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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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.... Continue reading

“Young people, whether they live in Italy, the United States, Thailand, Guatemala, or Togo, do not grow up wanting to be farmers” Eating Planet 2012, BCFN Barilla Center, WorldWatch Institute The oldest profession, and arguably, the most necessary to support the human population, appears to be slowly dying out. The average age of farmers has been increasing across the world, reaching close... Continue reading

“The Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) has been created to promote effective, targeted investment and build partnership, capacities and mutual accountabilities at all levels of the agricultural system so as to ensure that today’s agricultural research will meet the needs of the resource-poor end user.” As history, GCARD1 was held in March 2010 (France) which focused on Enhancing... Continue reading

Greetings from Nigeria where agriculture is beginning to get attention in high quarters; thanks to the fall in oil prices and discovery and exploration of crude oil in other nations. I am hopeful that the agricultural era will rise again but this time it must have to be by the youths and with little or no insecticide. We should learn from... Continue reading

Agriculture is our business and nobody should be left. This peers with this year GCARD’s theme. Farmers, consumers, politicians, scientists, young persons, we are all concerned by agriculture. The Madiba’s country, the rainbow nation invites us next April for the 3rd GCARD Conference in the capital city of Johannesburg under the theme: “No One Left Behind: Agri-food Innovation and Research for a Sustainable World”.... Continue reading

I have found social media tools especially helpful for promoting any type of organisation. They enable me to schedule my posts. Let's all start using #YPARD to put up posts both on Twitter and Facebook. When there is no internet service available, then schedule it for posting at times when we would not be available. It saves our time and money.... Continue reading

Africa is said to be having a unique population profile, with 44% of its population under the age 15 in 2006; making sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) the youngest region of the world. Today, two out of three inhabitants of SSA are under 25 years of age. SSA is home to over 200 million young people, who are employed primarily in agriculture, where... Continue reading

Hear ye! Hear ye! The youth in agriculture train is moving and we shall not be left behind! Youth are becoming more and more aware of the need for dialogue on agriculture and global development and we are excited to join in these conversations. The Third Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD3) is being held from 05-08 April 2016... Continue reading

Agriculture is Uganda’s biggest employing sector, with over 70% of Ugandans engaged in the sector. The sector contributes over 25% to the total gross domestic product (GDP). However, the biggest percentage of those engaged in the sector are elderly men and women, whose production capacity and energy cannot sustain the sector. The energetic and Uganda’s largest population composition, the Youth have... Continue reading

There is huge demand of the Nepalese coffee but the production is not meeting the demand. More often than not, when talking about the coffee people talk about the instant coffee. This increase in the demand of coffee could be as a result of changes in food habits. In the fiscal year 2013-14 the Nepalese coffee imports increased from Nrs. 31.73... Continue reading

Seems like in south Africa, the one and only rainbow nation in Africa, hosting events has turned to be a routine for this great intra-cultural diversified country. We heard about the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA Africa)[1] hosted in Dec 2015 and shall here about the SA Agri Summit in Sept 2016[2] . But now and in the hearts... Continue reading

Waka Waka (This time for Africa) is a song popularized by Shakira. This song was used as the theme song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It was a huge, global event as football fans from around the world descended on South Africa to witness excellence on the field. Another global event is coming to the rainbow nation this April. The GCARD3 is... Continue reading

When applying for an internship, job or call for participation, there are key points not to miss in order to pass the first round of selection and potentially get an interview. YPARD has been proposing a number of opportunities in the past few years and we have taken the chance to list a number of tips that will help optimize your... Continue reading

The main concern remains that the average age of the farmers in the Caribbean is above 45 years and many are actually over 60 years (Greene 2010).  In a study entitled Youth in Agriculture- Challenges and Opportunities, the average age of farmers in the Caribbean is 55 years and the life expectancy in the region averages about 65 to 70 years... Continue reading