Philippine Information Agency IV-A
CALAMBA CITY, Laguna, May 28 (PIA) PMFTC, Inc., a joint-venture company between Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing, Inc. and Fortune Tobacco Corporation, brings the Bright Leaf Caravan to Laguna and encouraged local media practitioners to compete in the 12th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards.
As an agricultural company, PMFTC, Inc. holds Bright Leaf to recognize and honor relevant and outstanding agricultural news and feature stories that help raise the awareness and discourse on timely and critical agricultural developments, issues and gaps that needed to either be known or addressed.
There are eleven categories to which journalists may submit one entry each, as follows: (1) Agriculture Story of the Year, (2) Agriculture Photo of the Year, (3) Tobacco Story of the Year. (4) Tobacco Photo of the Year, (5) Best Television Program or Segment, (6) Best Radio Program or Segment, (7) Best Agriculture News Story-National, (8) Best Agriculture News Story-Regional, (9) Best Agriculture Feature Story-National, (10) Best Agriculture Feature Story-Regional, and (11) Best Online Story.
The Best Online Story, the newest category introduced during the program, shall be given to the best agriculture news or feature story that is published on an online news website.
Entries may be in English, Filipino, or any of the Philippine regional dialects; however, an English translation must be submitted along with the material that is not written in English.
Registration is free. The journalists and photographers who wish to join may submit their entries to more than one category but are not allowed to send more than one entry for each category.
The details of the mechanics for every category may be found by clicking the Contest Guide option in their website, www.brightleafawards.com.
Entries must be published, aired, or broadcast from September 1, 2017 to August 31, 2018. The deadline of submission is on September 1 of this year and it may be submitted via web, courier or email.
The winners who will be receiving cash prizes, iPads, and an all-expense-paid trip to an Asian country will be announced during the 2018 Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards in November.
The Best Agriculture Story of the Year will be bringing home P50,000 cash. Victors who would win for five consecutive years shall be bequeathed an Oriental Award.
At the launching of this year’s search, Josephine Costales, owner of the well-known organic farm Costales Nature Farm, talked about the success story of their farm and their best agricultural practices.
Department of Agriculture Region 4A (DA 4A) Regional Information Officer Patria Bulanhagui, on the other hand, discussed their Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) for CALABARZON region which concerns the farmers and the entire agricultural sector. (PIA4A)