Performed with individual variations throughout the region, Oku-noto no Aenokoto reflects the everyday culture of the Japanese, who have cultivated rice since ancient times, and serves as a marker of identity for the area s farmers.

UNESCO: Culture

The huge industrial estates just north of Bangkok sit on land that was once heavily cultivated for rice, precisely because the land floods regularly.

ECONOMIST: The threat grows from rising water and sinking buildings

Since the black wheat can be cultivated between regular rice harvests, it helps the farmers use their land better.

FORBES: Magazine Article

There is, however, plenty of cultivated, less-expensive wild rice available.

NPR: Wild Things Thanksgiving

Cultivated for more than eight centuries, the rice terraces cover 16 acres and range in altitude from 300m to 1, 100m.

BBC: The perfect trip: China