<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In agriculture, a terrace is a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming . This type of landscaping, therefore, is called terracing . Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain . Terraced fields decrease both erosion and surface runoff, and may be used to support growing crops that require irrigation, such as rice . The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the significance of this technique . </P> <P> Terraced paddy fields are used widely in rice, wheat and barley farming in east, south, and southeast Asia, as well as other places . Drier - climate terrace farming is common throughout the Mediterranean Basin, e.g., in Cadaqués, Catalonia, where they were used for vineyards, olive trees, cork oak, etc., on Mallorca, and in Cinque Terre, Italy . </P>

Explain the role of terrace cultivation on hilly areas