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The Future of Farming

Pathways to Carbon-Neutral Agriculture

The theme, "The Future of Farming: Pathways to Carbon-Neutral Agriculture," of the 18th Photo Contest of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), is timely as agriculture face many challenges.

By 2050, the world will need to produce 70 percent more food and the demand is continuously growing as the population races toward 10 billion in 2050, says a UN report. Worldwide, around 800 million people suffer from hunger. And if things won't change, around 650 million (8%) of the world's population will still be undernourished by 2030.

In addition to these needs, the pressure to produce more is set in the backdrop of an intensifying climate change-related issues. Agriculture needs to thrive and be climate change-resilient while facing further challenges such less labor, less water, less agricultural land, lack of access to technologies, among other resources.

Workforce in agriculture is decreasing because expert farmers are aging and rural population are migrating to urban areas. Natural resources such as agricultural land and water are finite and in some areas, dwindling. Thus, farming has to go beyond "business-as-usual" agricultural production and operations. The goal goes beyond increasing productivity, it is about optimizing production in the midst of complex problems that touches on rural development, environmental, social justice, and food consumption outcomes (Pretty, et al, 2010).

Unfortunately, agriculture has a negative effect to climate. The share of food systems in releasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is estimated at 13 percent to 19 percent to the atmosphere yearly (Vermeulen et al, 2012). Another literature has an estimate of about 25 percent of the yearly GHG global emission (Rejinders, 2023). It is a well-known fact that GHGs are a primary cause of climate change, which are aggravating food and nutrition insecurity. Thus, agriculture has to be run differently with resilience and sustainability in mind through the use of advanced technology. The future of farming has to be more profitable, efficient, safe, and optimally environment-friendly.

This is where carbon-neutral agriculture comes in. The future of farming should be transformative so it can revolutionize the traditional farming by making environmental stewardship and sustainability the topmost priority. Simply put, it is a balancing act between GHG emission and its removal from the atmosphere, which should come out a net-zero carbon footprint. To achieve this, one needs to integrate this "balancing act" through sustainable farming practices aimed at reducing GHG emission and store more carbon in soil and plants. Aside from mitigating climate change, practicing this kind of agriculture hopes to help improve soil health, increase biodiversity, reduce water use, and produce better yields. Some of these practices include precise irrigation techniques, adopting renewable energy sources, and putting sustainable land management practices in place, among other things.

Therefore, this year's theme, "The Future of Farming: Pathways to Carbon-Neutral Agriculture," celebrates the innovations and solutions to the many issues and problems being faced by an Asian farmer in a sustainable and environment-friendly manner.

References

What to Capture

The 18th SEARCA Photo Contest (2024), with "The Future of Farming: Pathways to Carbon Neutral Agriculture" as this year's theme seeks images from Southeast Asia on agricultural technologies and practices that answer to the issues and problems in agriculture.

Photo submissions may generally include the following:

Agricultural technologies that have a positive impact to farmers and farming communities while conserving natural resources.

Technologies or practices that increase yield or income for farmers and farming families in crop cultivation, livestock or fishery while reducing wastes.

Agricultural practices or technologies developed by local communities or the youth using indigenous materials or tribal knowledge.

Specifically, this may also include:

Regenerative ways of farming production that promote technologies such as permaculture, agroforestry, organic farming, and peri-urban farming, among other practices.

New agribusiness models that introduce platforms for sharing assets (machines, storage, and primary processing; clusters to increase information flow across the value chain (certifications, direct marketing, and e-commerce- based distribution models).

Technologies that discourage waste or farm losses such as postharvest technologies.

Technologies and practices that make use of waste and by-products such as using them as feeds, compost, or have further use in nonfood value chains (bioplastics, etc.).

Biomass energy solutions such as anaerobic biodigesters to produce biogas and compost.

Use of renewable energy (solar, hydropower, wind) that can be used in agroindustry.

Biotechnologies in food production and preservation (e. g. bio-based polymers, fibers, construction materials, leather processing, etc.).

Food systems that promote local value chain, urban farming, and vertical farming practices so less use of fuel energy in the transport of produce. Hence, reducing CO2 emission.

Guidelines and Mechanics

  • The 18th SEARCA Photo Contest (2024) is open to all Southeast Asian nationals except SEARCA staff and their immediate family members.

  • All entries must be submitted via https://photocontest.searca.org during the submission period (18 November 2024–15 January 2025). A contestant can enter an unlimited number of entries for as long as these meet the photo contest specifications.

  • To minimize cases of plagiarism, the contestants will be asked to certify that:

    1. they own the photographs submitted and that they grant SEARCA full permission to use it in knowledge packaging, sharing, and advocacy related to SEARCA’s mandate. SEARCA shall ensure that the photographer will be properly credited for photos used, such as in print and digital publications;
    2. the photographs are original, have not won any previous photo contests, published elsewhere (whether print or electronic), or submitted as entries to any other photo contests during the 18th SEARCA Photo Contest period. The same or similar photos submitted to past SEARCA photo contests may not be submitted again; and
    3. that the photos have not been digitally altered and/or enhanced in any way other than simple cropping.

  • Entries must be digital, colored, in JPEG format, and at least 3,000 pixels wide for a horizontal image, or 3,000 pixels tall for a vertical image at 300 dpi.

  • Each entry should have the following details in English:

    1. photographer's full name, age range, and gender;
    2. photographer's country of origin;
    3. photographer's professional status;
    4. photo caption;
    5. place where the photo was taken (include township/municipality, province/state, and country);
    6. complete date taken; and
    7. other information that may be deemed necessary for reference purposes.

  • Winners will be notified via e-mail. SEARCA has the right to offer the prize to the next winning entry if the winner does not respond within two weeks after notification.

  • Winners will be asked to provide their bank information for cash prizes remittance; certificates of recognition will be sent by mail.

  • Remittance of cash prizes will follow any current SEARCA administrative / financial standards / guidelines (e.g., payout to Philippine winners will be in Philippine pesos to preserve the Center’s dollar reserves).

Criteria for Judging

40%

Relevance to the theme

30%

Technical quality*

30%

Impact

TOTAL: 100%

*clarity, use of tones and color, photographic composition

Deadline for Submission

All entries must be submitted online at https://photocontest.searca.org on or before 18 November 2024–15 January 2025 (GMT +08:00).

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Prizes and Special Awards

1st Prize

USD 1,000

2nd Prize

USD 800

3rd Prize

USD 600

SEARCA Director's Choice

USD 500

Philippine Department of Education Secretary's Choice

USD 500

Best Youth Photographer

USD 300

People's Choice Award

USD 300

Submit Your Entries

Kindly read our guidelines before submitting your entry.
Recommended web browsers: Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
Fields marked with asterisk (*) are required.

1. Your entry

Browse Image*
Maximum file size: 8 MB
...
Description*
Place taken*

Date taken*
Camera used*

2. Your profile

Enter your Profile ID
Enter your Profile ID to retrieve your saved information. If this is your first time submitting to SEARCA Photo Contest 2024, please complete the form below. For returning participants, check your email for your Profile ID, sent after your first submission.
Or input your personal information
Name*
Address*

Email*
Online portfolio

Link to samples of your work.
How did you find out about the SEARCA Photo Contest?*
Are you a professional photographer?*
 
Are you considered youth (18–35 years old)?*
Will be used in the judging of Best Youth Photographer award
 
Photo of yourself*

Maximum file size: 500 KB

3. Certification

  1. That I own the photograph, and that I grant SEARCA full permission to use it in knowledge packaging, sharing, and advocacy related to SEARCA's mandate. On the other hand, SEARCA shall ensure that the photographer will be properly credited for photos used especially in mass-produced print publications;
  2. That the photograph is original, and that it has not won any previous photo contest/s, has not been published elsewhere (print or electronic), and has not been submitted to any other photo contest/s during the SEARCA Photo Contest 2024 period. Furthermore, the same/similar photos submitted to past SEARCA photo contests will be disqualified;
  3. That the photo has not been digitally altered and/or enhanced in any way other than simple cropping minor adjustments on brightness, contrast, and saturation; and does not have watermark or any other mark in the photo itself; and
  4. That in case this photograph contains an identifiable child/minor subject, the child's parent/guardian has given me consent/permission (written or verbal) to use the photograph for the purposes deemed appropriate by SEARCA.

If you encounter any problems, email us at fotos@searca.org.
Note: we do not disclose your personally identifiable information to any person or company except where you have given us permission to do so or if the law requires it. Learn more.

Photo by: Joshua Mendoza, Anh Tuan, Arie Basuki, and Mark Albert Serrano