A Network that Every Young Person Dreams To Be Part Of

Allan Migwi is one of the YPARD Face to Face program mentee.At the occasion of YPARD 10 years, Allan tells how he got involved with YPARD, how the mentoring program has shaped up to become a strong YPARD component and how it has benefited him personally.

I first heard about YPARD through social media (Facebook to be precise) after my classmate tagged me in a post in March, 2015. I then checked the website, submitted my profile and enrolled as a member on the same day!

YPARD’s work, especially in capacity building, is essential in ensuring that the youth, who are the largest percentage of the world’s population, engage in productive agricultural activities and direct their massive energy into innovative technologies to boost agricultural production.

Personally I think the pilot mentoring program currently ongoing in Kenya, with the pioneer 15 mentees set for graduation in June this year, is one of the most successful achievements of YPARD in my time. My YPARD mentor, Dr. Franklin is now a personal friend, who has impacted positively in my life as well. I must congratulate the mentoring coordinator- Michelle for a job well done!

YPARD has influenced the way I network, the way I take agriculture, and has helped me embark on a lifetime journey in capacity building, to help youth in East Africa embrace agriculture and use it as a tool to effectively mitigate unemployment and positively contribute towards the growing economy. 

I dream of a future YPARD that is more proactive, more practical, and more facilitative and has proper monitoring and evaluation strategies. 

It’s said that a person may need a doctor once a year, an engineer once every three months, but a farmer at least three times a day. I want to see YPARD reach more countries and impact agriculture with magnitudes measurable on a global scale. Let’s make YPARD a network every young person dreams to be part of!

Allan is a mentee in YPARD’s pilot mentoring program. Read more about how mentoring has helped him register his company and participate in conferences.

Celebrate YPARD 10 years with us; stay tuned at www.ypard.net/10years