In the global agriculture diaspora, several topics/issues are always relevant or rather more current than others. I’ve realized that youth in agriculture are one of these. With fewer and fewer youth becoming involved in agriculture each year many wonder what will happen to the future of the industry. But if this is the case shouldn’t youth that are currently involved in... More

’’It finally came true’’, these were the words I said to myself as the activities of the day ended. Over the past months myself and another YPARD member in Kogi State Nigeria:  Apeh Omede who happens to also be a staff at  Kogi State University in the Department of Animal Production, had planned a YPARD Awareness with the support of YPARD... More

This article by Olawale Ojo, Nigeria, was published on CTA's ICT Update magazine of February 2013 (n.70) (download the full magazine) Olawale Isaiah Ojo uses the social media to inform the youth about agricultural entrepreneurship. Followers have asked questions, made enquiries on how to start up agribusinesses, where and how they can gather the needed training for themselves to specialize in... More

I remember that moment I read Tega’s letter of motivation for YPARD Social Media’s internship position. It smelled creativity, dynamism, smartness and ambition. Tega finished his internship as the New Year 2013 was starting. He contributed to a significant increase of membership on YPARD Pages on social media: Facebook ( page and groupe), Twitter and Linkedin. Tega brought a number of... More

Ado Woldu (Aderajew) is our new YPARD Ethiopia National Representative. Aderajew Woldu is a graduate in Rural Development (B.Sc) from Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, since 2008. He was employed that same year at Haramaya University as a graduate assistant in the department of Rural Development & Agricultural Extension (RDAE) and carried on as an assistant lecturer, till the end of 2010.... More

For the past year, one of the Web 2.0 tools I am using a lot for information search and dissemination is Twitter. There are of course other tools to collaborate, access information and to connect with people/organisations that have same interests as me (See one of my previous posts on Web 2.0 tools: Some practical examples), but presently I find Twitter... More

As we step into the year 2013, a lot of indications of earlier activities of the last quarter of 2012 show that serious attention would be drawn to agriculture, with a business unusual dimension for the sector. What this means is that agriculture would no longer be seen as mere farming- a laborious venture with lot of waiting period for benefits... More

YPARD Team wishes every each of you a Happy New Year! We would like to give a big thanks to all of you who helped us make 2012 a big success.  It was a great year for youth in ARD and building of a stronger YPARD.  We look forward to working with all of you for an active and successful 2013,... More

Among the many highlights of my participation at the Second Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD2)  with the theme FORESIGHT AND PARTNERSHIP FOR INNOVATION AND IMPACT ON SMALL-HOLDER LIVELIHOODS at Punta del Este, Uruguay on 29th October to November 1, 2012, one experience that I would not forget very quickly was the visit to the Solari Family Farm in... More

COP18, the 18th edition of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was taking place from November 26 to December 7, 2012 in Doha, Qatar. Two events were particularly related to agriculture: “Forest day” and “Agriculture, Landscapes and Livelihoods Day”, December 2 and 3, 2012. Agriculture needed to have its space at... More

The GCARD2 communication team shared with us few numbers about GCARD2 coverage. "Giving space and voice to participants who did not travel to Uruguay; advocating the importance of agriculture in achieving a food secure future; and building capacities of young professionals, the leaders of tomorrow, to have a voice in shaping the world they will live in, were the three objectives... More

It all started off as a challenge for a young group of social media enthusiasts that wanted to give a voice to young professionals in agricultural research for development (ARD) at the Second Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD 2012). From all walks of life, young spirited people have gathered between October 25th and November 2nd 2012 in Punta... More

The 3rd RUFORUM Biennial Conference was held, last September, 24-28, 2012, in Entebbe, Uganda. The objective of this meeting was to exchange findings and experiences, and indentify lessons learned in order to improve universities performance for agricultural development. Mary Ebukalin was invited to share her experience and insight, as an end-user, on the impact of higher education on agricultural development. Mary... More