Within the next few days- starting from Saturday 12 December 2020, Africa’s chapters of the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) take up the baton to lead the worldwide forum dubbed the Global YPARD Café (GYC). The YPARD Café within the YPARD Country Chapters has been a platform for discourse by Young Professionals on key youth issues in sustainable food systems.... More

YPARD Africa is seeking young, innovative and fresh spirited professionals to take on the role of a Country Representatives (CR) and continue its work on enabling and empowering young agricultural leaders shaping sustainable food systems. In this call, we are looking for young people specifically from: Algeria Libya Morocco Sudan Tunisia In case you are from another country in the Africa region and we... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD Tanzania representative Peter Heri Mlay. Peter possesses professional agronomy skills which he acquired through experience in the field of agricultural development, academic and practical field training, as well as exposure to on-site research projects. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from the Sokoine University of Agriculture. He is currently working as... More

As youth all around the world celebrate the UN International Youth Day, it is a good time to reflect on the situation of youth across the globe and spread some hope. A good understanding of the challenges the youth face as well as how they themselves creatively tackle these challenges form a good basis for the congratulatory and encouragement messages on this great... More

We are proud to announce to the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) community that Laureene Reeves Ndagire, a member of YPARD Uganda has been listed as one of the speakers for the IFOAM – Organics International and the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF)’s Digital Forum: Food without Farmers. Laureene is an eminent young professional in agriculture who has a deep understanding... More

YPARD is delighted to welcome Gcina Dlamini as the Country Representative of YPARD Eswatini. Gcina holds a BSc in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management from the University of Swaziland, a Certificate in Business and Entrepreneurship from UNISA, a certificate in Business and Entrepreneurship Development from Oklahoma State University and a Certificate in Leadership Change from Cambridge University. He is also a... More

Reflecting on the year 2019, it is worth noting that the year came with great a pack of diverse experiences for members of the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) in Africa. As the curtain has been drawn on the year 2019, a walk down memory lane gives a clear picture of the goings-on in YPARD Africa upon which the prospects... More

YPARD is delighted to welcome Phidel Hazel Arunga as the Country Representative of YPARD Kenya. Phidel is a graduate with a master’s degree in Monitoring and Evaluation from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and a Bachelor in Environmental Planning and Management from the University of Eldoret. Phidel’s application stood out from the several applications submitted to the call for... More

After a successful end of term for the Tanzania representative, Juma Bruno Ngomuo, YPARD is looking for a passionate and dedicated young professional to take up the position of YPARD representative in Tanzania. To meet its goals, YPARD works with young professionals on a regional, national or local level to undertake activities at a more geographically appropriate level. YPARD is looking... More

Habimana Jean Claude is a science communicator with over six years of experiences in agricultural communication. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from the University of Rwanda. He was born and raised in Rwanda. At present, Jean Claude is a Cornel Alliance Global Leadership Fellow 2019 and he is looking forward to continuing his study in Masters in Agricultural Communications... More

Blessings Likagwa has a passion for farming. The 29-year-old farmer from Kasungu, Malawi was recently recognized by the 2019 MAIZE Youth Innovators Awards – Africa for his work using data from drones to implement climate smart improvements on his maize farm, and inspiring other local farmers to do the same. Blessings is the first ever winner in the “farmer” category of the awards.... More

Nelson Owoicho is a university graduate born and raised in Nigeria. He is a strategic communication and multimedia professional with years of cross-sectoral experience cutting across communication, agricultural development, social development, education, youth engagement and advocacy. He is currently enrolled with the International Institute of Journalism, Nigeria for a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism. Nelson holds a certificate in social sector... More

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) in collaboration with the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) hosting more than sixty young men and women, involved in diverse agricultural value chains, at the FARA Secretariat in Accra. The participants have been drawn from twenty-six countries across the region. The three-day workshop is being organized as part of FARA’s efforts to... More

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) in collaboration with the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) in December last year launched an essay competition. In this competition, youth articulated their experiences in youth engagement initiatives across the Africa region, including the context of agri-preneurship. This was with the aim of informing FARA and its partners better on how to effectively engage... More

Did you know that the Global Landscape Forum (GLF) which is the world’s largest, science-led multi-sectoral platform will hold an event in Ghana this year? Representatives from the Youth in Landscapes Initiative (YIL), the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) and the International Forestry Student’s Association (IFSA) met in Accra in the month of March to brainstorm and discuss what inputs would... More

In the past few days, the West African chapters of YPARD have been actively engaged in trainings on Technologies for Africa Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Capacity Development and Technology Outreach (CDTO) as spearheaded by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). TAAT is a framework developed by the Africa Development Bank as part of its current efforts to facilitate agricultural development... More

Effective and efficient solutions for increasing sustainable agriculture are important for Africa. This has become necessary due to the challenges posed by the ongoing rapid urbanization. The needed interventions are to safeguard natural resources while ensuring the availability of nutritious food as well as viable opportunities for the next generation of farmers in the agri-food sector. In this vein,  Young Professionals... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD Gambia representative, Haddy Ceesay. As a farmer’s daughter, agriculture has always been a part of her life. She remembers her father nurtured the passion and love that she and her siblings have for agriculture while they were very young. The family had a backyard garden and their father used to come home with farm... More

Après une fin de mandat réussie pour la représentante du Bénin, Fréjus Thoto, YPARD est à la recherche d'un jeune professionnel passionné et dévoué pour prendre le poste de représentant de YPARD au Bénin. Pour atteindre ses objectifs, YPARD travaille avec de jeunes professionnels au niveau régional, national ou local pour entreprendre des activités à un niveau plus approprié géographiquement. YPARD est... More

Nominations are now open for the 2019 MAIZE Youth Innovators Awards – Africa! These awards are part of the efforts that the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE) is undertaking to promote youth participation in maize-based agri-food systems. These awards recognize the contributions of young women and men below 35 years of age who are implementing innovations in African maize-based agri-food... More