On January 20, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ONE.org with partners launched the Do Agric, It Pays campaign. The campaign called on African governments to keep their promises to invest in agriculture and support smallholder farmers as committed in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). During the campaign, a petition was signed by over 2 million people across Africa. The Do Agric... Continue reading

There are more young people in the African population than ever before. In fact, approximately 70 percent of the over 1 Billion people living in Africa are under the age of 30! What’s more, fewer and fewer young people are attracted to agriculture, or see it as a viable future for themselves. Emmanuel Ngenge Ngeh, Cameroonian founder of the Young Farmers... Continue reading

What comes to your mind when you think of a farmer? What comes to mind for most of us is an old man, dressed in overalls, smelling dirty, and chewing on a straw. Though farmers are considered important to food production and the economy of any nation, youth have little interest in agricultural careers. Nowadays most people equate agriculture with farming... Continue reading

Ask any child in school what he or she would like to be in the future and I’ll bet you  $100 that 0 out of 10 will say farmer. In Africa, that’s the world we’re living in. However, as scientists, politicians, entrepreneurs and the like gather at the Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW6) I do see a good number of young... Continue reading

  Arguably the most heated topic of discussion in the schoolyards growing up in my home country of Nigeria was, “What are you going to be when you grow up: a teacher? Or a farmer?” As far as I remember, the number of guys wanting to be a teacher always far outweighed those wanting to be a farmer — and that... Continue reading

Visit to the Mayr's in Erding, Germany “Our farm is a medium to small farm, compared to the others in the area” says Clemens Mayr, a farmer from Erding, Germany, while pointing to the distant fields on his farm. This surprises his guests from Mali, Madagascar and Switzerland; a farm of 60 hectares is considered a large farm in the visitors’... Continue reading

On the 15th of May 2012, I and a friend decided to see and observe the activities of the All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Ondo State Chapter. We went out of keen interest to associate with other farmers and see how the association can come up to sensitize the youth more about agriculture. Maybe before I share what I experienced,... Continue reading

YPARD welcomes Martina Graf as the YPARD Europe coordinator for the recently established YPARD Europe Chapter. Martina will lead the development of the European network, creating a working group with the young professionals who have demonstrated their interest in working to shape the YPARD plan of action for Europe.  Martina is based in Switzerland, holds a Bachelor of Science in International... Continue reading