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!

This is how Danilo Moreta perceives the constant challenge that being a young researcher means to him. Danilo, an agronomist of the Escuela Agricola Panamericana "Zamorano" in Honduras, has always perceived nature as something mysterious, magical and full of charm, notions which make up much of his motivation for having decided to become a researcher.

I am happy to being attached with this network as it is lifting up me to connect with international agricultural research organizations, scientists and networks. YPARD is a promising body of young professionals and has the potential to guide career development.

"This was my first time to participate in such a high profile meeting however I felt very much a part of the workshop. I must admit though that my interest in foresight was higher compared to the knowledge that I had about foresight which made me a little bit nervous. What I liked most was that my contributions were always solicited and welcomed."

"Agriculture in Nigeria and Africa has been neglected in the past years and I advocate that it is time for change. It is time for Youth to invest passionately in agriculture. If each Youth is a producer of an agricultural product be it food crops, animals, poultry, rabbits, grass cutter etc. it would go a long way to contribute to the food basket of our continent."

Michael Kwabena Osei is a young scientist from Ghana. His work has been recognized through the Ist Ghana Science Congress Awards in August 2011 where he won a Bronze award (Cash prize, lap top and Citation) as the National Best Young Scientist, initiated by the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST).

I first entered the YPARD website in early 2011 through a link from CTA’s Knowledge for Development web portal which I explore often. I always see the YPARD logo/icon on the site but continued to ignore it since I did not know what doors it could open for me. After finishing what I was doing on that fateful day, a thought flashed my mind to click on the logo/icon and see what it meant.

"During the conference I tried visiting the YPARD booth and see what was going on. There I met and spoke with people, young and old who came around. From my discussion with people, I discovered that the fears that motivated and justified the incorporation of YPARD are real and have a global reach."

"My long term benefits as YPARD members? First and for most I have created a link with other agricultural extension experts through YPARD e-discussions. This will help me continue interacting with them even after the e-discussions."

"I am adventurous and like participating in activities that make a difference in society. In two months of joining YPARD, I got to achieve some of my aspirations. This was in capacity as one of the 12 YPARD representatives at the CGIAR Science Forum in Beijing."

'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.