I believe that I am NEVER too young to start anything that strikes my mind at the first place. Do you believe so? Visionary sustainable agricultural leadership We all know where the sustainability of agriculture lies?  It’s clear that productivity of conventional agriculture won’t sustain. The resource saving agricultural system meeting the growing food demand ensuring nutritional and environmental safety with... More

“While the world was mourning the crash of crude oil price, the worth of Cocoa rose by 100% and practically no one took note!” – HIM Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife (Feb 7, 2016) “Sir, what exactly do you do for a living?” the young secondary school boy eagerly asked. “Oh, I am fully into the best, I... More

Indian agriculture is facing threat from various fronts including climate change, degradation of natural resources and volatile agricultural market systems. Green revolution in India brought food security through intensive use of water, fertilizers, agrochemicals and energy driven inputs. Such journey of agriculture growth impacted various section of farming community, and gradual reduction in agricultural income in comparison to the total costs... More

Agriculture surely is not in that list of dream jobs among young people. The lack of prestige and income generated in the field of agriculture makes it hardly appealing. The big deal is that, in the meantime, the agricultural labor force is aging - This is primarily due to the increased rural-urban migration of youth in search of stable jobs or... More

I was sitting at the front row during the FAO symposium on “The Role of Agricultural Biotechnologies on Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition” through webcast while holding my gadget and notebook, carefully listening to the discussions. International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences (IAAS) — one of YPARD’s partner — was honored to be invited in the student interactive... More

Growing up in a rural community in the southern part of Zimbabwe, farming became my passion and a major source of livelihood for my family.  I was really amazed with the surplus amount of produce we obtained despite the area being very arid.  I later decided to advance further with my education and enrolled for bachelors’ degree in agriculture at the... More

“So you’re a graduate student?” “Yes.” “Soooo, what do you do and how is it useful?” <three_sentence_summary_of_my_project> <insert_confused_expression_here> This is a familiar conversation starter, a familiar question, a familiar facial expression that many graduate students are challenged with when we meet someone new, are networking, or just trying to explain to our grandparents what we do every day of our lives.... More

Agricultural production provides income, employment and food at affordable prices as well as raw material for the processing industry and foreign exchange from exports. Creating a sustainable agricultural development path means improving the quality of life in rural areas, ensuring enough food for present and future generations and generating sufficient income for farmers. Supporting sustainable agricultural development also involves ensuring and... More

Recurring the past years up to now, the food security issue is being hot discussion among the unsolved global problems. Being as an academic student of food technology and a concerned youth, this subject has always been the matter of interest. I used to wonder how I will be able to join the discussion and make a significant contribution towards the... More

The professionals of 2050 We all have heard the big numbers: Estimations are that by 2050, 9+ billion people will walk this earth and they will all need to eat (CGIAR). Therefore, in combination with increasing wealth, FAO estimates that food production by that time needs to increase drastically, even up to a 100% in developing regions. So far the standard... More

“To be or not to be – that is the question”, wrote Shakespeare in Hamlet. But let me ask a more relevant question, “To Agri or not to Agri – that IS the question”. Countless scientists say that global population will reach 9 billion by 2050. If that is so, then the most practical question would be, “How do we feed... More

The State of Food and Agriculture 2015 makes the case that social protection measures will help break the cycle of rural poverty and vulnerability, when combined with broader agricultural and rural development measures.  According to 2014 Youth and Agriculture Report by FAO and CTA, Rural Youth are the future of food security yet around the world, few Young people see a future... More

As the topic of this year of the Third Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development puts it: No One Left Behind: Agri-food Innovation and Research for a Sustainable World, I want to be sure to involve all the people in any way possible to achieve a more sustainable world. No One Left Behind means that all the people no matter... More

An increasing proportion of the African children are completing primary school as compared to Fifty years ago (70% in 2011), and as they transition into young adulthood, most still face the challenges of unemployment and underemployment aggravated by their lack of relevant skills, education and limited access to land and capital to start their own enterprises. As a young man who... More

I live in Malawi, where 80% of the population lives in rural areas and depend on agriculture for survival. So agriculture is our back bone. Fortunately, I also graduated from the best agricultural college the country has to offer… Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. It has produced the best research and technology in agriculture but our farmers are still... More

When it comes to agriculture, farm and farmer are more concerned and residential area of village is forgotten, while when it comes to living place of farmers, arable land, gardens, livestock breeding ground, and other agricultural products are forgotten. It was always a question for me that why agricultural and rural issues should not be considered and solved together and why... More

Agriculture remains the gold in the hand of millions of people who appreciate and utilize this resource. For millions of farmers, getting their hands in dirt is never a problem irrespective of the incentives accruing to them in the process of feeding the world. Research has shown that a larger proportion of farmers feeding the growing population of the world are... More

Ten years ago this organization was born and it has spread to fast all over the globe which is called youth professionals for agricultural development (ypard). I had known it in the year 2012 and became member since then I knew many youths being engaged in the agriculture and agriculture development and the role of the youths. According to National Youth... More

I remember how my heart skipped a beat when I listened to Salina Abraham speak out on behalf of the youth last December in the closing keynotes of the Global Landscape Forum in Paris. She fervently defended the right of youth to be heard, to be inherently included in any agricultural and landscape research and, in short, to be part and... More

Young people constitute an important share of the population in developing countries, especially, in Africa where the estimated median age is under 19. Africa’s young population is not only growing rapidly, it is also getting better educated. Based on current trends, it is projected that over 137 million of the youth will have a minimum of secondary school education by 2030.... More