BM’S BUMPER HARVEST AT 2019 ‘BINHI’ AWARDS

THE “Broader Look” that the Businessmirror promises has once again been delivered, if the outcome of the 2019 Philippine Agricultural Journalists-san Miguel Corp. Binhi Awards Excellence in Agriculture Journalism were any gauge.

The newspaper won seven awards, including top prizes in two major categories, and two new special categories in rites held at the Department of Agriculture on Thursday.

The paper’s Agriculture reporter Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas was hailed the country’s Best

Agricultural Journalist of the Year for the third consecutive year.

Arcalas, 24, was also adjudged as this year’s Best Agribeat Reporter, the second time in three years that he won the award.

The Businessmirror’s Agricommodities page, edited by Associate Editor Jennifer A. Ng, won the Best Agriculture Page of a Newspaper back-to-back.

Environment reporter Jonathan L. Mayuga bagged second place in the Best Environment Journalist of the Year. Mayuga also won for writing the Best Water Sustainability Story.

The Businessmirror Broader Look Team bagged the SL Agritech Best in Rice Reporting award for its investigative piece titled “Preand post-rice trade liberalization law, big traders gaming farmer groups.” The story, published in October 2019, exposed how unscrupulous traders are using cooperatives and farmers groups as their “dummies” to import rice and game the market post-rtl. It became the subject of an interagency investigation led by the DA.

The story was written by Arcalas and macroeconomy reporter Cai U. Ordinario, and edited by Senior Editor Dennis D. Estopace.

Arcalas and banking reporter Bianca Cuaresma won the award for Best Agri-financing Story for their Broader Look piece titled “Real transformation seen to boost efforts to finance PHL’S agriculture sector.”

The awards come a few weeks before the Businessmirror celebrates its 15th year.