With the increasing need for young people to be actively involved in agriculture, young professionals in agriculture gathered in Nairobi to celebrate fifteen young people who have proactively contributed to innovative and economically sustainable agricultural development.  With each passing day, there is some increasing need for young people to be involved in agriculture. More often than not, young people have the... Continue reading

  Cooperation in agriculture often seems to be synonymous with farmers’ cooperatives. In fact, the definition of an agricultural cooperative is “a type of cooperative that unites agricultural producers for production or other activities needed by the members (such as processing, marketing of output or supply of the means of production).” Also through the actions of different stakeholders in the global... Continue reading

If we look into Africa‘s recent history, we see that this part of the world fits perfectly, at this time, into the growth limits stated by Reverend Thomas Malthus more than 200 years ago. With a population doubling every 25 years and an ecological decline hard to slow down, Africa is about to reach its “limits of growth”. But this is not a reason to despair. At the Forum... Continue reading

A lot has been said about youth in Africa and there are still ongoing debates stressing the importance of involving young people in major development efforts, including agriculture. Last week, picking up on a Twitter conversation from one of the youth activists online, I concluded that, indeed, many development organizations use the term “youth” as an attempt to portray themselves as ‘working for young... Continue reading

It is now clear, after the Fourth Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) that climate change poses a serious threat to growth and sustainable development in Africa and to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (UNDP, 2007). The effects of climate change – reduced agricultural production, worsening food security, increased incidence of floods and droughts –... Continue reading

“Almost 1.2 billion people are going hungry in the world; a third of those are in Africa and sadly a lot of those are actually farmers themselves.” Those were the portentous words of Sean de Cleene, a senior vice president of Yara International (a leading fertilizer company based in Norway with businesses in Africa) and member of the World Economic Forum’s ‘New Vision for Agriculture’... Continue reading

During my research on Global Food Security  I heard various opinions about the Food Crisis and how we should tackle it. Ranging from “we should do more” and “we should do less”, every government, NGO, company or researcher considers food security as a societal problem that must be dealt with now. But a statement left me utterly perplexed: “many don’t actually see a food crisis... Continue reading

“Africa now needs desperately to redesign its self-image, create an environment of peace and stability and plan a new science-led future appropriate to its culture, needs and aspirations. In essence, it must become Africa-centered.” Thomas R.Odhiambo, 1993 The forthcoming 6th Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW) comes at an opportune time for Africa. The event poises the continent to surpass earlier generations in... Continue reading

With up to 9.3 billion people to feed in 2050 in the world, it becomes urgent to find ways to increase agricultural productivity across Africa, the second most populated continent. One option developed so far by humans is “boosting” soil fertility with chemical fertilizers. But is this option sustainable? What are alternatives to chemical fertilizers do we have? Implications of using... Continue reading

We are delighted to welcome Davit Gogilashvili as YPARD representative for Georgia. Let me give Davit the floor, in order for him to introduce himself to you: "Dear YPARD family members, let me briefly introduce myself as a country representative of Georgia in this wonderful community. I am Davit Gogilashvili from Tbilisi, Georgia.  I graduated from Agricultural University of Georgia on... Continue reading

With more than 200 million people aged between 15 and 24 years (comprising over 20% of the population and 70% of the population being under 30 years old), Africa‘s future seems bright. Young people usually bring new skills and abilities to the table, and tend to be highly competitive into sectors that use innovative technologies (such as ICT, social media or even... Continue reading