Annual ploughing ceremony heralds rice-planting season in Thailand

Chavalit Chookajorn, permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, dressed in a traditional costume, throws rice grains during the annual royal ploughing ceremony in central Bangkok, Thailand, May 13, 2015. The ancient ploughing ceremony in Buddhist Thailand, overseen by Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, marks the end of the dry season and is meant to herald an auspicious start for the rice-planting season. [Photo/Agencies]