OROMIA BUREAU OF AGRICULTURE

TRAINING ON BENCH TERRACE DESIGN &

CONSTRUCTION

November, 2015
Adama

1
1.INTRODUCTION
 bench terraces have been traditionally practiced in many
parts of the country:
 Oromia, Hararge high lands
 SNNP in Konso
 Tigrai, NadierAdet and Erob
 Amhara, Ankober

 but detailed studies and manual on how to design and

construct the technology was lacking.
 The presentation focus on the following topics for
2

implementation of Bench terrace.

OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION
1. Introduction
2. Concepts of Bench Terraces
3. Objectives of Terracing
4. Types of Bench Terraces and Their Adaptability
5. Components of Bench Terrace
6. Criteria for Design of Bench Terrace
7. Design Principle for Bench Terrace
8. Basic designs for bench construction
9. Layout and surveying procedures
10. Construction of bench terrace
11. Construction methods
12. Basic Construction steps for bench terraces
13. Protection and maintenance
14. Advantages of bench terraces 3
15. Limitations
 
BT PRACTICE IN DAMOT MOUNTAIN
SNNPR
2. CONCEPTS OF BENCH TERRACES

Definitions: A bench terrace is a

conservation structure where a slope is
converted into a series of steps, with a
horizontal cultivated area on the step
and steep risers between two steps.
 Are permanent earth embankments
or ridges constructed across the slope
at regular intervals supported by
steep banks or risers
5
 ..\Adama

Training-Final-2008\Bench terrace N
BENCH TERRACES
Main features of bench terrace
 Are constructed by cutting and filling, and are used in land
with slopes of 12-58 percent
 Are true terraces from which all other types of terrace have been
derived
 Are reinforced by retaining banks of soil or stone on the forward
edges.
 Are one of the most effective measures for erosion control and crop
production.

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 BENCH TERRACES
o Level and reverse sloping bench terraces are very effective in
controlling erosion on slopes of 300 (55%) for deep and stable
soils
o In areas of unstable soils, it would not be advisable to make
bench terraces on slopes over 150 (30%)
o Bench terracing is carried out on steep cultivated and eroding
slopes or uncultivated land;
o Work on good soil texture with sufficient depth; very sandy
soils should be avoided.
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 BENCH TERRACES
o Areas with very broken topography should be excluded
o Annual crops should be planted on terraces up to 25% slope
while orchards should be planted on higher slopes with very
narrow bench strips
o A small drain, about 10 cm deep, should constructed at the
bottom of each rise to take care of the runoff from the rises
o Excavated bench terraces are extremely costly to build and
maintain and is recommended for high value or cash crop
grown area

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 3. OBJECTIVES OF TERRACING

 To convert a steep slope into a series of steps, with nearly

horizontal benches

 To reduce run-off and minimize soil erosion

 To conserve soil moisture and fertility and to facilitate modem

cropping operations on sloping land.

 To promote intensive land use and permanent agriculture on

slopes and reduce shifting cultivation.

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 BENCH TERRACE CLASSIFICATION
 on time taken for their make-up bench terrace can be
classified as
 Excavated bench terraces carried out by cut and fill process
and some time are known as “Radical terraces”
 Developed bench terraces are the gradually developed
terraces through time also known as “Progressive terraces”.
 Progressive is adhered to the conventional farmland
conservation structures (Soil, fanyajuu and stone bunds)
where the benching is achieved gradually.

By hailu hundie
CONT’D
 Rama Rao (1974) has classified the bench terraces on the
basis of the slope of the bench, as
 Levelbench terrace
 Bench terrace sloping outward, and
 Bench terrace sloping inward

By hailu hundie
 4. TYPE OF BENCH TERRACES AND THEIR ADAPTABILITY

Level Bench Terrace:

Suitable
 in area with medium rainfall deep and highly permeable soils

Most
 of the rainfall coming over the area is to be absorbed by the soil

Very
 little water is to go as surface drainage
Outward Sloping Bench Terraces:
Suitable for areas of low rainfall or shallow soil depth
Used to reduce the existing steep slope to mild slope
Conserve soil moisture and grow crops
Provision of graded channel at lower end to safely dispose off surplus water
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to some water way
TYPE OF BENCH TERRACES CONT’D

Inward Sloping Bench Terrace:

Suitable in high rainfall areas with steep slopes.

A suitable drain at the inward end of each

terraces to drain the runoff.

The drains ultimately lead to a suitable outlet of

vegetated waterway 13
FIG.1: DIFFERENT TYPES OF BENCH TERRACES. (SOURCE:
MAL, 1995) 14
15
5. COMPONENTS OF BENCH TERRACE

o The bench terrace essentially consists of the four components

namely,

I. Riser,

II. Outlet channel,

III. Platform and

IV. Shoulder bund.

o Riser is a vertical wall at the upstream end of the strip of land
converted to bench terrace. 16
CONT’D
o Outlet channel can be located either at the upstream or at
the downstream end depending upon the rainfall and soil
conditions.
o Platform is the level or nearly level strip obtained by
terracing and crop is grown in this zone.
o Shoulder bund helps to retain the rainfall in the terraced
area.

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 18
.
FIG.3: SHOWS THE COMPONENTS OF A BENCH TERRACE
 6. CRITERIA FOR DESIGN OF BENCH TERRACE

Determination of design components of bench terrace mainly

depends on:-

 The purpose and type of bench terrace

 The average annual rainfall

 The types of soil

 Soil depth and average slope of the land

 Farming practice

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7. DESIGN PRINCIPLE FOR BENCH TERRACE

The design of bench terrace involves the following major

parameters for determination.

1. Type of bench terrace

2. Length of bench terrace

3. Gradient of bench terrace

4. Width of bench terrace

5. Spacing of bench terrace

6. Terrace cross section (Risers and riser slopes, Depth of Cut,

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net area, cross-section area, volume of cut and fill)

8.BASIC DESIGNS FOR BENCH CONSTRUCTION

 Design terraces according to the needs of farmers, crops,

climate, and tools to be used for farming
 Design bench terraces such that the volumes of cut and fill
are to be equal for minimizing construction cost
 Use simple arithmetic and a step-by-step approach to design

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CONT’D
Basic designs to be considered for bench construction;

(1) Widths of Bench

 In designing bench terraces, the width of the bench (flat part)
needs to first be determined by the farmers
 Field technicians or extension expert need to check soil
depths
 For hand cultivation 2.5 m to 5 m wide are appropriate widths
whereas for mechanization 3. 5 m to 8 m are proper.
 Wide benches require deep soils and higher construction
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costs.
CONT’D

(2) Slopes
 In design of terraces, a representative slope or a mode slope
should be obtained from the field.
 Slopes can be measured by using a hand level or a
clinometer.
 The appropriate slope range for building terraces by hand is
from 7 degrees to 25 degrees (or 12.3% to 46.6%).
 For machines construction, the slope range recommended
is from 7 degrees to 20 degrees (or 12.3% to 36.4%) 23
CONT’D
Second method
 Using the table below

 Bench width based on soil depth and slope of the area

Slope Soil depth in cm

Gradient
25cm 50 cm 75 cm 100 cm 125 cm 150

20% 2.81m 5.63m 8.44m 11.25m 14.05 m 16.88m

30% 1.77m 10.63m

3.54m 5.31m 7m 8.83m

40% 1.25m 7.50m

2.5m 3.25m 5m 6.25m

50% 0.94m 6.63m

1.9m 2.8m 3.75m 4.65m 24
CONT’D
(3) Vertical Intervals
 After the slope and the width are determined, the Vertical
Interval (VI) can be calculated by a simple equation.
 VI is the elevation difference between two succeeding terraces.

VI= (S* Wb) / (100 – S* U)

Where :-

oS is land slope in percent (%),

o Wb is the width of the bench, and

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oU is the slope of the terrace riser or side slope.
FIG. 3: VERTICAL INTERVAL (VI) BETWEEN LEVEL AND REVERSE
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SLOPED BENCH TERRACE
CONT’D
o Use a horizontal to vertical ratio to put into the equation such as 1 for

machine built terraces, 0.75 for hand-made terraces, and 0.5 for stone

terraces.

Example:

o The VI of 4m-wide bench, hand made-built, on 15 degree (26.8%) slope

is as follows:

VI = (26.8 *4) / (100 – 26.8 *0.75) = 107.2 / 79.9 = 1.34m

o VI is measured from center to center of the succeeding terraces which

also marks the non-cut and non-fill point.

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Links to power pont\Relation ship of S, wb, VI.xlsx
CONT’D

(4) Heights of Riser

o For level terrace, VI equals the height of the riser;

o For reverse sloped terraces, the VI needs to add a reverse

height to get the total height

o The reverse height can be easily calculated by the following

equation:

RH = Wb* 0.05

Where: 28
CONT’D
 RH is reverse height,

 Wb is width of bench,

 5% is the reverse slope.

o A five percent (5%) reverse slope is sufficient to keep runoff
away from the riser
o The height of riser (Hr) of reverse sloped terraces can be obtained
using the following equation:

Hr = VI + RH
o Experience shows that the overall height of a riser should not
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exceed 2 m
CONT’D

Exercise.2: Calculate the reverse height and the total

height of the riser of the reverse sloped terraces with
vertical interval of 1.34m of the above example (1).

Links to power pont\Exercise 2.pptx

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CONT’D

(5) Widths of Terraces

oThe width of a terrace can be obtained by adding the width of the

bench (Wb) to the width of the riser (Wr).

oWr is calculated by multiplying the height of the riser to a riser

slope (U) with the following Equation;

Wr = Hr* U

Where

oWr is the width of the riser,

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oHr is the height of the riser, and

CONT’D
oU is the slope of riser giving value 1 for machine built

terrace, 0.75 for handmade terrace, and 0.5 for stone made

terrace.

oThe total width of a terrace (Wt) is obtained as shown below:

Wt = Wr + Wb

(6) Lengths of Terraces

oThe length of a terrace is limited by the size and shape of the

field and the degree of land dissection. 32

CONT’D
oBased on past experience, 100 m in one inclined direction or 200 m

in total is recommended for reverse sloped or drainage type terraces.

oThe gradient for drainage is 0.5 % to 1 % according to soils and

rainfall.

oLeaner length (L), expressed in meters (m) in a hectare (ha), can be

calculated as follows:

L = 10,000 / Wt

Where
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oWt is the width of terrace
CONT’D

(7) Net Area

o Farmers are interested in knowing the net area for cultivation
when terraces are to be built.
o The net area (NA) in a hectare (ha) can be obtained easily by
multiplying the leaner length (L) to the width of the bench
(Wb) divide:
NA = L* Wb
The percent of net area or percent of benches (Pb) in a ha can
thus be obtained, as follows
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Pb(%) = NA / 10,000 *100

CONT’D

Exercise 3: Based on the information given in the above

example 1 & 2, calculate the width of the riser ( Wr ), the
total width of a terrace (Wt), the leaner length (L), the net
area (NA) and percent of net area of benches (Pb).

Links to power pont\Equations.pptx

Links to power pont\Exercise 3.pptx
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CONT’D
o It is important to know that on the same slope, the percent
of bench or net area does not change regardless the width
of the bench
o In other words, building a wide bench or a narrow bench
will get the same percentage or flat area for cultivation
o Though too narrow a terrace will be impractical whereas
too wide a terrace will need to cut deeper and cost more.

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CONT’D
(8) Volumes to be Cut and Filled
 To build bench terraces, the volume of soil to be cut and filled has
to be equal, to minimize the cost.
 No extra volume of soil to be disposed of or borrowed from other
places.
 Consider one volume (cut volume) that will eventually be moved
down slope to form a terrace ;
 Volumes can usually be obtained by multiplying an area to a
length.
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 The area is a triangle or the cross-section of the cut part (c).

FIGURE:4: SHOWS THE DESIGN OF CUT & FILL PARTS OF THE
BENCH TERRACE 38
CONT’D
 Multiplying C by the linear length, L, will obtain the
volume.
 For level terraces, the equation for the cross-section (c) is
simply as follows:
C = (Wb *VI) / 8
 For reverse sloped terraces, the cut and fill is more and its
equation is shown below:

C = (Wb* Hr) / 8

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CONT’D
oThe volume to be cut and filled in a ha can be calculated:
V = C* L
Where
oV is the volume,
oC is the cross-section, and
oL is the linear length per ha.

(9) Depths of Cut

oThe width of the bench needs to be reduced to fit the depth on site.
oEquations are used to calculate the depth of cut for level terraces and
reverse sloped terraces respectively.

(Wb/2)* (S/100)
  40
(Wb/2)* (S/100) + RH/2
CONT’D
Exercise 4: Having the information given in the previous
example 1 and 2, calculate volume of the soil to be cut (V)
and depths of cut for both level and reverse slope bench
terraces.

Links to power pont\Equations.pptx

Links to power pont\Exercise 4.pptx

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9. LAYOUT AND SURVEYING
PROCEDURES
The layout of terraces should include:
An examination of the site's physical conditions like slope, soil
depth, texture, erosion, presence of rocks, wetness, vegetation
cover and present land use;
The layout and design include specifications of the terraces,
sites and types of waterways, sites of roads and other farm
installation needs;
Human factors such as the farmer's plans and resources, labour
conditions, and the tools to be used, must also be considered; 42
CONT’D

o Bench terraces alignment should start from the ridge and

progress towards the valley

o Determine the average land slope of the area to be terraced

using clinometer/ line levels

o Work out the specifications of the terrace

o Mark contour lines with the help of a leveling instrument;

o A quick calculation of the VI can be made in the field.

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CONT’D

o Use a line level to determine and stake the VI of the terraces

along the base line.
o There are two methods for layout: two line method which is
used for mechanical power and centerline method for manual
and
Use of Centre-line method:
o Taking a contour line as the centre line and mark the terrace
width on the ground;
o Mark three lines (Upper, central and lower) 44
CONT’D

45
CONT’D
o After staking out all the contours or graded contours, add
one line above and the second line below the center of the
line.
o The line serves as the bottom line of the upper terrace and
the top line of the lower one.
o Continue adding stakes so as to cover the whole area.

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CONT’D

o The centre-lines should be kept and observed as non-

cut and non-fill lines for hand-made terraces;
o Mark each contour line of stakes with a different
colour ribbon or paint in order to avoid confusion
during construction, (e.g. centre lines in red, and side
lines in yellow or green, etc.).

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10. CONSTRUCTION OF BENCH TERRACE

Bench terrace is constructed either from top to

bottom or from bottom to top

Ensure the correct grade is attained without
overcutting.
o Rocks or clods of earth can be placed along the
bottom line of the stakes to serve as a foundation
before filling.
48
CONT’D
 During filling operation, the soil should be
compacted firmly by a beater every 15 cm.
o Both the reverse and horizontal grades should be
checked by a level during construction work
o The slope of the riser should be shaped to 0.75:1.

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CONT’D

50
CONT’D

o The edge of a terrace should be built a little

higher than planned because of settling;
o Make sure all the terrace outlets are higher
than the waterway bottom;

o Suitable outlets should be provided to dispose

of the runoff safely.

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o Consider waterways to dispose of the runoff.
11. CONSTRUCTION METHODS
Construction of bench terrace can be carried out by manual
labour or can be constructed by a machine;

The manual construction

o It is advisable that the terrace must be built when the soil is neither
too dry nor too wet;
o The cut and fill of the terraces should be done gradually and at an
equal pace;
o Bench terrace is constructed either from top to bottom or from
bottom to top methods;
o Links to power pont\Pictures\Pictures.pptx 52
CONT’D

Top-Down method

 In the Top-Down method start

building the terrace from the top of

a hill and proceed down slope as

shown in Figure below.

 This type of construction needs a

berm for foundation stability of the

riser which competes land for

cultivation.

53
CONT’D
Bottom-Up method

 It can be start building of

terrace from the bottom of the

hill upwards

 The Bottom-Up is the most

preferred method of construction

as shown in the Figure,

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BOTTOM UP METHOD CONT’D
o It allows the construction of support for the whole height of

the riser starting from the bottom with good foundation which

gives more stability.

o A berm is not needed, allowing the whole bench width to be

used for cultivation.

o It is more stable when supported by stones;

o Construction of cut-off drain to protect the terraces from the

runoff that may come from the upper and untreated areas; 55
TIGRAY EXPERIENCE

56
FIG-5: BENCH TERRACE CONSTRUCTED AT GOROGUTU WOREDA57
OF EAST HARARGE ZONE
58
12.BASIC CONSTRUCTION STEPS FOR BENCH TERRACES

o Topsoil treatment or preservation is carried out;

o Preservation of fertile topsoil during the excavation.
o Move the topsoil to-the next section before cutting the
terrace.

o Remove the topsoil and pile it in convenient place.

o Dig the foundation and start to construct the riser along the

contour

o Dig the sub soil on the cut section and fill on the fill 59

section ,with raising the riser, until it make level,

CONT’D
o Finally spread the top soil all across the terrace.

o The riser/ terrace wall need to be compacted during

construction of earthen risers.

o In areas where stones are plenty riser can be constructed

with stone wall.

o Earthen terrace wall or riser would be stabilized with grass

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 61

FIGURE. 7: STEPS IN CONSTRUCTING BENCH TERRACES

13. PROTECTION AND MAINTENANCE

o New terraces should be protected at their risers and outlets

during the first two years.

o Shape the riser and plant with grass as soon as possible;

o Plant Sod-forming or rhizome-type grasses ;

62
CONT’D
oTall grasses and forage require frequent cutting and attention.

oThe rhizome-type of local grass has proved very successful in

protecting risers.

oStones can be used to protect and support the risers.

oBench terraces require regular care and maintenance when

damaged;

oMaintenance work that should be carried out after heavy storms

and cropping, in the first two to three years period: 63

CONT’D

o Keep grasses growing well on the risers

o Any small break or fall from the riser must be repaired

immediately.

o Cattle should not be allowed to trample on the risers or eat the

grass.

o Run-off should not be allowed to flow over the risers on reverse-

sloped terraces.

o On the riser slope, grass and legumes can be developed through

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REVEGETATION.
14. ADVANTAGES OF BENCH TERRACES

o Effectively controls soil

and water runoff and
erosion.
o Traps sediment in the
drainage ditches built
along the terrace
o Reduces slope length.

65
CONT’D
o Improves soil fertility over
the long run.
o Appropriate where there is
sufficient soil depth and
proper drainage;
o To conserve soil moisture
and increase additional
farm land and production
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15. LIMITATIONS

o Initially disturbs the soil, reducing productivity in the first

2-3 years;
o Needs intensive labour and investment for construction and
maintenance;
o Needs skills for proper construction;
o Terraced fields with an interval slope consume much land;
o Oxen access may be difficult in narrow width.
o It is not useful in shallow soils( soil depth less than 0.5m);
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