article: Bending and rising in spectacular fashion, these stunning pictures capture the paddy fields of south east Asia and the arduous life of the farmers who cultivate them. In a photo album that spans over China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, extraordinary images portray the crop's full cycle from the primitive sowing of seeds to the distribution of millions of tonnes for consumption. The pictures were taken by professional photographer Scott Gable, 39, who spent four months travelling across the region documenting the labour and threadbare equipment used to harvest the carbohydrate-rich food. Scroll down for video . Majestic: A farmer wades through the mud with a stick as late morning rain falls on top of Dragonsbone terraces in Longsheng County, China . Rice is a staple food for more than one-half the world's population, but for many consumers, its origin remains somewhat of a mystery. The crop accounts for one fifth of all calories consumed by humans and 87 per cent of it is produced in Asia. It is also the thirstiest crop there is - according to the UN, farmers need at least 2,000 litres of water to make one kilogram of rice. Mr Gable said he was determined to capture every stage of production with his Rice Project - from the planting to the harvesting all the way down to the shipping of the food. After acquiring some contacts from experts at Cornell University in New York and conducting his own research, he left for China last May and spent the next four months traveling. He said: 'The images were taken over a four month period from April to July last year across Asia. I visited China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as part of my Rice Project. Video courtesy of www.scottgable.com . Breathtaking: A paddy field worker toils on the beautiful landscape of Dragonsbone terraces in Longsheng County, China . Farmers' procession: A rice planting festival parade takes place near the village of Pingan in Guangxi Province, China . 'The project is one part of a larger three part project on global food staples - rice, corn and wheat. I am currently in the process of shooting the corn segment. 'The industrialisation of our food and mono-culture food staples have interested me for some time so that's probably what inspired me to do this project. 'I shot the whole project using a Canon SLR and GoPros. The actual shooting took four months and then post production took another four more months. 'The reaction to my work has been incredibly positive - I was able to secure a solo gallery show and create quite a bit of interest online which has been great.' Family crop: A Hani woman in traditional clothing sits on top of her family's rice store in Yunnan Province, China . Arduous labour: Employees of Taiwan's state-run rice experimental station are pictured beating rice husks by hand as the sun shines on them . Mr Gable spent months learning Mandarin Chinese in preparation for his trip, but the language barrier was still his greatest challenge. In an interview on photographic blog  Slate, he added: 'I had enough Chinese that I could get around in the big cities, but once I got into the highlands or mountains they don't speak Mandarin. 'There are so many different languages in China. That was very difficult. There's no iPhone translation for these dialects.' Mr Gable is already working on a new related project documenting corn production and after that, he plans to do a similar investigation of wheat. The three projects together form part of his mission to inspire people to think about food and its origins in an enlightened way. A world away from modern life: A Hani farmer is pictured using hand tools to ready a terrace for planting rice in China's Yunnan Province . Muddy work: A solitary famer wearing a traditoinal Asian conical hat labours in a paddy field in lowland  southern China . Tough life: An elderly Chinese farmer is seen carrying stacks of rice shoots to be planted in a field . Manufacturing process: A rice harvester dumps raw rice into a catch vehicle in Taitung, Taiwan, where more modern equipment is utilised . Primitive: A farmer ploughs a field using a bull in southern China - using a technique introduced thousands of years ago . Way of life: A Guangxi province highlands farmer clears a paddy field as the sun sets in southern China . Prepared for distribution: A worker at a Taiwanese rice-production facility near Fuli, Taiwan stands in front of giant sacks of the crop . The photographer was determined to capture every stage of rice production from the planting and harvesting all the way down to the shipping . Rice Project: Scott Gable said he was determined to capture every stage of production from the planting and harvesting to the shipping .
highlights: The spectacular photos were taken at paddy fields in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia .
  Photographer Scott Gable spent four months travelling region to document the process of harvesting the crop .
  Rice accounts for one fifth of all calories consumed by humans but crop is often still cultivated in primitive way .
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