The cocoa industry is vital to the development of Ghana’s economy as it constitutes about 1.8% of the country’s GDP. It is a major contributor to agricultural growth, employment, rural household incomes and macroeconomic stability. Despite its critical role, Ghanaian youth have been reluctant to engage in business within the cocoa value chain in the face of ageing cocoa farmers. This... More

Agriculture is key to long-term economic growth and food security. Increasingly, rural economic growth plays a critical role in Nigeria’s successful job creation, economic diversity, improved security and sustainable economic growth. Thus focusing policy instruments and private sector investments will ensure that the commercialization of agriculture includes technologies, financial services, inputs supply chains, and market linkages that directly engage youth and... More

Information and communication technology (ICT) evolves at lightning speed. It became part of our everyday life, so it is the very time to set them even more in the service of agriculture to compete for food and nutrition security. Continuing the series, started in 1997 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the actual 12th EFITA conference was held in Rhodes Island, Greece, between 27-29... More

The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) is an umbrella organization that is aimed at leading, uniting and assisting the organic movement worldwide with its full diversity. Staying true to its core values IFOAM Organics International organizes an Organic Leadership Course (OLC) every year. Each year the organizers choose a new country connected to organic agriculture. In 2019, the OLC was... More

Out of my desire to acquire new knowledge and skills, and my quest to understand the nitty-gritty of integrated farming systems, I and my colleagues recently embarked on a week-long sojourn to Songhai Integrated Production and Training CentreThis is a farm nestled in a 22-hectare parcel of land in the Ouando neighbourhood of Porto Novo, the Republic of Benin. Established in... More

In a bid to ensure a diverse representation of young people in various executive meetings and committees YPARD has nominated Kristina Kuznetsova as the new YPARD Representative in the European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD) management team. What is the European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD)? EFARD is an umbrella network of European research and non- research... More

In the spring of 2018, select YPARDians came together at the Czech University of Life Sciences to deliberate on the strategic direction YPARD should take. Part of those discussions centred on the governance structure of YPARD and the dire need for a review as highlighted in the YPARD 2017 external review. The Charter was last revised in 2014 and we have seen a... More

At YPARD, we believe in structures that renew themselves and leadership that evolves in accordance with the network governance. In April 2019, the Steering Committee (SC) members met to choose the next SC team members. The only eligible members for renewal were Rahul Antao and Sithembile Mwamakamba. The outgoing SC unanimously voted them into the position of the chair and the... More

An opportunity presented itself for young people to contribute to the recently launched 2019 Rural Development Report on rural development by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).  The focus of the report was on creating opportunities for rural youth and was launched at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. It goes without saying that the importance of young people owning dialogues... 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

At YPARD, we are proud to look back at the successes and exciting initiatives of the network. 2018 was a strategic year at YPARD that saw a lot of changes to the network’s strategic orientation with particular reference to the strategic planning meeting. These top achievements include; We welcomed 14 new team members to the YPARD team including twelve new country... 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

On the sidelines of the annual FAO Conference,41st session a youth event dubbed Real Action on Youth – Driving the Future of Agriculture was organized.   The event, sponsored by the Government of the Netherlands, aimed at giving the attendees a clear understanding of what policy actions are needed on Youth, as well as ideas of ways in which a Youth Council could be... More

In a globalized world, international mobility is a commonplace.  We travel and sojourn in foreign lands for trade, leisure or pleasure and other forms of experiences that “more and varieties” can afford us. For youth, in particular, we travel also for educational reasons.  What we learn and experience in this process change us in many different ways.  For African youth taking... More

We are delighted to welcome a new steering committee member: Sebastian Pedraza Paez.  Sebastian is a Colombian youth leader who has relevant experience in rural youth issues. He is a graduate with an Associate Degree in ICT from SENA and currently finishing an Associate Degree in Music Production from  Latin American professional audio foundation Center. He also has a Bachelor’s Degree in... More

We are delighted to welcome a new steering committee member: Lako Mbouendeu Stephane. Stephane is a graduate with a Master’s degree in Water Resource Management and a Master of Engineering in Agronomy (specialized in Rural Engineering) from the University of Dschang, Cameroon. He is currently pursuing a PhD on Integrated Wetlands management under climate and urban pressure. Stephane has been working as Head of... More

we are delighted to welcome Marina Demaria Venâncio as the new Country Representative for Brazil! Marina is currently doing her Ph.D. in ecological and human rights at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Florianópolis, Brazil). She holds a master’s degree in environmental law and a bachelor’s degree in law from the same university and has attended courses and programs on topics... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD Azerbaijan country representative Parviz Yusifov. Parviz received his high school education in Lekchiplaq village, in Goycay. As a newly independent state, the strategy of Azerbaijan was to develop the oil and gas sector to receive fast revenues, but it resulted in disregard towards agriculture and the environment. It was the driving factor for Parviz to... More

We are delighted to welcome the incoming YPARD steering committee member: Keron Bascombe.  Keron is the creator of Tech4Agri and holds a Bachelor in Agribusiness from the University of the West Indies. Keron created Tech4Agri in 2011 as a blog which featured stories in tech, innovation and success in Caribbean agriculture & other parts of the world.  This went on to... More

To enable young professionals as key influencers that drive sustainable food systems is a key role of YPARD as a global youth network. For this reason, YPARD interacts with different organizations that drive sustainable food agenda through their works.  The Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP) and the European Alliance on Agricultural Knowledge for Development (Agrinatura) are two of YPARD’s partner that fall... More