Rice was one of the first agricultural crops studied at Chitralada Villa to find thebest cultivation methods to recommend to farming communities. In preparation, His Majesty requested that different strains of seed be gathered from all over Thailand for testing.Each May, prior to the rainy season, thebest strains are used in the Royal Ploughing Ceremony which is a Brahman ritual originating in the Sukhothai Era (1238-1438)when it was believed the ceremony guaranteed a plentiful harvest. It was discontinued in the early part of the 20th century and revived by His Majesty in 1960 at a timewhen more than eighty percent of the population worked in Thailand’s agricultural sector
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