"Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society's margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies." -- Kofi Annan – Supporting youth... More

Inspired by the rapid development of affordable ICT tools, precision agriculture and precision technologies are gaining more and more space in agriculture, worldwide. In the following blog, a young Hungarian farmer, who is a practitioner and an expert on this topic, shares his journey with us on how he became a consultant on precision farming. “During my studies on agricultural engineering, I... More

YPARD Germany is seeking for a young, innovative and fresh spirited professional to take on the role of a Country Representative (CR) and continue its work on youth in agriculture! Being a CR is a unique opportunity for you to be more active with fellow young professionals in agricultural and related fields in Germany as well as with the global YPARD... More

YPARD Belgium is seeking for a young, innovative and fresh spirited professional to take on the role of a Country Representative (CR) and continue its work on youth in agriculture! Being a CR is a unique opportunity for you to be more active with fellow young professionals in agricultural and related fields in Belgium as well as with the global YPARD... More

The Young Professionals for Agricultural Development network “YPARD” has for several years started its work in support of young professionals in the field of agriculture, supporting them to have a stronger voice this way. YPARD has done this through various mechanisms such as: organizing various workshops, providing different information for professional youth in the field of employment, various scholarships, information to... More

If you are someone coming from a developing country, it is highly possible that as a child you never said or heard a kid saying ‘when I grow up I want to be a scientist’. It does not matter how much of a big imagination the kids have, they will not want to be a scientist. When asked “what do you... More

The human population in the world by 2050 is predicted to be more than 9 billion leading to a high demand for food arable land (soil) and subsequent decrease in water resources.  In the future, agriculture will face many challenges such as inefficient utilization of water and land resources, global climate change, lack of alternatives to the chemical use of pesticides... More

More than three hundred representatives from fifty-four countries gathered in Beijing to attend the 3rd Asian-African Youth Festival 2018 held in Beijing, China from 12 to 16 September, 2018.  This year the host of this event were Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CCYLC), All-China Youth Federation (ACYF), Asian Youth Council and the organizer was China Youth Center... More

On the occasion of the International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers: Unlocking the potential of agricultural innovation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, an interactive session with youth will be organized by FAO in collaboration with Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD). It will allow youth to identify and convey key messages on the role of innovation in agriculture in shaping... More

Innovation is the best practice for development in the society.  When malnutrition is the country`s major issue then innovative food products might possibly be one of the alternative solutions to explore. Rice is the main staple food in Bangladesh. It is the major source of energy especially by supporting the carbohydrate and protein requirements for not only Bangladeshi people including many... More

Starting our journey from Lamjung Climate Convergence (LCC)  and Nepal Climate Convergence (NCC), the Youth Champions for Climate Change (YCCC), Institute of Forestry, Pokhara group have done various ground action campaigning like poster competition, Plantation and awareness program about climate change in different schools and children homes. Recently, we organized a 3-days long workshop on climate change on September 6 - 8... More

Youth are the future of food security. Yet around the world, few young people see a future for themselves in agriculture or rural areas. The average age of farmers is on the rise and there is little prospect for younger generations to replace ageing farmers, resulting in what is referred to as the "generation gap". Challenges are multidimensional and require interventions... More

Today commercial farming is gradually picking up in most developing countries. Unlike subsistence farming, the expectations to generate enough income and revenue from farm sales is high in commercial farming. However, this comes at the expense of high investments in the farming business. In farming as a business, there is need for capital: both starting and working capital. This is where... More

Agriculture in Nigeria is the most important sector of the economy from the standpoint of rural employment, sufficiency in food and fibre, and export earning prior to the discovery of oil. he above assertion is based on the fact that as at independence in 1960, little was known of petroleum as a source of revenue for the Nigerian economy. There was... More

The world is facing a lot of challenges with food security as a result of climate change, low farm productivity and the global growing population despite advancements in technology. In Africa, we have a serious challenge confronting us known as post-harvest losses which account for more 30 percent of foods wasted according to the food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2013 reports.... More

e-Agriculture caught up with the new YPARD Director Mr. Yemi Adeyeye and interviewed him on a number of issues affecting the youth in agriculture and especially in Africa. e-Agriculture: Congratulations for the appointment to Director YPARD, could you briefly introduce yourself? Yemi:  First, many thanks for granting me this interview opportunity. My name is Yemi Adeyeye, a Nigerian national. My education... More

The continent of Africa is blessed with abundant natural resources and large expanse of cultivatable farm lands that support the growth of both Food and Cash Crops. The inhabitants of the western part of Africa where known in the past as the food basket of the continent, where large plantation of different agricultural crops are cultivated,harvested and even exported to the... More

Four years ago, we coordinated our first mentoring program. We were working on the youth engagement component of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) taking place in Lima, Peru, focused on building the skills and knowledge of the many students and young professionals who were there to engage in these high-level science-policy discussions. For many of these youth, the GLF was their... More

The United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all (UN) member states in 2015 provides a generally agreed game plan to achieve sustainable peace and prosperity for people and the planet. The SDGs has similarity with the recently phased out Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) having its first goal to “eradicating extreme hunger and poverty”. The SDGs equally adopted the... More

?Opinion: Consolidating youth voices in agriculture  By Raymond Erick Zvavanyange  Youths have diversified agriculture, thanks to information and communication technologies (ICTs) which are leading numerous initiatives. Youths are benefiting through start-ups, mobile communities, and through a voice. The voice is precisely a lobbying and advocacy when it’s well-intentioned. Fifty or so years ago, lobbying or advocacy was likely a policy maker’s... More