YPARD Switzerland, Event 26.06.2013 “This is all about having fun together”, says Bastiaan Frich, initiator of the Permaculture-Community Garden Landhof Project in Basel while our small group of interested people is following him through the Landhof garden. On a run-down concrete parking ground he planned and builds together with Dominique Oser the Landhof garden in the middle of a series of... More

Majority of the small holder farmers are from developing countries and it is important to make the actionable information reach them in time. The farmers in the villages are struggling for the advisory and critical information related to the farming and allied activities. Most of the farmers still believe in the conservation methods of farming and the new technology information in... More

National Rice Day in Nepal is celebrated every 15th of Asar according to Nepalese calendar which coincides with 29th June. This day holds a big importance in the  lives of farmers and also of the general people in Nepal. Rice being the staple crop of most of the people living in Nepal, this crop is the major crop and is also... More

Years ago, I asked a friend whose father was first an agriculturist before becoming a politician (a serving senator) how his father got rich, and he told me pointedly that “through farming”. Ever inquisitive, I asked “How?” and his response was “Bunmi, if you go into real agriculture, though you might struggle for some time, but once you become established then... More

Everyday, 20,000 children die from starvation related causes in the third world. That is five 9/11?s each and every day. They key to unlocking the potential for society’s progress is to provide youth with learning and development experiences that reinforce necessary values and personal growth in addition to practical skills and knowledge. Studying isn’t enough; practical experience should come right along... More

You will enjoy the World Farmers' Organisation Newsletter for June 2013: a series of articles about youth by youth from all around the world, telling their experience in agriculture! The magazine explores young farmers' situation in global context. We then go through several cases of young professionals in agriculture in France (with the AFDI - agence francaise de développement), Argentina, Uganda,... More

I have been travelling to Ghana and Burkina Faso to visit two ILRI Research fellows whom I am supervising. They are currently finishing their data collection in the field with the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food’s Volta2 project. Our aim is to gather data that will help us validate a model useful for the impact assessment of innovation platforms.... More

YPARD Country Representative for Cameroon, Divine Ntiokam, after a number of consultations, trainings and advocacy at national, regional and global level has been able to create awareness in Environmental Sustainability through agricultural forums among young professionals. He came to a conclusion that in order to support the United Nations Secretary General`s term of office in regards to redesigning a new framework... More

YPARD has been working to engage youth in the decision making processes in the agricultural development sector. Bringing youth representatives to boards, steering and advisory committees is one way of ensuring that youth are an active part of the sector and to encourage youth involvement in programme development.  We are thus, pleased to report that the Global Forum for Agricultural Research... More

Hello "YPs" in AR4D in India, You may be aware that during National workshop on 'Foresight and Future Pathways of Agricultural Research Through Youth in India' (FFPARTY) held on March1-2, 2013 at New Delhi, YPARD-India was re-introduced! YPARD-India is an initiave by and for Young  Agri-Professionals. It aims at better networking, strengthening linkages and knowledge sharing between different Agri. Professionals including... More

For some 200 million Africans fish is the main source of animal protein. This is one third of the continent’s population.  10 million Africans, many of them artisans, are directly depended on fisheries for their livelihoods. On top of this, fish is one of Africa’s prime export products, contributing significantly to some of the national economies. These facts alone should make... More

Next time you pass by a surface run-off, stream or polluted river with its heavy load of human, domestic, industrial and municipal waste, instead of covering your nose to ward off the stench you will do well to observe the kind of wastes in those waters, because a sizeable portion (20% global average) of what you eat come from plants irrigated... More

Centre for Sustainable Development's special June Newsletter on the Best New Resources for Adaptation, Resilience and Sustainability presents best international resources on climate change, climate smart agriculture, smallholder value chains, health and water. Centre for Sustainable Development encounters so many excellent nonprofit, climate change, DRR and development  resources that we periodically compile them in a special issue newsletter. Access and download these resources. June... More

"Agricultural development depends on innovation. Innovation is a major source of improved productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth throughout advanced and emerging economies, and plays an important role in creating jobs, generating income, alleviating poverty, and driving social development. If farmers, agribusinesses, and even nations are to cope, compete, and thrive in the midst of changes in agriculture and economy, they must... More

With more than 200 million people aged between 15 and 24 years (comprising over 20% of the population and 70% of the population being under 30 years old), Africa‘s future seems bright. Young people usually bring new skills and abilities to the table, and tend to be highly competitive into sectors that use innovative technologies (such as ICT, social media or even... More

As we saw in the past, there are many more rules, laws, conventions are made for protecting the environment but there is no effective implementation . For this implementation youth play a vital role. Young people constitute a large part of the world’s population and young people will have to live longer with the consequences of current environmental decisions than will... More

This article on Michael Osei, the YPARD Ghana representative was orginally published by CTA in Spore Magazine, No 164, June-July edition, which can be found here.  In Africa, young agricultural researchers in the public sector face many obstacles. Despite their passion, they are often tempted to leave institutional research centres to join private companies, or even work abroad. Yet, public-private partnerships... More

The Association of African Business Schools (AABS) and Agri business Consortium (AAC) lunched the Agri Business Management Programme (AgMP) at the Lagos Business School (LBS), in Lagos-Nigeria on Tuesday, 7th May, 2013. Various stake holders were present: Policy makers, Agri-business men/women, NGOs and Youths. I also was present as one of the participants representing YPARD, the Young Professionals’ Platform for Agricultural... More

The concept of agricultural innovation has been the most intriguing and interesting subjects in Africa for several reasons. Firstly, most African countries still grapple with acute poverty and food insecurity. Yet, Africa has the best resources for agriculture i.e. good land for agricultural production and hard working people. Secondly, Africa has a burgeoning young population which is expected to be innovative... More

I would like to share my good news to all YPARD members, and also show my great gratitude to YPARD. I had got the chance for summer school "Sustainable Agriculture and the World Food System" held by World Food System Center, ETH Zurich, August 11th - 25th 2013, in Rheinau, Switzerland. I noticed this summer school application call on www.YPARD.net in April,... More