Happening annually is the showcasing of the best published agriculture stories, photos and broadcast reports at the 8th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards which is now open for new entries.

The Bright Leaf Awards gives the most outstanding and relevant agriculture stories in print, radio, and television. It honors the most compelling photos that captivate the essence of Tobacco farming the agriculture industry.

The project head of the Bright Leaf Awards, Didet Danguilan, is urging all the professional Filipino journalists who reside in the Philippines to join in the competition. It is also the way of sharing the success stories of the farmers to the public in any medium they use.

“Their stories need to be seen, heard and appreciated. The Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards is the best way to achieve that,” Danguilan said.

Below are the categories for the Bright Leaf Awards:

Agriculture Story of the Year
Agriculture Photo of the Year
Tobacco Story of the Year
Tobacco Photo of the Year
Best Television Program or Segment
Best Radio Program or Segment
Best National News Story
Best Regional News Story
Best National Feature Story
Best Regional Feature Story and
The Oriental Leaf Award.  Those who won in any category on the Bright Leaf Award for five years will be given this award. The Awardees will then become part of an elite group of individuals that make up the Bright Leaf Hall of Fame.

“We want to highlight the stories that enlighten and inspire our countrymen.  This is even more important now because of the recent typhoons and earthquakes that have greatly impacted the agriculture industry.”  Ms. Danguilan added, “This is one way to provide some light in what was a very dark time for the Filipino farmer.”

This contest is aiming to collect a larger list of entries than the previous years by reaching out to the tri-media practitioners from agriculture provinces to submit their articles and images.

The Bright Leaf Awards is entirely free of any charges. All entries is aired, broadcast or published from September 1, 2013 and August 31, 2014. The contestants can pass or submit as many stories as they can in any categories although there will be no story entered in more than one category.

The entries can be submitted in English or any Philippine regional language. For those entries that are submitted other than English, the participants are called for to provide an English translation.