The 9th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards has officially opened.

To get more entries, the Bright Leaf team will embark on a road show across key cities in the country to invite media practitioners to submit their entries.

For this year, Bright Leaf road shows will have special guests who will speak about agriculture issues in each region.  Veteran journalists and members of the academe will also share knowledge to help journalists improve their craft.

The Bright Leaf Awards honors the most outstanding and relevant agriculture stories published or aired on radio and television and celebrates the works of photojournalists who succcessfully capture the essence and the heart of the agriculture industry in the country.

Bright Leaf is the name given to Virginia Tobacco because it turns into a vivid yellow when it is cured with intense heat.  It is the variant of choice for manufacturing tobacco products and a most appropriate name for one of the most competitive agriculture journalism competitions in the Philippines.

Entries should be published, aired or broadcast locally between Sept. 1, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015.  Entries may be in English or any of the Philippine regional dialects.  The deadline for submission of entries is on Sept. 4.

Only one entry can be submitted for each category.  The categories are Agriculture Story of the Year, Agriculture Photo of the year, Tobacco Story of the Year, Tobacco Photo of the Year; Best TV Program or Segment, Best Radio Program or Segment, Best Agriculture News Story National, Best Agriculture News Story Regional, Best Agriculture Feature Story National, Best Agriculture Feature Story Regional and The Oriental Leaf Award.

For information, call the BL Secretariat at (0915) 5508301 or (0918) 4130797, email at secretariat@thebrightleafawards.com or visit www.thebrightleafawards.com.