The agricultural sector of Machu Picchu is made up terraces, which form enormous steps cut into the mountainside. The crops grown on these terraces, which included corn, potatoes and other vegetables, supplied the city. It is estimated that the fields could feed up to 10 000 people, 10 times more than the city's population. In the lower portion of the sector, constructions, called colcas, were used either as barns where excess production was stocked or as homes for the farmers.