Energy is needed in all steps along the agrifood chain: in the production of crops, fish,livestock and forestry products; in post-harvest operations; in food storage and processing;in food transport and distribution; and in food preparation.Direct energy includes electricity,mechanical power, solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. Indirect energy, on the other hand, refersto the energy required to manufacture inputs such as machinery, farm... More

The Youth in Landscapes Initiative (YIL) is a partnership for young landscape leaders currently coordinated by the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD), the International Forestry Students Association (IFSA) and the Global AgroEcology Alliance (GAEA). YIL exists to unite and empower youth (aged 18–35 years) from diverse backgrounds around the world to have a voice, learn and effect positive change in... More

Each year YPARD partakes in the annual interdisciplinary conference on research in tropical and subtropical agriculture, natural resource management and rural development  “Tropentag” with an interactive workshop. See details of the previous workshops here,  here and here. This year Tropentag will be organized by the University of Ghent, Belgium in close cooperation KU Leuven and Antwerp University (both Belgium) and will be held... More

Soroti, Uganda – Matunda Hub which is bringing agribusiness incubation and networking closer to rural areas, celebrated its first Teso Entrepreneurship Forum on Saturday, 16th June 2018 with more than 150 participants at Soflyv Hotel on Moroto Road in Soroti. The forum was organized by Matunda Hub, a young social enterprise based in Soroti with a mission to support rural and... More

While Africa’s youthful population is bulging, farmers are growing older and with young people being overrepresented among the unemployed; calls for investments in youth are proliferating to ensure food security for future generations. The African Union’s Malabo Declaration, which contains a set of agriculture goals for 2025, calls for creating job opportunities for at least 30 percent of the youth in agriculture.... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD Solomon Islands country representative, Hika Joseph.  Hika has a background in Management, Public Administration & Economics, from the University of the South Pacific. During his study, he was fortunate to be appointed as the general secretary for the Management and Public Administration Student Association. In that role, he gained some of the necessary... More

UNLEASH-2018, Singapore hosted a thousand talents from one hundred and eight different countries.  People from different cultures came together to discuss the sustainable development Goals. It's all about meeting new talents, having fun and generating UN sustainable development ideas.  For me, it's the initiation of new innovation. It's my first experience to attend international UN program. I as well as Shewta... More

Organic agriculture is a priority sector in Armenia's “2010-2020 Sustainable Strategy Program for Agricultural and Rural Development” program. Throughout the years, strong steps have been taken by local NGOs and international organizations to develop the organic sector in Armenia. In 2016 International Center for Agribusiness Research and Education (ICARE) foundation in collaboration with IFOAM-Organics International implemented ''Capacity Development Strategy and Plan... More

Are you an innovative young professional in agriculture who is involved in any interesting agri-food systems initiative in Africa consequently challenging the status-quo? How did you as an active participant in agriculture or agribusiness, make it through the ups and downs of life in the agricultural sector? How are you forging forward through the maze of climate change, land tenure system,... More

While the agricultural sector in Guatemala employs the 31.2% of the total workforce (ILOSTAT), it only contributes 11.3% of the national GDP (World Bank) and represents a very low percentage of the total investments in the country. An urgent enhancement of investment in agriculture is needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular to end poverty (SDG 1) and hunger... More

YPARD France 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! Since 2012, the YPARD France chapter has been boosting youth's participation in agriculture, food and environmental issues by carrying out awareness work on social media and a consultative mission for higher... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD Peru country representative, Flor de María Prado Flor de María is a graduate of the Pacifico University, Perú with a Bachelor´s degree in Administration. The first years of her career she worked in some Peruvian companies. However, she was always really interested in finding the way to create opportunities for people who need... More

YPARD is proud to share its YPARD 2017 annual report.  2017 was vibrant with continued activities geared towards achieving  the network objectives. This year saw the network strengthen its operational processes with some exciting results as thus; The YPARD External Review  With the YPARD business plan 2014-2018 coming to a close, in the spring of 2017, Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) commissioned the Royal Tropical Institute... More

Lucia Ntchela, a farmer from Mwanza in southern Malawi can now fully rely on the income from the chili farming to meet household expenses and to pay school fees for her children.  She no longer needs to look for income from other sources. But things have not been always rosy for Lucia. Like other farmers in her community, she struggled to... More

My name is Artur Harutyunyan, I am a YPARD Armenia member and a senior student at Agribusiness Teaching Center (ATC). During my two years of education at ATC, I have been provided with firm and in-depth knowledge about the agribusiness sector. Agribusiness related subjects such as Agricultural Economics, Agroecology, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Agribusiness Case Study has become a cornerstone... More

Africa’s agricultural system is faced with many challenges such lack of access to material and monetary resources, low investor confidence in agriculture and unfortunately wrong perceptions of youth about the farming enterprise as a whole. However young men and women who are the future of nation have the energetic, creativity and innovation to drive the agriculture sector forward. To harness these... More

With perfect lighting and the cackling of geese as a soundtrack, Campaigning for Conservation (C4C) training kicked off at the Manor House Agricultural Center on the 12th of March 2018 and lasted twelve days. This was a training offered to twenty-six Farming for Biodiversity Campaigners from across the country Kenya by RARE, IFOAM Organics International and was supported by German Environment... More

The Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) Ghana has successfully signed a letter of cooperation with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) for “domestication, data population and local management of the eCapacities™ platform”. The eCapacities™ platform will foster online collaborative and interactive engagement by African organizations on agribusiness, investment, human capital, and production data to promote policy design, targeted... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD South Africa representative, Tshiamo Dichabe. Tshiamo has expertise in business strategy conceptualization, new venture creation and project/programme implementation. He holds a B.Com Marketing degree from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, majoring in Marketing Management, Business Management and Project Management. He is currently enrolled at the University of South Africa (UNISA) to... More

I am sure you have all heard that famous fish quote probably hundreds of times “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.  Ok, but what happens if the proverbial man loses his fishing pole or the fish somehow run out of that river? What... More