Read the passage below carefully:
In the steep, densely populated Kigezi highlands of southwestern Uganda, soil erosion historically threatened agricultural sustainability until farmers adopted rigorous contour terracing. Recently, demographic pressures have forced younger generations to subdivide these centuries-old terraced plots into narrow, fragmented strips. To maximize immediate yields on these diminished parcels, many smallholders have abandoned the laborious maintenance of grass strips and stone bunds that stabilize the slope contours. While initial seasonal harvests of high-value cash crops like Irish potatoes appeared lucrative, recent torrential rains have triggered severe rill erosion and landslide cascades across unmaintained hillsides. Agricultural economists note that while local cooperative credit societies readily finance synthetic fertilizers and imported seeds for high-yield farming, they explicitly exclude landscape maintenance and soil conservation infrastructure from their loan portfolios. Consequently, resource-constrained farmers prioritize short-term crop inputs that offer prompt cash returns over long-term structural repairs whose benefits accumulate over decades.
Based on the passage, evaluate the truth of the following statement: The lending policies of local cooperative credit societies indirectly contribute to structural soil degradation in the region.
Cevap: Cevap