ROI ET: An event featuring 2,600 farmers gathered to harvest rice at the same time is believed to be the largest ever staged in the country.
Farmers from the province's 20 districts, led by Roi Et deputy governor Sakchai Karnjanawan, took take part in the event on Saturday. It took them only five minutes to reap all the crops from 101 rice paddy plots in tambon Kamphaeng in Kaset Wisai district, according to a report in Thai Rath.
A portion of the harvested crops will be given to the rice bank run by the Rice Foundation under Royal Patronage, which will donate it to those in need for consumption, with the seeds used for future cultivation.
Some of the rice is also being offered as samples to visitors attending the World Jasmine Rice Festival, which opened on Friday and concludes on Sunday in front of the provincial town hall.