We are delighted to welcome a new steering committee member: Lako Mbouendeu Stephane. Stephane is a graduate with a Master’s degree in Water Resource Management and a Master of Engineering in Agronomy (specialized in Rural Engineering) from the University of Dschang, Cameroon. He is currently pursuing a PhD on Integrated Wetlands management under climate and urban pressure. Stephane has been working as Head of... More

we are delighted to welcome Marina Demaria Venâncio as the new Country Representative for Brazil! Marina is currently doing her Ph.D. in ecological and human rights at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Florianópolis, Brazil). She holds a master’s degree in environmental law and a bachelor’s degree in law from the same university and has attended courses and programs on topics... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD Azerbaijan country representative Parviz Yusifov. Parviz received his high school education in Lekchiplaq village, in Goycay. As a newly independent state, the strategy of Azerbaijan was to develop the oil and gas sector to receive fast revenues, but it resulted in disregard towards agriculture and the environment. It was the driving factor for Parviz to... More

Habimana Jean Claude is a science communicator with over six years of experiences in agricultural communication. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from the University of Rwanda. He was born and raised in Rwanda. At present, Jean Claude is a Cornel Alliance Global Leadership Fellow 2019 and he is looking forward to continuing his study in Masters in Agricultural Communications... More

One of the key areas of focus for YPARD is to allow the diverse representation of young professionals in key leadership positions. In following the same model, YPARD Global Coordination Unit nominated Jim Cano, represent YPARD in the newly formed Youth Council among the Rome Based Agencies. The idea of the Rome Based Agencies youth council was announced by Ambassador Hans... More

Nelson Owoicho is a university graduate born and raised in Nigeria. He is a strategic communication and multimedia professional with years of cross-sectoral experience cutting across communication, agricultural development, social development, education, youth engagement and advocacy. He is currently enrolled with the International Institute of Journalism, Nigeria for a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism. Nelson holds a certificate in social sector... More

I (Monika Varga, YPARD Hungary country representative) had a chance to participate at the 4th World Congress on Agroforestry, organized in Montpellier, France, between May 20-22, 2019. This is a short report and an introduction to the main messages of the conference. In line with the slogan of the Congress (“Make our planet treed again!”), the dedicated aims were to spread... More

In a bid to ensure diverse representation of young people in various executive meetings and committees, the Global Coordination Unit has nominated Flor as the YPARD representative in the Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP) the Capacity Development expert group. But I guess you are thinking, what is TAP CD Expert group? TAP Capacity Development Group Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP) is a coalition... More

At YPARD, we are proud to look back at the successes and exciting initiatives of the network. 2018 was a strategic year at YPARD that saw a lot of changes to the network’s strategic orientation with particular reference to the strategic planning meeting. These top achievements include; We welcomed 14 new team members to the YPARD team including twelve new country... More

In the spring of 2018, select YPARDians came together at the Czech University of Life Sciences to deliberate on the strategic direction YPARD should take. Part of those discussions centred on the governance structure of YPARD and the dire need for a review as highlighted in the YPARD 2017 external review. The Charter was last revised in 2014 and we have seen a... More

An opportunity presented itself for young people to contribute to the recently launched 2019 Rural Development Report on rural development by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).  The focus of the report was on creating opportunities for rural youth and was launched at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. It goes without saying that the importance of young people owning dialogues... More

After a successful end of term for the Tanzania representative, Juma Bruno Ngomuo, YPARD is looking for a passionate and dedicated young professional to take up the position of YPARD representative in Tanzania. To meet its goals, YPARD works with young professionals on a regional, national or local level to undertake activities at a more geographically appropriate level. YPARD is looking... More

At YPARD, we believe in structures that renew themselves and leadership that evolves in accordance with the network governance. In April 2019, the Steering Committee (SC) members met to choose the next SC team members. The only eligible members for renewal were Rahul Antao and Sithembile Mwamakamba. The outgoing SC unanimously voted them into the position of the chair and the... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD Sri Lanka country representative Pilana Harshana Pilana Vithana Sajith Harshana is currently a lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture at University of Ruhuna Sri Lanka. He graduated with a bachelors in agribusiness management (honours) with a specialization in agricultural economics from the Department of Agricultural Economics, at same university... More

Nikita Bhusal born and raised in the land of divinity, Nepal.  She completed her Bachelor Degree in Food Technology with the concentration on food quality, food microbiology, nutrition and food engineering from Purbanchal University. Her major area of interest includes; food, agriculture, nutrition, food-nutritional security, climate and youth.  She is currently working as a Capacity Building and Database Management Intern in... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD France representative Margaux Jacob. Margaux is a graduate from the Faculty of Economics, University of Panthéon-Sorbonne, France with a Licence in Economics. Currently, she is pursuing her Master’s Degree in the Paris School of Economics and the Ecole Normale Supérieure. Her studies deal with the elaboration and the evaluation of Public Policies. Within her... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD Gambia representative, Haddy Ceesay. As a farmer’s daughter, agriculture has always been a part of her life. She remembers her father nurtured the passion and love that she and her siblings have for agriculture while they were very young. The family had a backyard garden and their father used to come home with farm... More

We are delighted to welcome the new YPARD China country representative, Mr Zhong Li. Mr Li received his master’s degree of International Trade and Investment Policy from Elliott School of International Affairs of George Washington University and dual bachelor’s degrees of Economics from University of Colorado Denver and China Agricultural University. During his study, Mr Li worked closely with the International Monetary... More

Improving the livestock system is one of the ongoing global issues all around the world.  It serves as a mandatory subject in uplifting the economic standard of the country. It is imperative to bring livestock production to sustained development roads to extend our reach for improving human nutrition, health and incomes. There’s a need to intensify smallholders livestock systems with the... More

Agriculture in Africa has a massive social and economic footprint to improve livelihoods and grow the economy. More than 60 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa are smallholder farmers, with over 50 percent of the continent’s population falling below age 30. Also, about 23 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP comes from agriculture. Yet, Africa’s full agricultural potential remains hugely untapped.... More