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Royal cows predict poor harvest in Cambodia |
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Cambodia's royal cows signaled a drought and poor harvests in an ancient ceremony yesterday to mark the beginning of the kingdom's planting season.
King Norodom Sihamoni joined thousands of Cambodians for the annual ceremony as royal astrologers fed the cows seven dishes-rice, corn, beans, sesame, grass, water and rice wine-laid out on trays.
The cows only ate corn, meaning Cambodia, one of the world's poorest nations struggling after three decades of civil war, could suffer this year. "The royal cows ate only 45 percent of the corn, which means Cambodia could suffer a severe drought and bad harvests," said 65-year-old farmer Choub Yeoun said.
Cambodia frequently suffers from drought and flooding, threatening the livelihoods of millions in the impoverished nation. Agriculture also accounted for 30 percent of the kingdom's economy last year, and Cambodia produced 6.4 million tones of rice in 2006, the highest yield in a decade, Prime Minister Hun Sen said last month. While still taken seriously by many rural Cambodians, the ploughing ceremony predictions have been called into question in recent years.
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