We all know that crops need water to grow. Water resources in Thailand could be obtained in two main sources: surface and ground water. Rainfall, rivers, lakes, canals, swamps are some of the sources of water. Of them, rainfall is the most important as it accounts for most of the water sources. Thailand receives an annual rainfall of 752 billion cubic metres annually. Irrigation water is also an important source of water. Presently, the most developed irrigation systems are found in the Central Plain.

      In Singapore, rice have already become part of our daily lives, our meals include rice. In supermarkets, we can find many different brands of rice, many of them are from our neighbours, Thailand. Thailand have always been famous for the high quality rice it have produced, how is rice grown?

      All local Thai folk life, culture, and art concern rice in one way or another. About 50% of the agricultural land in Thailand are used to grow rice, we could see the importance of rice-growing in Thailand from this. Majority of Thai rice is grown during main crop, between July and September. Do you know that of all major rice production countries, Thailand had lowest field wield? The Thais concentrate in producing high quality rice, and not high quantity rice.

      Rice-growing is not as simple as we think it is. Over 90% of the rice field is flooded filed. First is land preparation, land must be flooded and made suitable. Next, the seeds have to be prepared. After this, the land have to be ploughed to eliminate weeds. Then, the rice sprouts is transferred to the field by hand casting. The rice sprouts then grow to young plants which is left to grow for about 3 months. During this time, the field must always be flooded. When paddy turns light brown, water is drained. Finally, the rice is harvested.