The Global Winner portrays a young farming couple in the Philippines.
All winners of the photo competition were announced at the Global Dialogue on Family Farming on 27 and 28 October 2014 which took place at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. The prize winning photographers receive a certificate and a small cash prize. Most photos feature in a 2015 family farming photo calendar.
The winning photo was taken last September 2013 during the Rambutan fruit harvest season in San Pablo Laguna province. It reflects a farming couple having a rest during a long day of harvesting. Photographer Danilo O. Victoriano Jr. gave it the title ‘Harvesting the fruit of love’.
The international photo competition Family Farming: Feeding the World, Caring for the Earth took place as part of the2014 International Year of Family Farming. Over 1300 photos were received from all continents. An international jury consisting of farmer leaders and renowned artists selected the winning photos. At the same time, people from around the world also voted for their favourite photos, resulting in 5 Public Choices. Congratulations to all winners and a big thank you to everybody who participated!
The photos submitted to the competition speak to the great diversity and the special characteristics of family farmers -such as their connection with nature, the links they create between past, present and future, and their multifunctionality. The photos are a reminder of the need for greater political commitment to work side by side with family farmers in developing policies and practices that respond to their needs and aspirations, notably their access, rights and control over land, water and seeds.
The photo competition was organised by the AgriCultures Network and the World Rural Forum, in close collaboration with the Asian Farmers Association, La Via Campesina and the More and Better Network.
View all the winning pictures.
The winning photo
October 2014: The photographer of the Global Winner of the International Year of Family Farming Photo Competition is Danilo O. Victoriano Jr. Mr Victoriano comes from Antipolo City, in the Philippines. The winning image was taken last September 2013 during the Rambutan fruit harvest season in San Pablo Laguna province. It reflects a farming couple having a rest during a long day of harvesting. Mr Victoriano gave it the title ‘Harvesting the fruit of love’.
Message from the photographer:
“I am thrilled to have won the photo competition with this photo. I submitted this image because it portrays a happy scene in a rural setting. It reflects the Filipino spirit, that despite living in difficult conditions and doing hard work in the farm, family farmers find contentment and happines in their work. It also portrays how farming is an integral part of family life in rural areas.
In the Philippines farmers comprise the majority of our population. It is unfortunate that many of our farmers live below the poverty line, mainly because land ownership is monopolised by a few local landlords and multi-national corporations. What they receive for their hard work in the farm is not enough to provide them decent living wages”.
Mr Victoriano is 48 years old and has a job as an information specialist. Photography has been his hobby since 2006. He is part of a small team of advocacy photographers called Pitik Mulat Advocacy Photography: a venue for photographers to express their passion for social causes -be it environment, human rights, child welfare, etc. Mr Victoriano was awarded twice as Photographer of the Year by the Federation of Phillipine Photographers Foundation. And in 2010 he received the Aning Dangal award, given by the National Commission of Culture and Arts.
Mr Victoriano decided to donate part of his monetary prize of the Family Farming Photo Competition to a local grassroots organization.