PAJ marks 30th yr, sets Binhi Awards night on Sept 29

All is set for the 30th anniversary celebration of the Philippine Agricultural Journalists (PAJ) on Sept. 29 at the Camelot Hotel in Quezon City.

Main highlight of the celebration, which was originally set for Sept. 15, will be the awarding of cash prizes totaling P400,000 to the winners of this year’s Binhi Awards writing contest.

Sanny Galvez, PAJ president, said the Binhi Awards is a yearly project of the PAJ to promote agricultural journalism. It was conceived in 1978 "to give due importance and recognition to the vital role agricultural journalists play in national development."

This year’s Binhi Awards features nine categories: agricultural journalist, agri-best reporter, environment journalist, environment story, photojournalist, magazine, newsletter, information/media campaign and radio program. The committee handling this project is chaired by PAJ vice president for external affairs Noel Reyes of the Department of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary.

According to Galvez, the yearly activity is generating all out support from all sectors in the agricultural field. "This support," he said, "can only be interpreted to mean that there is unqualified trust in our association’s capability, integrity and fairness in the conduct of the yearly awards."

The members of this year’s Binhi Awards board of judges are Jose L. Pavia, chairman; and Antonio Antonio, former Agriculture Secretary Senen Bacani, Lysander P. Garcia and Dr. Felix Libroro, members.

Pavia is at present the executive director of the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) and editor-publisher of Mabuhay Newsweekly. Antonio, Manila Bulletin provincial editor, was former agriculture editor also of the Manila Bulletin. He was for six years the president of the National Press Club (NPC) and was also former president of the Confederation of Asean Journalists (CAJ).

Garcia was former agriculture editor of the defunct Philippine Daily Express and was also former business editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, while Dr. Librero, who was one of the founders of PAJ, is at present the chancellor of the Up Open University at Los Baños in Laguna.