D. Pollution

Answer: (A)

Terraced farming uses stepped fields on hillsides to create flat surfaces that can hold water, which is essential for crops like rice that require standing water. Each step traps and distributes water, allowing gravity to move it from upper levels to lower ones while minimizing erosion and soil loss. This technique expands cultivable land on mountainous terrain where flat fields aren’t available and helps manage heavy rainfall by slowing runoff. In essence, it’s a way to adapt farming to slopes by shaping the land and coordinating irrigation, so rice can be grown efficiently.

Other terms describe water delivery or environmental processes rather than a farming system on slopes: irrigation is about how water is supplied to crops, desertification is the degradation of land, and pollution involves unwanted contaminants.