THINK ON THESE: BOUNTIFUL HARVEST

Now it can be told.  Five days after I arrived in the United States, I got an e-mail from the secretariat inviting me to attend the awarding ceremony of the 12th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards on November 16 at Fairmont Hotel in Makati City.

I was totally excited and surprised.  I know what it meant.  Unfortunately, I could not attend since I my return flight is still the last week of November.  And so, I suggested if my editor, Antonio M. Ajero, could represent me during the ceremony.

When it was approved, I immediately contacted AMA (that’s how we called Mr. Ajero; actually, it’s an acronym of his complete name).  But I cannot contact him and so I requested Bai Fauziah Fatima Sinsuat Ambolodto, our social media manager, to tell him.

To make the story short, AMA accepted it and so on the night of the awarding ceremony, he was there to receive the third trophy from the award-giving body launched by Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation (PMFTC), Inc. more than a decade ago.

“A five-part in-depth discussion about rice took home the top prize at the 12th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards Night,” the press release said. “Henrylito Tacio of EDGE Davao brought home the Agriculture Story of the Year Award for his series, ‘The grass that feeds Filipinos.’”

In 2014, I received the same award – for Best Agriculture Feature-National – for the article on swine raising which was published in Marid Agribusiness Magazine.  The following year, I got another award – for Best Agriculture Feature-Regional – for a 3-part series on possible solutions for forthcoming food crisis, which was serialized in EDGE Davao.

“Almost 600 entries competed for the chance to be called the best of the best in this annual competition that honors excellent stories and photos that are published, aired or broadcast in print, radio, TV, and for the first time, online,” the press statement said.

Ian Ocampo Flora, of Sun.Star Pampanga, won the Tobacco Story of the Year for his article entitled “Is tobacco the next ‘miracle crop’?” that talks about all the practical and commercially viable uses that are being discovered for tobacco.  This is his fifth award and so he is likely to join the elite group of Oriental Awardees next year.

Journalists from Northern Luzon swept four awards.

Wilfredo Lomibao, of Philippine Daily Inquirer, was adjudged winner of Agriculture Photo of the Year for “Pond Harvest.”  In his winning photo, he was able to capture fishermen in one of the fish ponds in Dagupan City which grow Bonuan bangus, a milkfish variety that has put this commercial center of Pangasinan on the country’s culinary map.

The Star Northern Dispatch‘s Erwin Beleo was named the winner for Tobacco Photo of the Year for “Chill Only,” which shows tobacco farmer, Josephine de Guzman, sewing tobacco leaves for a living in Barangay Patpata, Balaoan, La Union.

Baguio journalists took the regional categories as Hanna Lacsamana’s article, “Making farming viable for millenials” published in the Baguio Midland Courier was chosen as the Best Agriculture Feature Story-Regional and Baguio Chronicle’s Karlston Lapniten’s “Brewing enough coffee for the Filipino Cup” was named Best Agriculture News Story-Regional.

Mindanao (two from Davao City and one from North Cotabato) managed to receive three awards.

Aside from me, “Agri Tayo Dito” of ABS-CBN Regional was named Best Agriculture TV Program or Segment, for its four-part series on biotechnology.  Like Ocampo, it will be named Hall of Fame recipient in next year’s awarding ceremony.

DXND Kidapawan’s Malu Manar, a previous winner, was named winner of Best Agriculture Radio Program or Segment for the “Vermi Composting sa Urban Household” episode of the program, Bida Specials. The same program earned her an earlier award given by the Catholic Mass Media Awards.

Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas, of Business Mirror, made the same record he did last year; two awards, one for Best Agriculture Feature Story-National for “Fowl farmers’ fears persist 1 year after bird flu flare-up: PHL poultry raisers on ground zero still coping” and another for Best Agriculture News Story-National trophy (which he shared with colleague Cai Ordinario) for “Snapshot of rice-consumption data remains grainy as Pinoys grapple with supply, prices.”

Rappler‘s  Ma. Victoria Conde won the first ever Best Online Story award for “How beekeeping helped a Sorsogon coconut farm,” a story about a disaster-vulnerable and poor village in Bicol region that is now starting on the path towards resilience, food security, and sustainable economic growth with the help of “kiwot” bees.

“Tasked with the job of selecting this year’s winners was a panel of judges composed of some of the country’s most respected names in photo, print, broadcast and online journalism, advertising and fashion photography and members of the academe,” the press statement said.

Consider this formidable list: Dr. Isabelita Reyes, Marby Villaceran, Francis Abraham, Edwin Sallan, Jake Maderazo, Rem Zamora, J. Albert Gamboa, Sev Sarmenta, Pennie Azarcon dela Cruz, Ramon Osorio, Rina Jimenez-David and Alfred “Krip” Yuson, who was also the Chairman of the Board of Judges.

The Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Award I received is the fourth I harvested this year.  In March, I won two Binhi trophies from the Philippine Agriculture Journalists, Inc.  Last October, I got a Bantog award, given by the Department of Science and Technology.

I bring back the honor and glory to God for the accolades I got this year!

BRIGHT LEAF CELEBRATES A BOUNTIFUL HARVEST OF EXCELLENCE

A five-part in-depth discussion about rice took home the top prize at the 12th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards Night. Henrylito Tacio of EDGE Davao brought home the Agriculture Story of the Year Award for his series, “The grass that feeds Filipinos”.

The award was given on November 16 at ceremonies held at the Fairmont Hotel in Makati City. The other winners were likewise announced.

Almost 600 entries competed for the chance to be called the best of the best in this annual competition that honors excellent stories and photos that are published, aired or broadcast in print, radio, TV, and for the first time, online.

For Tobacco Story of the Year, SunStar Pampanga’s Ian Ocampo Flora was judged winner for his article entitled “Is tobacco the next ‘miracle crop’?” that talks about all the practical and commercially viable uses that are being discovered for tobacco.

For Agriculture Photo of the Year, Wilfredo Lomibao of Philippine Daily Inquirer claimed his trophy for “Pond Harvest”.  In his winning photo, he was able to capture fishermen in one of the fish ponds in Dagupan City which grow Bonuan bangus, a milkfish variety that has put this commercial center of Pangasinan on the country’s culinary map.

Erwin Beleo of The Star Northern Dispatch was named the winner for Tobacco Photo of the Year for “Chill Only” which shows tobacco farmer, Josephine de Guzman, sewing tobacco leaves for a living in Barangay Patpata, Balaoan, La Union.

Baguio journalists swept the regional categories as Hanna Lacsamana’s article, “Making farming viable for millenials” published in the Baguio Midland Courier was chosen as the Best Agriculture Feature Story-Regional and Baguio Chronicle’s Karlston Lapniten’s “Brewing enough coffee for the Filipino Cup” was named Best Agriculture News Story-Regional.

Just like he did in 2017, Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas brought home two trophies, one for Best Agriculture Feature Story-National for “Fowl farmers' fears persist 1 year after bird flu flare-up: PHL poultry raisers on ground zero still coping.”  Jasper shares the Best Agriculture News Story-National trophy with colleague Cai Ordinario for their story “Snapshot of rice-consumption data remains grainy as Pinoys grapple with supply, prices” both of which were published in the Business Mirror.

For Best Agriculture TV Program or Segment, Agri Tayo Dito of ABS-CBN Regional was named winner for their four-part series on Biotechnology.  While Malu Manar of DXND Kidapawan was named winner of Best Agriculture Radio Program or Segment for the “Vermi Composting sa Urban Household”  episode of the program, Bida Specials.

And finally, Ma. Victoria Conde of Rappler wins the first ever Best Online Story award for “How beekeeping helped a Sorsogon coconut farm”, a story about a disaster-vulnerable and poor village in the Philippines’ Bicol region that is now starting on the path towards resilience, food security, and sustainable economic growth with the help of “kiwot” bees.

Tasked with the job of selecting this year’s winners was a panel of judges composed of some of the country’s most respected names in photo, print, broadcast and online journalism, advertising and fashion photography and members of the academe.  They are Dr. Isabelita Reyes, Marby Villaceran, Francis Abraham, Edwin Sallan, Jake Maderazo, Rem Zamora, J. Albert Gamboa, Sev Sarmenta, Pennie Azarcon dela Cruz, Ramon Osorio, Rina Jimenez-David and Alfred “Krip” Yuson, who was also the Chairman of the Board of Judges.

Farmer, entrepreneur and social media celebrity Nico Bolzico was the evening’s keynote speaker.  PMFTC Inc. President Lawrence Chew also addressed the crowd to talk about the value of agriculture to the country and PMFTC’s commitment to helping this industry.

The awarding ceremonies, hosted by ABS-CBN anchor Tony Velasquez, saw a retrospective of past photo winners that provided a colorful backdrop for the performances by dancers Ea Torrado, Julie Alagde, and Biag Gaongen accompanied by Talahib People’s Music.

Valuing Farmers

Agriculture still is the lifeblood of the country, literally putting food on the tables of families. There are some 5.56 million farms here, 99 percent of which are operated by households or individual tillers. Clearly, agriculture directly affects the lives of a huge proportion of the population, and indirectly all the rest of us, at least those of us who eat, or who eat local.

But, strangely enough, for an agricultural country where farming, fishing and related fields like poultry raising and pig and cattle breeding are big economic activities, the Philippines doesn’t seem all that interested in agricultural issues. At least, judging from the content of our media. The only time food issues come to the fore is when food prices suddenly spike—as they have recently — and consumers begin to feel the pinch.

A fellow judge at the recent Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards was of the opinion that agriculture reporting isn’t popular because journalists consider the subject “boring.” How many times could one write about rice?

But the prizewinning entries in the competition this year, which drew a record of 600 submissions — prompting emcee Tony Velasquez to quip that “there is inflation, too, in Bright Leaf!” — prove that common belief wrong. This year’s Agriculture Story of the Year, “The grass that feeds Filipinos,” published in Edge Davao and written by Henrylito Tacio, is in fact about rice. It traced the history of rice production and importation here, triggered by the sudden rise in prices and the threatened shortfall in supply of our staple food.

With the exception of a few newspapers or news outlets, much of the agriculture coverage in the country is done by provincial or regional papers, where, noted writer Krip Yuson, who has chaired the Bright Leaf judging for many years, agriculture is truly a gut issue.

The award for Tobacco Story of the Year — “Is tobacco the next ‘miracle crop’?” — came out in SunStar Pampanga, written by Ian Ocampo Flora. And if you’re wondering why writing on tobacco got a special mention, that’s because the Bright Leaf Awards have been sponsored for the last 12 years by PMFTC, or Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp.

For the second time, BusinessMirror, one of only a few dailies of national circulation that devote major space to agriculture, won two awards in a single year. Young reporter Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas was honored with the best agriculture feature story, the same category in which he won last year. This year’s feature, “Fowl farmers’ fears persist 1 year after bird flu flare-up,” was actually a follow-up to his winning entry. It gave a human face and human drama to the fowl raisers affected by the mass culling of infected fowl.

Arcalas also won recognition, together with senior reporter Cai U. Ordinario, for best agriculture news story, National. “Snapshot of rice-consumption data remains grainy” focused on the murky data collection and interpretation of agencies tasked with gathering information that could better serve policymakers, legislators and the consuming public alike.

In case you’re wondering, the Inquirer did bag an award in Golden Leaf courtesy of photo correspondent Willie Lomibao, whose shot of jumping bangus churning the waters of a fishpond won as photo of the year.

Guest speaker at the awards night was Argentinian agribusiness investor Nico Bolzico, who, to the disappointment of many, announced that he wasn’t accompanied to the event by his wife (“It” Girl and actor Solenn Heusaff) nor any of his pets (I did miss his turtle Patato!).

But the social media personality was all seriousness talking about LM10, the company he put up with the help of his father to revolutionize the agriculture scene. The three major problems of the local agriculture sector, he said, were the lack of financing, the lack of clear benchmarks to determine right pricing, and the lack of dryers which could help rice farmers during the rainy season.

His prescription: Focus on high-value crops like tomatoes, potatoes and other vegetables and move away from dependence on rice and corn. Plus, reform the entire planting and distribution system. “Make farmers part of the value chain,” he urged.

Rappler Story On Sorsogon Bee Farm Wins At Bright Leaf Awards

The Bright Leaf Awards honors the most outstanding stories on agricultural issues and best farming practices.

MANILA, Philippines – A Rappler feature story on beekeeping in Sorsogon won top prize in the Best Online Story category at the PMFTC Incorporated’s 12th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards on November 16.

Written by Rappler contributor Mavic Conde, the article "How beekeping helped a Sorsogon coconut farm" highlighted the role of kiwot bee in making coconut farms more productive in the Sorsogon, and in uplifting the lives of farm owners and workers.

The feature article published on August 11 presented how beekeeping helped a particular farm increased its yield by as much as 50%. (READ: 11 fascinating facts about bees, the most important pollinators)

Conde said she decided to write the story to present a viable solution to a coconut production problem in the country.

“I hope that with the award, more people will pay attention to the story,” she shared.

With the cash prize she received, Conde pledged to pursue more stories to promote agricultural solutions.

Meanwhile, "How a peaceful community in Marawi thrives" written by a Rappler Mover Angelo Lorenzo earned fifth spot in the same category.

Lorenzo, one of Rappler's lead Movers in Cagayan de Oro, wrote a story that highlighted the "lives and livelihood" of evacuees in Barangay Bito Buadi Itowa in Lanao del Sur who were displaced by the 5-month siege in Marawi last year. (READ: MARAWI: 153 DAYS AND MORE)

Thanking Rappler, Lorenzo shared that correcting misconceptions is one of the reasons why he is pursuing community journalism.

“Regions, especially in Mindanao, contain vibrant stories that may correct misconceptions about the people and the place,” shared Lorenzo.

Committed to promoting and creating awareness on current agricultural issues and best farming practices, the Bright Leaf Awards honors the most outstanding and relevant stories in print, radio, and television. – Rappler.com

Inquirer Correspondents Win Bright Leaf Awards

A photograph that captured fishermen harvesting “bangus” (milkfish) in Dagupan City won for Inquirer photo correspondent Willie Lomibao this year’s agriculture photo of the year in the 12th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards.

Lomibao’s winning photo, “Pond Harvest,” was the banner picture in the Inquirer’s Regions section on April 12.

The Inquirer’s Baguio City-based correspondent, Karlston Lapniten, won best agriculture news story (regional) for his piece on “Brewing enough coffee for the Filipino Cup” that came out in Baguio Chronicle.

About 600 entries competed for the awards in the annual competition that honors excellent stories and photos published, aired or broadcast in print, radio, TV and online. —Gabriel Cardinoza

SunStar Reporter Wins Top Plum In Brightleaf Journalism Awards

SUNSTAR Pampanga reporter Ian Ocampo Flora won, yet again, one of the top categories in this year’s Brightleaf Agriculture Journalism Awards held in Makati City over the weekend.

Flora won the Tobaccco Story of the Year. This is Flora’s fifth win in the said journalism awards and is set to receive the Oriental Leaf Award, Brightleaf’s Hall of Fame Award, in 2019.

Flora was judged winner for his article entitled “Is tobacco the next ‘miracle crop’?” that talks about all the practical and commercially viable uses that are being discovered for tobacco.

READ: Is tobacco the next ‘miracle crop’?

The award was given on November 16 in ceremonies held at the Fairmont Hotel in Makati City.

Just this October, Flora was among this year’s winners of the Bantog: The Science for the People Media Awards given by the Department of Science and Technology — Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII).

Flora was conferred the regional media practitioner award during ceremonies at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. He is the lone winner for the said category.

Early this year, Flora won two major awards and a minor citation in this year’s Philippine Agricultural Journalists-San Miguel Corp. (PAJ-SMC) “Binhi” awards. He was awarded second place for Environment Journalist of the Year and third place for Agricultural Journalist of the Year and recognized for his articles in the field of environment, agriculture and climate change in 2017. Flora also won the Best Agri Story of the Year for his article “Water Crisis by 2025: Pampanga groundwater source in danger.”

READ: Regional water crisis by 2025: Pampanga’s groundwater source in danger

Other winners in Brightleaf Journalism Awards include the five-part in-depth discussion about rice, which took home the top prize at the 12th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards Night. Henrylito Tacio of Edge Davao brought home the Agriculture Story of the Year Award for his series, “The grass that feeds Filipinos.”

Almost 600 entries competed for the chance to be called the best of the best in this annual competition that honors excellent stories and photos that are published, aired or broadcast in print, radio, TV, and for the first time, online.

For Agriculture Photo of the Year, Wilfredo Lomibao of Philippine Daily Inquirer claimed his trophy for “Pond Harvest.” In his winning photo, he was able to capture fishermen in one of the fish ponds in Dagupan City which grow Bonuan bangus, a milkfish variety that has put this commercial center of Pangasinan on the country’s culinary map.

Erwin Beleo of The Star Northern Dispatch was named the winner for Tobacco Photo of the Year for “Chill Only” which shows tobacco farmer, Josephine de Guzman, sewing tobacco leaves for a living in Barangay Patpata, Balaoan, La Union.

Baguio journalists swept the regional categories as Hanna Lacsamana’s article, “Making farming viable for millennials” published in the Baguio Midland Courier was chosen as the Best Agriculture Feature Story-Regional and Baguio Chronicle’s Karlston Lapniten’s “Brewing enough coffee for the Filipino Cup” was named Best Agriculture News Story-Regional.

Just like he did in 2017, Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas brought home two trophies, one for Best Agriculture Feature Story-National for “Fowl farmers' fears persist one year after bird flu flare-up: PHL poultry raisers on ground zero still coping.”

Jasper shares the Best Agriculture News Story-National trophy with colleague Cai Ordinario for their story “Snapshot of rice-consumption data remains grainy as Pinoys grapple with supply, prices” both of which were published in the Business Mirror.

For Best Agriculture TV Program or Segment, Agri Tayo Dito of ABS-CBN Regional was named winner for their four-part series on Biotechnology. While Malu Manar of DXND Kidapawan was named winner of Best Agriculture Radio Program or Segment for the “Vermi Composting sa Urban Household” episode of the program, Bida Specials.

And finally, Ma. Victoria Conde of Rappler won the first ever Best Online Story award for “How beekeeping helped a Sorsogon coconut farm,” a story about a disaster-vulnerable and poor village in the Philippines’ Bicol region that is now starting on the path towards resilience, food security, and sustainable economic growth with the help of “kiwot” bees.

Tasked with the job of selecting this year’s winners was a panel of judges composed of some of the country’s most respected names in photo, print, broadcast and online journalism, advertising and fashion photography and members of the academe.

They are Dr. Isabelita Reyes, Marby Villaceran, Francis Abraham, Edwin Sallan, Jake Maderazo, Rem Zamora, J. Albert Gamboa, Sev Sarmenta, Pennie Azarcon dela Cruz, Ramon Osorio, Rina Jimenez-David and Alfred “Krip” Yuson, who was also the Chairman of the Board of Judges.

Farmer, entrepreneur and social media celebrity Nico Bolzico was the evening’s keynote speaker. PMFTC Inc. President Lawrence Chew also addressed the crowd to talk about the value of agriculture to the country and PMFTC’s commitment to helping this industry.

The awarding ceremonies, hosted by ABS-CBN anchor Tony Velasquez, saw a retrospective of past photo winners that provided a colorful backdrop for the performances by dancers Ea Torrado, Julie Alagde and Biag Gaongen accompanied by Talahib People’s Music. (JTD)