Since CTA held its first Web2.0 training event in Nairobi, Kenya in 2009, demand has simply exploded. Between 2009 and 2012, 1,684 people from around the ACP regions were trained. In 2012 alone, 695 people from 32 countries took part in 31 learning events, branded as “Web 2.0 and Social Media Learning Opportunities”, two of which were offered online through a partnership with UNITAR and FAO. This represents a 509% increase in participation on 2009!

Interview with Sithembile Ndema Mwamakamba, from Zimbabwe, who works at the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) where she coordinates the Youth in Agriculture project. She also manages the Women Accessing Realigned Markets (WARM) project designed to strengthen the capacity of women farmers to influence agricultural policy development in Southern Africa.

"With a greater focus on value chains in recent years, there are now far more opportunities for young people to find rewarding careers in the food and farming sector. However, governments need to formulate policies that capitalise on the energy and entrepreneurship of the youth to successfully attract them to the sector."

CTA’s web2.0 training programme has sparked enormous interest across ACP countries. Organisations and individuals have shown themselves hungry to learn about social tools and platforms which can support their collaborative work, and how social media can be adapted to their particular contexts and needs. But which groups are the most enthusiastic adopters of web2.0 tools, and what impact does that adoption have, in terms of personal development, institutional changes, and new opportunities for beneficiaries in the context of development?

The CTA/UNITAR/FAO online tutored course entitled: "Innovative Collaboration for Development" on the use of Web. 2.0 tools for development will take place from 4 March to 3 May 2013  (in English and French).

A course to empower development professionals to use social media tools to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their work.

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation ACP-EU (CTA) is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU). CTA operates under the framework of the Cotonou Agreement and is funded by the EU.

CTA's mission is to advance food and nutrition security, increase prosperity and sound natural resource management. We do this by providing access to information and knowledge, facilitating policy dialogue and strengthening the capacity of agricultural and rural development institutions and communities in ACP countries.

CTA now has an exciting opportunity for a young marketing professional!

About 25 young professionals, youth champions from ACP countries and partners from international organizations working on Youth in Agriculture and Rural Development were brought together by the CTA from 14th to 16th November 2012 in Wageningen, The Netherlands, to participate in its Strategic Youth Stakeholder Workshop.

The first part of the workshop consisted of different panels, whereby the objective was to learn from the partners.  To open the day, CTA presented key elements of its 2011-2015 Strategic Plan.

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), an international organization based in Wageningen, The Netherlands, has an opening for an intern for a period of 6 months, renewable only once. The intern will work as a member of the CTA “Policies, Markets and ICTs” Team.

CTA’s mandate puts emphasis on facilitating access, exchange and dissemination of information in the fields of agriculture and rural development. The “Policies, Markets and ICTs” (PMI) Programme and its ICT for ARD sub-Programme play a critical role in the realization of the above.

The intern will assist in supporting the ARDYIS (Agriculture, Rural Development and Youth in the Information Society) project and in other ICT for rural development activities for ACP countries.

FANRPAN, in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) and the FANRPAN Tanzania Node Hosting Institution, is convening the 2012 FANRPAN Annual High Level Regional Food Security Policy Dialogue in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania 03 – 07 September 2012. The theme for the policy dialogue is "From Policy to Practice: Advocating for the Active Engagement of Youth in Agriculture Value Chains."

by Sylvestre Ouédraogo

‘Young people cannot take up the role of intermediary free of charge, nor should they be expected to,’ Sylvestre Ouédraogo, president of the Yam Pukri Association in Burkina Faso.

Young people living in rural parts of ACP countries have the same ambitions as those living in the major cities around the world. They all watch the same television programmes and have similar aspirations: a house, a car, a good job, a smartphone. Many rural youth are drawn to the major urban centres to achieve their goals. For them, village life is too limited. Pressure on the land means it is difficult to have a farm at a young age. They have to wait many years before suitable land becomes available. And even if they do have farming work, they have to find a second job to earn money in the off-season.

In the framework of the prize giving ceremony of the CTA - NEPAD youth Essay competition on ICT and entrepreneurship in agriculture, which took place in Addis Ababa on 28 March 2012, ARDYIS Project produced a brochure to present the winners and their essays.

You can download the brochure here (in PDF version).

For more information about the contest, please click here.