The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has declared the winners of the 17th SEARCA Photo Contest (2023) themed "Regenerating agro-ecosystems, lowering 'global boiling'."
Bagging first and second prizes are photographs from Vietnam by Thong Nguyen and Pham Quoc Hung. While one showcases a traditional postharvest method and the other a mechanized method, both are sustainable farming practices. The 3rd prize photo is from Lao PDR by Saiyadeth Sitthilath showing youngsters keenly learning planting techniques from an elderly.
Meanwhile, the four special awardees feature innovations that significantly reduce the effects of "global boiling." The winning entries are from Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
The competition searched for images focusing on agricultural technologies and practices that help lessen climate change and promote less pressure on natural resources, recycle, or reuse by-products to reduce wastage, and with a low carbon footprint.
The first prize winning photo features rice farmers in Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai province of Vietnam, who practice the traditional production method of human strength to thresh rice and use wind power to clean rice.
The second prize photo shows harvested rice straws prepared to be processed rather than burned.
The third prize photo from Lao PDR shows youngsters' involvement in learning techniques for growing non-toxic plants.
The SEARCA Director's Choice Award was given to The Duy Tu's photo of farmers planting spring onions. They cover the beds with dry grass to keep the seedlings moist.
Christopher Andres won the DepEd Secretary's Choice Award for his photo featuring wind turbines, a renewable energy source for sustainable electricity.
Via online voting, Aung Chan Thar won the People's Choice Award for the photo showing Vietnam's tea plantations, which serve as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, thus helping mitigate the effects of global boiling.
Ravydo Anggara Jufri was selected as Best Youth Photographer for his photo showcasing an early warning system against frost disaster in Indonesia. This technology supports resilience in the agricultural sector by providing early information to farmers to take preventive action to protect crops and minimize frost's negative impact.
The winning photographs received cash prizes and will be displayed within the SEARCA building, shared on its social media and website, and featured in various SEARCA publications.
Now in its 17th year, the SEARCA annual photo contest is managed by the Applied Knowledge Resources Unit. Its 2023 edition attracted 793 entries from 215 photographers from nine countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
Six Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) center directors were given online access to select the first, second, and third prize winners from 49 finalists.
The judging ran parallel to the public voting for the People's Choice Award via the SEARCA Facebook page and the online selection for the Special Award winners by SEARCA Center Director Glenn Gregorio and Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines and Philippine Department of Education Secretary H.E. Sara Zimmerman Duterte.
