SMC boosts support for agri journalism contest

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has partnered with the PhiIippine Agricultural Journalists Inc. (PAJ) to stage its yearly national agricultural journalism contest.

PAJ president and Philippine STAR business editor Roman Floresca said the sponsorship of SMC formally revives the Binhi Awards, to be renamed the PAJ-SMC Binhi Awards, which was first launched in 1978 and last held in 2010.

“We are truly humbled by the magnanimous support of SMC president and COO Ramon S. Ang,” said Floresca, who is serving his sixth term as president of the 38-year old group of mainstream agriculture editors, reporters, correspondents, and information officers and staff of government agencies and private sector organizations.

“SMC is always proud to partner with the PAJ. This year, we look forward to a bigger Binhi Awards. We believe this is an effective program that supports the empowerment of farmers, fishers, rural entrepreneurs and the agribusiness sector, in general,” Ang said.

This year’s contest offers bigger cash prizes for all individual and institutional categories, totaling P1 million, including trophies and administrative expenses, said Floresca, who designated Noel Reyes, PAJ vice president, as chairperson of the 2014 PAJ-SMC Binhi Awards committee.

The 2014 PAJ-SMC Binhi Awards features three major individual categories, namely: agricultural journalist, agri-beat reporter, and environment journalist of the year. The first, second and third place winners will receive P50,000, P30,000 and P20,000 cash prize, respectively, said Reyes, who was formerly information director at the Department of Agriculture, and now with Ploughshares Inc., an agri-based NGO.

The other individual contest categories are: agri photo journalist, agri news story, agri feature story, environment story, and agri broadcast journalist of the year. Winners will each receive P20,000 cash and trophy.

The institutional categories include: agri section of a national newspaper; agri magazine; agri newsletter; agri radio program; agri TV program; and agri info and/or media campaign of the year. Winners will each take home P20,000 cash and trophy.