Nigeria cultivates a large array of food and cash crops among which rice has emerged as the fastest growing sub-sector and a popular staple food, especially for urban dwellers. Rice is cultivated in virtually all of Nigeria’s agro-ecological zones. These versatile attributes make it a unique crop with various potentials for enhancing productivity, thus this had made rice to be specially... More

We are delighted to welcome our very first YPARD Country representative for Kosovo: Hana Voca. Hana has a degree in Horticulture from the Ege University, Turkey. After finishing her studies, Hana went to Italy to carry out a master program on organic agriculture at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari. Her bachelor graduation thesis was titled “Contemporary Forms of Slavery in... More

Five employers participated to the YPARD and Agrinatura Career Fair, held on 16, September 2014, on the sideline of the Tropentag at CULS (Czech University of Life Sciences), Prague. They were representing different stakeholders:  the Czech NGO: "people in need", the GRET, Myelen: a microfinance/microcredit agency, Superior: a seed company in Serbia, IFAD: the International Fund for agricultural development.  They mentioned... More

Young Professionals from different regions of the world were invited to share their experience of job hunting, during the YPARD and Agrinatura Career Fair, held on 16, September 2014, on the sideline of the Tropentag at CULS (Czech University of Life Sciences), Prague. "I didn't apply for many jobs; I wanted to keep a focus, target and apply for those jobs... More

YPARD Community was solicited to share their “employability tips” through E-discussions prior to the YPARD and Agrinatura career fair, September 16, Prague. What were the “musts” during your job seeking?What was the “secret” of your success in getting employed?What are the strong points your manager appreciate the most of you? “There are three key aspects to take in account: You, Your... More

Exploring how to match the needs and the resources of the job market; this was the purpose of the YPARD and Agrinatura Career Fair, held on 16, September 2014, on the sideline of the Tropentag at CULS (Czech University of Life Sciences), Prague. The fair gathered a majority of Master and Phd students, some young professionals and employers and university professors.... More

What are zeolites? Zeolites are microporous crystals, typically consisting of the elements of Earth’s crust: silicon, aluminium and oxygen, what makes them strong materials - in essence nanoporous rocks. Their pores are of molecular dimensions thereby providing size and shape selectivity for guest molecules. Zeolites are formed from SiO44- and AlO45- tetrahedra linked through the shared oxygen atoms. Thus formed rigid... More

Twenty young participants, sixteen countries represented; a swirl of passion, enthusiasm, dedication, drive, smartness and kindness all together - in brief: YPARD Europe very first face-to-face meeting. The goal of the YPARD Europe conference was to meet each other, to create synergies, to build stronger plans and refine concrete activities on national level, for each YPARD Country chapter, in the frame... More

What is it to be an entrepreneur? Being entrepreneur is about exercising “Freedom, Vision and Passion” – our panel of seven young entrepreneurs assert, during the YPARD and Agrinatura Career Fair, held on 16, September 2014, on the sideline of the Tropentag at CULS (Czech University of Life Sciences), Prague. Young people have many innovative ideas. At a time where precarity... More

Over the summer, I have travelled across the Western Hemisphere to visit two new ILRI Graduate fellows I am supervising. They are spending two-and-a-half months in the field to help us validate a model useful for the impact assessment of innovation platforms. This research is funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM). One student is investigating... More

In September 2014, the Senegalese Ministry of Interior announced that 600,000 Senegalese living in the country’s rural areas would need assistance after a shortage of rain this past summer. The month of May is a crucial time for sowing crops because the earnings from the harvest assist farmers in paying the education for their children, amongst other things. However, inadequate rainfalls... More

My name is Mariajose Silva Vargas, I am a Bolivian national currently finishing my internship in the Office of the President and Vice-President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Furthermore, I just graduated from Ghent University in Belgium with an International Master of Science in Rural Development (IMRD) degree.In June 2014 I went to four different cities in Côte... More

We are delighted to welcome our very first YPARD Country representative for Spain: Mariola Acosta. Mariola is an agronomist with a MSc. in Sustainable Agricultural Development from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and the University of Montpellier SupAgro, France. Her research interest focuses on gender analysis in climate change adaptation and more broadly on gender mainstreaming in agricultural development. Her other... More

Agriculture may be considered as the largest private enterprise in India which is largely dominated by small and marginal farmers. The Census of India: Economic Activity brings out that the Indian workforce is over 400 million strong, which constitutes 39.1 % of the total population of the country. The dependence on agriculture is brought out by the fact that out of... More

Family farmers are intrinsically linked to their communities and landscapes, transmitting knowledge, skills, practices and technologies from generation to generation. Yet at the same time, the ever-encroaching crush of urbanization and ever-increasing disparity between dwindling income and soaring expenses play a major part in the rural landscapes that are fading at an alarming rate. The global trend of a small family... More

An international seminar titled “Global changes and Pakistan perspective” with the theme “Climate, water and agriculture nexus: a futuristic approach to fight hunger” was arranged by the University of Agriculture of Faisalabad (UAF)’s Agro Climatology Laboratory on Tuesday 16th of September.  The Punjab Education and Law Minister, Rana Sanaullah said that the country was passing through difficult times as the floods had played... More

According to a recent report by Forum for the Future, a sustainability advisory nonprofit based in the U.K., “doing the right thing for our food system” by investing in good nutrition can reap significant financial rewards; however, stagnation can be incredibly costly. Their report, Nutrition: An Emerging Threat or an Opportunity? analyzed the financial risks of food manufacturers who make products that are high in fat,... More

YPARD is delighted to welcome Gwladys Mabah as YPARD new Web4Knowledge intern. Gwladys will be working some 15 hours a week remotely from Cameroon, on posting information on YPARD website and disseminating it through YPARD different social media channels -on Facebook page and group, LinkedIn page and group, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest-. Gwladys is a PhD student in Economics at the... More

Our guest author, Nadya Karimasari, a researcher at Land Research Action Network opens our brand new blogging series that shines a spotlight on young people’s views and recommendations on sustainable agricultural development. This series is part of an ongoing partnership between Farming First and Young Professionals for Agricultural Development. Discussions on the role of youth in agriculture tend to be oversimplified into agriculture being... More

An european young professionals' experience Young professionals are motivated and willing to bring ideas to adapt to change. They enjoy working as inter-disciplinary teams which is crucial in designing solutions that answer inter-connected development issues. Through YPARD: the international network of young professionals for agricultural development, they gain the credibility to represent the youth around the world within agricultural stakeholders' discussions.... More