the Khmer Rouge establishes the state of Democratic Kampuchea. Khmer Rouge leaders write their first four-year plan, which calls for a seizing all private property and establishes rice cultivation as a primary initiative. With little regard for families, as citizens are meant to have allegiance only to the state, citizens are assigned to work in groups. The goal is to achieve a yield of three tons of rice per hectare across the country. Most Cambodians are forced to work more than 12 hours a day in inhumane conditions in order to achieve this. Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians starve to death in the rice fields.