The competition, open to professional and amateur photographers in both color and black-and-white, focused on the theme of the International Year of Rice, "Rice is Life".

Contributions from photographers reflected on the vital importance of rice to world agriculture, food security, society and culture. The IYR Global photography Contest Selection Committee met on 15 September 2004 to review and evaluate the submissions received from 53 countries around the world. The short list of nominees and the winners of the contest have been selected.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS Winners: 1st Prize: Mr. Vu Nguyen (Viet Nam) 2nd Prize: Mr. Alessandro Tosatto (Italy) 3rd Prize: Mr. Ko Zin Min (Myanmar) Short list of nominees: Ms Alessandra Meniconzi (Switzerland) Mr McLloyd T. Jumpay (Philippines) Mr Luca Rinaldini (Italy) Mr Jeffrey A. Austin (USA) Mr Guo Jiasheng (China) Ms Sharon Oliver (United Kingdom) Mr Enrico Mascheroni (Italy)	AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS Winners:* 1st Prize: Ms Meizi Ninon Liu (China) 2nd Prize: Mr. Chang Ching-Weng (China) 3rd prize: Mr. Md Rashid Un Nabi (Bangladesh) Short list of nominees: Ms Nathalie Dujardin (France) Mr. Kyaw Swar Tun (Myanmar) Ms Marie Guiot (France) Mr Zhang Guoqing (China) Mr Li Hecai (China) Ms Jana Marsikova (Czech Republic)
* The photograph originally chosen as the winning photograph in the amateur category has been disqualified for failing to meet the requirements of the contest. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

FAO recognizes that the photographers are the only copyright holders of the material submitted to the International Year of Rice Global Photography Contest "Rice Is Life". The photographers have given permission to FAO to use the material submitted to the International Year of Rice Global Photography Contest "Rice Is Life" only in the exhibition resulting from the contest and in all promotional material relating to the International Year of Rice. If you wish to use the material please contact FAO in order to forward the request to the photographers.

Nital s.p.a, the exclusive distributor of Nikon products in Italy, will award the winners with the following prizes:

Professional Photographers Category
1st place: Nikon D70
2nd place: Nikon Coolpix 5400
3rd place: Nikon Coolpix 5200

Amateur Photographers Category
1st place: Nikon Coolpix 4200
2nd place: Nikon Coolpix 3200
3rd place: Nikon Coolpix 2200

The winner of the First Prize in each category will be invited to FAO Headquarters in Rome where they will attend the Awards Ceremony held in connection with World Food Day 2004, 15 October 2004.

The best works sent to the IYR Global Photography Contest "Rice is Life" will be displayed at an exhibit in Rome in October 2004. Details of this event will be published on the website as they become available. Please check back again later to learn more about this upcoming exhibition.

1. Dr. Nguu Van Nguyen (Chairman)
   Executive Secretary of the International Rice Commission (IRC)
   
2. Mr. Noël De Luna
   Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Rome, representing the Informal International Working Group
   
3. Ms Concepción Calpe
   Senior Commodity Specialist, FAO Basic Foodstuffs Service, representing the FAO Organizing Committee for IYR
   
4. Ms Sheila Mckinnon
   Photographer
   
5. Ms Sherri Dougherty
   Photo Editor at FAO
   
6. Mr Francesco Zizola
   Photographer
   
7. Ms Grazia Cecconi
   Art Director
   
8. Mr Massimo Mastrorillo
   Photographer