BRIGHT LEAF AWARDS

Congratulations to Cherry Ann Lim and Liberty Pinili for garnering top honors during the 2014 Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Manila on Nov. 27. Their three-part series on overfishing in the Visayan Sea won the Agricultural Story of the Year award.

Paul Riley, president of PMFTC, Inc.,which sponsors the annual writing and photography competition, said the Bright Leaf Awards are aimed at raising public awareness on the agriculture sector that comprises 30% of the country’s labor force. The company’s external affairs director, Bayen Elero-Tinga, said this year the contest organizer obtained the most number of entries in its eight-year history after holding road shows in major agricultural regions nationwide.

Among the bumper crop of entries were news articles on the vanishing breed of carabaos in Pangasinan and the cold snap in Cebu; a feature story on integrated pest management; as well as Harley Palangchao’s shot of frost-covered cabbages in Benguet that was adjudged the Agricultural Photo of the Year for 2014.