PhilRice, through its Development Communication Division, won three major 2007 Binhi Awards, which is a prestigious yearly contest done to pay tribute to the agricultural journalists’ excellence and commitment in bridging the gap between research laboratories and end-users sponsored by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc. (PAJ).

Not only that, it was also one of the finalists (Category D – Information and Promotion Films) in the prestigious 24th International 2007 AGROFILM Festival in Nitra, Republic of Slovakia.  

Indelible mark

PhilRice won the PAJ Hall of Fame Award for its quarterly publication, PhilRice Newsletter. The monthly publication won the Agricultural Newsletter of the Year Award in 2002, 2004, and 2006.

The PAJ cited the PhilRice Newsletter as “indelible mark in the field of agricultural journalism, particularly in regularly informing its personnel, clientele, and general public on the agency’s breakthroughs and program initiatives, thus contributing to the overall development of Philippine agriculture.”

PhilRice Newsletter thus joins Gintong Butil (Golden Grain), a publication of SL Agritech Corporation, and the Philippine Farmers’ Journal of the defunct Business Day Corporation, in the PAJ Hall of Fame.

The Boo! Boo! Rat Campaign, one of the PhilRice outreach activities for the Philippines, which carried the slogan, Palay mo’y ligtas, 24 oras (Your field is safe, 24 hours), also won the Best Information Campaign Award.

The campaign, jointly funded by PhilRice and the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC), showcased various rat management practices to lowland rice farmers. Started in the Municipality of Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija, the campaign is now being replicated province-wide.

The PAJ also named PhilRice consultant, Dr. Sosimo Ma. Pablico, Best Agriculture Journalist for 2007.

Dr. Pablico, who writes “The Roving Reporter” column in the Agriculture Magazine of the Manila Bulletin, was PAJ’s Agricultural Photojournalist of the Year (Manila Times) in 2004 and Agricultural Journalist of the Year (2nd place) in 2006.
 

Economic lifeblood

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo congratulated PAJ and its major sponsors and institutional partners, including PhilRice, for their “untiring efforts in projecting agricultural development in the national media.”

“Agriculture is the lifeblood of our economy…your efforts in promoting countryside development in agriculture, fishery, and environmental protection have contributed in no small way to our sustained economic growth,” President Arroyo told PAJ.

Media a vital partner

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap said “the media remains a vital partner in our continuing quest to improve the productivity and profitability of Filipino farmers, fishers, and other agri-fishery stakeholders, and provide our countrymen with quality, yet affordable basic food commodities.”

Secretary Yap also stressed that media’s “sustained reportage has continuously increased the awareness and appreciation of the general public on the major initiatives of government, the private sector, local government units, and other players to transform the Philippine countryside into a modern, sustainable, vibrant, and globally competitive sector.”

Aggressive R&D program

In congratulating PAJ for its Binhi Awards, Senator and former Agriculture Secretary Edgardo J. Angara stressed the need for “an aggressive R&D program to attain further development especially in the rural and agricultural areas of our country.”

On the other hand, Rep. Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra (2nd District, Palawan), Chair, House Committee on Food and Agriculture, lauded the agricultural journalists for “bridging the gap by translating those (agricultural) breakthroughs into a more understandable and useful information for our policy makers, legislators, business leaders, farmers, and fisher folks in the pursuit of a strong agriculture sector.”

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, the “Father of Biofuels Act of 2006,” reminded agricultural journalists that resource development and utilization have to consider the consequences of climate change such as extreme weather patterns that affect crop cycles, livestock health, and the survival of fragile ecosystems.

Slovakia festival

Meanwhile, the PhilRice corporate video titled “Our Best for Our Farmers” was a finalist (Category D – Information and Promotion Films) in the 24th International 2007 AGROFILM Festival held at the Slovak Agricultural Research Centre in Nitra, Republic of Slovakia on October 1-5, 2007.

PhilRice’s entry was selected from among over 100 participants from countries around the world. The festival focused on the theme, Bread and Peace to People. Experts from Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain, Israel, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland composed the selection committee.