I had the pleasure last week of attending the YPARD China Week organized at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), the YPARD China hosting institution. Superbly organized by Bi Jieying, the YPARD China coordinator, this week was all about empowering Chinese young professionals (YPs) by giving them the necessary knowledge and skills to join the international community. Moving beyond... More

Some recent surveys show that during the year 2013 the total population growth in Pakistan was 1.91% while during the last 10 years average was 1.82%. As we are a growing population country with low economic growth, we have to be certain that we may ensure better quality of life which is only possible when living in a green and fresh... More

Forests aren’t always filled with trees. Patches of trees outside of forests, and even in urban areas, can be important ecosystems, providing many of the same resources and opportunities as large forested areas, especially in terms of food sources. Young foresters, especially in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, are taking the lead in studying how these patches can improve food and nutrition... More

In the beginning of June, I went to Azerbaijan on a 3-day trip in which my main goal was to promote YPARD among students as well as to do some networking for future possible collaborations. The first day, I met the rector of Azerbaijan State Agricultural University, Prof. Ibrahim Jafarov. After having introduced myself as YPARD Azerbaijan representative, I provided him... More

Yesterday, 16th of June, the 2014 YPARD China Youth Elite Round Table Discussion was held in the west lobby of the National Agriculture Library in the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. As the theme of this discussion was "YPARD China’s role in Fostering Chinese Young Professional in International Communication", the participants were mainly young elites and professionals, such as Codrin Paveliuc,... More

When I saw the title of the conference, “Agriculture growth, jobs, food security and climate: Taking action in response to IPCC[1]” I thought: “We have a key role there!” Young people are a key element to foster change and innovation, they’ll be future actors in the new landscape that’s being designed now; their voices must be taken into account. This conference... More

 Within an initiative started from YPARD-Brazil, here comes the second blog post of "All in One Rhythm" series. As the World Cup’s title, this initiative aims to use the young and the agricultural sector to foster development in Brazil. Brazil is a huge country with great diversity in terms of culture, weather and economy. Around 1/3 of the country’s GDP is provided... More

Farming is an inborn thing for a standard African man, or a Nigerian, to be precise. There is a refrain or a common say in the Western part of Nigeria (among the Yoruba) which says: “Farming is the profession of our land/ anyone who refuses to work will steal/ education without hoe or cutlass/ is not complete, no, not complete.” As... More

“Online media is becoming increasingly important for any company, organisation or institute. If you don’t have an online presence, you don’t exist. Social media, websites, online data repositories, intranets, mobile technologies - all make our “online publishing” diverse and exciting. Today’s fast-paced online technology in an interactive and inter-connected world also means that “the work is never finished.” Peter Casier, the... More

A three-day “Pakistan Agricultural Exhibition” was held at Punjab’s second largest exhibition center set up at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad – Pakistan, from May 28-30, 2014. In this technological and innovative era, the event was designed as a launch pad for international and national organizations to penetrate in the highly expanding and lucrative Pakistani markets. More than 15,000 people visited... More

Deepa Pullanikkatil, Programme Manager at LEAD SEA talks global warming, the necessity of economic growth, climate compatible development, and solutions to better water management. Deepa is also available in our LinkedIn group to engage with your questions. Water is life. We cannot survive in this world without water. The biggest challenge mankind is facing today – that of Climate Change, will... More

It’s a common fact that family and small-holder farming contributes to food security, income generation, and employment for a majority of people in developing countries. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) 2013 estimates that small-holders produce about 80% of food consumed in developing countries. The United Nations’ declaration making 2014 the year of as the family farming recognizes this fact. The potential in... More

Cassava is one of the most popular and widely consumed food crops in Africa thanks to its versatility. Due to the importance of this food in the region, it is commonly referred to as a cornerstone of food security in Africa. The competing needs for cassava cut across both human and animal consumption. Besides, it is fastly becoming a popular raw... More

The day has finally come. After eight years of intensive planning, building and waiting, we will see the ball rolling at 5 pm today, Brasilia time, for the first match in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Surely, this journey means more than football. This period was also marked by a rising concern of Brazilian people for better days, for better living... More

I still remember when I had just graduated from the University in 2008 and a company called me to meet for an interview to fill a Farm Supervisor's position. The first question I was asked was: “What is agriculture?”, and I immediately responded “agriculture is life”. The panel’s members that conducted the interview looked into each other's eyes and I smiled... More

Nepal is a landlocked country that lies along the southern slopes of the Himalayan mountain ranges. It rises from as low as 59 metres to 8,848 metres and the weather varies from warm to freezing temperatures depending on the diverse areas, which favours the growth of different plants all around the country. Due to its unique geographical position and altitude variation,... More

Conserving a clean and healthy environment for all Pakistanis has been the main’s day issue. In our daily lives, we are starting to face some problems that our past generations did not have. Nowadays, no one is free from getting ill by consuming water which is impure or getting no water at all due to lack of rain. Besides this, the population’s rate... More

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) published recently its Youth Strategy Plan from 2013 to 2017. After more than 15 years supporting and promoting youth engagement in agriculture, CTA has launched this strategy in order to boost the crucial role of young people in agriculture and rural development (ARD) to develop and modernise the sector. 70% of Africa’s... More

From March, 26 to 30, the 3rd Training Course of CSA & the Family Farm is held successfully in Beijing cosponsored by YPARD China, attracting students from different universities, potential donors interested in ecological agriculture, and farmers with their own farms developing at different stages.                                                                       (Group photo of CSA 3 members) Sponsored by the Rural Reconstruction Centre of Renmin University, the Institute of Rural Reconstruction of Southwest University in China and YPARD China, this year’s training course is held in the Little Donkey Farm and the Liang Shuming Rural Reconstruction Center (LRRC) and has invited many professionals and experts to give lessons, such as Professor Wen Tiejun, the executive dean of the Institute of Rural Reconstruction of Southwest University. The course provides a platform for all participants to know the latest policies and trends of domestic and international agricultural development, study theories and pragmatic methods in CSA and family farms and exchange experience, etc. As an international movement aiming at helping young professionals in agriculture, YPARD and its branches around the world have always been committed to providing funds for young people in need. This time, 3 trainees, namely Li Enle from Anhui Agricultural University, Cai Wenbing from the Institute of Rural Reconstruction of Southwest University and Weng Zudeng from Dongfang College, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, are lucky to get support from YPARD China. As awardees of the YPARD China sponsorship, they may have harvested the most from this training.  Li Enle said, “During these 5 days, I knew the CSA situation in China, I knew the problems in running CSA model and how to solve them, and the most important thing is that I’ ve made a lot of new friends from various walks of life.” “During the training, what impresses me most is that all of us reach consensus on agriculture: we should continue to be passionate about the rural areas, be... More

YPARD Pakistan LR Team Hyderabad visited the mega event of Hari Mela (Farmers’ Festival), organized by the Sindh Agriculture University in the town of Tando Jam in collaboration with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). YPARD-Pakistan LR Hyderabad, Mr. Abdul Sattar, along with Mr. Abdul Jabbar (CEO of Al Mehran Rural Development Organization) and Rafique Wassan (LR –Communication & Fundraising) attended... More