Filipina-led group shines bright in global agriculture stage
Philstar Global
20 July 2025
A Filipina-led advocacy group seeking to educate the Filipino youth on how to address hunger and improve the nation’s food security recently made waves abroad after being recognized by two international organizations, including a unit of the United Nations.
Youth Uprising, led by 24-year-old Robyn Mijares, was awarded with a Special Mention by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its Champion Award category.
The FAO said it recognized the non-profit organization for its “intense engagement of young people in transforming agrifood systems.” The recognition was made during the week-long 44th FAO Ministerial Conference in Rome last June 28 to July 4.
The Champion Award is considered as the highest honor given by the FAO to its member-states, institutions or individuals whose actions have contributed in improving food security.
This year, the FAO conferred the Champion Award to Colombia’s Confederación Mesa Nacional de Pesca Artesanal de Colombia for its efforts in championing social protection measures for fishers and playing a key role in drafting laws against illegal fishing.
“These awardees remind us that transformation is already happening and must accelerate. Let us continue working hand in hand for the transformation of global agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable,” FAO director general Qu Dongyu said.
Mijares was also recently recognized as one of the young global innovators in agriculture this year by the prestigious World Food Prize Foundation.
Mijares, along with 38 other individuals which include scientists, farmers, policy advisors, entrepreneurs and humanitarians across 27 countries, was named to the 2025 Top Agrifood Pioneers (TAP) list by the foundation.
The awardees will be formally recognized by the World Food Prize Foundation at the 2025 Borlaug Dialogue in Iowa, US in October.
She is the lone awardee from the Philippines in this year’s TAP list. Mijares is also the second Filipina to be named to the TAP list by the World Food Prize Foundation since it was launched last year.
The foundation recognized Mijares’ efforts in “empowering” Filipino youth “to lead the fight against hunger through sustainable agriculture and education.”
“Her innovative model blends education, sustainability and youth empowerment making her a transformative force in food systems and a compelling candidate for the TAP recognition,” the World Food Prize Foundation said.
Mijares is the founder and CEO of Youth Uprising and Grow School Philippines that provides public school students with holistic and accessible agricultural and environmental education.
Mijares said she could not believe that what started as a school paper in her high school turned out to be an internationally acclaimed organization and a “vision” for the entire country.
The recognition by the two international bodies of Grow School’s mission of ensuring that Filipino youth will never go hungry is both “groundbreaking” and “powerful,” Mijares said.
“This moment does not feel like a personal achievement. It feels like a shared victory – for the Philippines and for the thousands of Filipino public school youth who have become a testament to what’s possible when young people are mobilized to lead our agriculture and farming sectors,” Mijares told The STAR.
Mijares said she remains committed to expanding the reach of her organization and works to more young people to drive change that creates long-term, lasting impact toward sustainable and innovative food systems.
“I hope to continue making my fellow Filipinos proud and to keep uplifting more youth, not just to feed themselves, but to have the deep desire to feed others as well,” she said.
“To revolutionizing agriculture in the Philippines — one school at a time, one student at a time,” Mijares added.
Grow School, which is considered as the country’s first bamboo-built, solar-powered farm school, has trained over 98,000 students across 42 public schools nationwide about climate-smart agriculture, agriculture technology and food security.
The farm school takes an “innovative” hands-on approach in teaching the students on how to address the country’s food system woes that is both “fun” and “engaging” for the youth.
The non-profit organization’s efforts are focused on achieving the sustainable development goals particularly zero hunger, sustainable cities, quality education and climate action.
Lionel Dabbadie, FAO representative in the Philippines, said the awards received by Mijares and her organization are “powerful” tools to inspire, connect and mobilize action toward achieving food security and nutrition.
Dabbadie shared that Mijares’ works were unknown to him when she sought his endorsement for the FAO Champion Award.
“I took the time to carefully review her work and I was immediately struck by the strength and potential of her initiative,” Dabbadie told The STAR.
The FAO official described Grow School as a “movement” that has the capacity to “reshape” Philippine agriculture as a “space of innovation, empowerment and relevance” for the Filipino youth. Unfortunately, Dabbadie said, agriculture is “too often” perceived as “outdated” or “unattractive” today.
“That is why Robyn’s recognition is so meaningful: it offers a new narrative. It shows that agriculture can be modern, meaningful, and deeply rewarding for the younger generation,” he said.
