11-year-old represents ARMM in nat'l agri mosaic tilt

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - A mosaic art poster from a public school in  Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao will be this year’s official entry of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to the national agriculture mosaic making competition in Quezon City, officials announced on Thursday.

The designer of the mosaic poster, 11-year-old Jessa Mae Bajan of the Tenorio Elementary School in Datu Odin Sinsuat, was among 10 children that participated in Monday’s art contest at the regional office of the ARMM’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) in Cotabato City.

The posters were made of indigenous materials depicting semblance of agriculture and fisheries to highlight the importance of the two sectors to nationhood, food and human security.

Kadiguia Rakman Abdullah, information director of DAF-ARMM, said Bajan will be accompanied to Quezon City by regional officials.

The national contest where the DAF-ARMM will submit Bajan’s poster as entry will be held October 10 at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Office of the agriculture department in Quezon City.

Last year’s contest grand winner, Abdulkadir Alamid, was also a pupil of Tenorio Elementary School, located in Barangay Awang in west of Datu Odin Sinsuat town in the first district of Maguindanao.

Alamid’s art piece was adjudged one of the “five best mosaic posters” submitted by regional offices of the agriculture department scattered across the country to the 2013 national mosaic poster making tilt. 

Makmod Mending Jr., secretary of DAF-ARMM, said he is thankful to the agencies and provincial offices of the department for helping facilitate this year’s art contest involving school children in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, and in the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The posters of two grade school pupils from Maguindanao’s Parang town, Kyla Shane Caniban of Making Elementary School and Kim Agrerain Agres of Nituan Elementary School, won as 2nd and 3rd placers, respectively, in Monday’s contest at the DAF-ARMM office.

The contest winners received special citations and corresponding cash prizes, P3,000 for the regional champion, P2,000 and P1,000 for the 2nd and 3rd placers, respectively, and P1,000 each to all other school pupils that submitted entries.

Mending said the champion in the October 10 national contest will receive P15,000 cash.

The cost of travel of the participating children from different regions to Quezon City, where the entries are to be judged shall be shouldered by the agriculture department.

Mending said the yearly contest is joint activity of the agriculture department and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as part of the annual observance of the World Food Day.