Evoking a hopeful future full of life, predominantly green-colored images bagged the top awards in the recently concluded SEARCA Photo Contest 2024, which was launched in November 2024.
Themed "The Future of Farming: Pathways to Carbon-Neutral Agriculture," the 18th run of the annual SEARCA Photo Contest awarded the first prize (USD 1,000) to Jayson Berto of the Philippines for his entry featuring a university student inside a hydroponics tower garden. The urban gardening practice, a sustainable farming system, is gaining traction as it responds to dwindling land and water resources.
"Crop growing is cooler with the hydroponics tower garden of the Central Luzon State University students!" says Berto, alluding to the need to make farming more appealing to the youth.
The seven awards are composed of three major prizes and four special ones, which emerged from a series of grueling evaluation stages by experts in the fields of sustainable agriculture and ecology and professional photographers and creatives. SEARCA received a total of 653 entries from 166 amateur and professional photographers across eight Southeast Asian countries.
The second prize by Klienne Eco of the Philippines showcased a long stretch of solar panels alongside a lush paddy rice field. According to Eco, "The development of solar irrigation technology is bringing about a bright future for agriculture in the Philippines. By replacing costly diesel pumps, our objective is to alleviate the financial burden on farmers and promote a more sustainable farming ecosystem."
Similarly, the third prize winner entry of the Philippines' Mark Linel Padecio is a symmetry of container gardening, another urban gardening practice. "This approach empowers residents to grow their own food at home, ensuring access to fresh produce even amid food shortages," explains Padecio. The photographer adds that container gardening is an environmentally conscious practice as it repurposes used containers, such as plastic bottles, boxes, or old pots, reducing plastic waste.
The special award SEARCA Director's Choice was given to an entry by Kyaw Zay Yar Lin of Myanmar. Kyaw says that the duck breeders cum fishers in the photo use natural methods for their livelihood.
Another Myanmar national, Min Min Zaw, has an entry that was chosen by the Philippine Department of Education Secretary for his special choice award. The seemingly bejeweled spectacle of night fishing "highlights traditional fishing practice and the connection between the fishermen, the lake, and the cosmos," muses Min.
The People's Choice Award was bagged by another Myanmar national, Aung Chan Thar, featuring a flower farm in Vietnam. "The intricate network of waterways and floating gardens provides a model for how we can cultivate…while minimizing our (negative) impact on the environment," says Aung.
Last but not least, Indonesian Rahmad Himawan was adjudged as the Best Youth Photographer for his entry of an aerial shot of a vast green rice field. "The atmosphere and natural beauty of the countryside in the morning, with mountains and rice fields in North Bengkulu Regency, Indonesia," he captioned his entry.
The yearly SEARCA Photo Contest is launched with a timely theme, which aims to raise greater awareness on the issues and concerns surrounding agriculture and development in the Southeast Asian region. It curates images from various nations of the 11 countries of the region, showcasing the current situations and trends from food production to food consumption, alongside the living conditions of those involved in the food chain.
The SEARCA Photo Contest 2025 will be opened this coming September 2025.