Thai king oversees start of rice-planting season

Thailand's King presided over an annual ceremony on Friday marking the start of the rice planting season. The Royal Ploughing Ceremony and Brahmin rites date back around 700 years.

As The farming industry employs 30% of Thailand's total workforce, many of whom are still living in poverty.

At Friday's ceremony, the pair of oxen consumed beans, grass and water, meaning there will be plenty of water for irrigation and a good harvest of grains, fruits, vegetables and food.

The animals also drank the liquor on offer which means foreign trade will grow. The ploughing ceremony resumed this year after a one-year hiatus in 2021 due to COVID-19 concerns.