YPARD - Young Professionals' Platform for Agricultural Research for Development

In my early childhood my mother was the manager of a big and successful agricultural cooperative, so for me it was an everyday situation to spend the mornings in the sugar beet field, or the afternoons in the wheat storage. Later on, my father started running a pig and cattle farm, and this was opportunity to experience a bit of husbandry production...

"Never say never" is the phrase proclaimed with a laugh, by Aracely Castro, a Honduran young researcher specialized in agronomy, when asked where her passion and commitment for applied research come from.

We discussed the challenges of youth in ARD and proffered solutions that would be brought before stakeholders at the event. Realizing that all over the world, it is a known fact that youths have a key role to play if given the opportunity and the appropriate platform was a source of hope and a better future to anticipate. We can and would be hands of change to transform the world for better.

I feel privileged to be among the founding members of YPARD. Prior to 2005, we could hardly see young professionals participating in global discussions in ARD. (...) Now in GCARD 2, we were able to provide inputs to the official parallel session on capacity building.(...) These are all inconceivable back in 2000 when the first GFAR Conference was held!

C’est ainsi que Danilo Moreta perçoit le défi constant que signifie pour lui être un jeune chercheur. Danilo, un agronome de l'Escuela Panamericana Agricola "Zamorano" au Honduras, a toujours perçu la nature comme quelque chose de mystérieux, magique et plein de charme, notions qui composent une grande partie de sa motivation pour avoir décidé de devenir chercheur.

Very often, I am questioned about "Why have you chosen agriculture when you could have done something more interesting and get a stable job?". When I think about it, the only the answer I can get is that I have a passion for it. I have no idea how it happened, but there are many factors that have contributed to it.

The Entrepreneurial spirit in the youth must be alive always, especially now when there are thousands of opportunities all around us. Youths must have an open and positive mind to be able to overcome the challenges they face in everyday life. There will always be a demand for agricultural activities because of the need for food to satisfy the ever growing population.

"I believe that we as Young Professionals in Agricultural Research for Development can have a big impact by thinking about innovative practices, technologies and approaches in our working domains. Therefore I would hereby like to share an example of such an innovative approach to show other YPs how we can increase the effects of our efforts by linking other working domains to our own."

Persévérance, amour du travail, patience…Autant de qualités qui ont permis à William Mouachi Kameni, un jeune camerounais, de réussir dans l’Agriculture en 3 ans. Reportage à Douala.

Al entrevistar un joven profesional en investigación agrícola para el desarrollo, uno siente esa gran energía, deseos, ideas, proyectos y sueños que comparten con uno tan espontáneamente. Esta experiencia me deja saber que allá afuera hay gente joven que está comprometida y piensa en cómo hacer posible una mejor vida...

"I was sponsored by YPARD to attend the CGIAR Science Forum 2011 in Beijing. As a young researcher this gave me the opportunity to express my views on the future of agricultural research at both global and regional levels."

" J'ai vraiment apprécié les actions que mène cette plateforme. Je pense que c'est ce genre d'espace dont les jeunes ont besoin pour être des vrais agents de changement."

« YPARD, en collaboration avec e-Agriculture, m'a donné la possibilité de bloguer avec comité de relecture sur des sites reliés à la FAO. C'est un gage de crédibilité sur mon travail et mon opinion, que je ne peux pas atteindre via mon blog personnel. La reconnaissance de mes pairs. »

Jo Cadilhon
Centre d'études et de prospective, Ministère français en charge de l'agriculture
NB : Ces propos ont été validés pour diffusion par le Ministère français en charge de l'agriculture mais ne représentent pas forcément sa position.

'As a youth in agriculture, YPARD has given me the opportunity to share my ideas on issues related to youth and agriculture on their platform through articles and discussion forums. I have been able to connect with other youths from different countries and backgrounds who have same objective as me, and together, we have been able to voice our opinions on subjects that matter to us to Policy makers at International Conferences.'

Así responde Édgar Torres cuando se le pregunta por el camino que ha recorrido desde su llegada al CIAT, hace poco más de 10 años, inicialmente para trabajar como enlace entre el Fondo Latinoamericano para Arroz de Riego (FLAR) y la Fundación Nacional del Arroz (Fundarroz), entidad nacional arrocera de Venezuela; hasta su actual responsabilidad como fitomejorador en el programa de Arroz del CIAT.