Today (28 April) is the International Girls in ICT Day and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) is celebrating with young women in ICT, Agriculture and related fields. Are you a young woman interested in innovation for agriculture? As part of today's celebration, you can win a print copy of our new publication "Innovate for Agriculture" and learn from it how to drive successfully ICT innovations in agriculture. You can also win other nice gifts! If you are interested, all you need to do is to:

• like our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/ardyis/ or follow our Twitter account https://twitter.com/ardyis_cta (if you are not following us yet)
• write a short text of not more than 300 words telling us about your interest in agriculture innovation and what you personally do linking ICT and agriculture. You should include in your twitter account, your website or Facebook and send all this by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it before 8 May 2016.

At least 10 participants will be selected to win a print copy our new publication "Innovate for Agriculture" and other nice gifts, including at least another CTA publication of your choice! At least half of the gifts will be attributed to our new followers on social media! Some best stories may also be published!

Increasing agricultural productivity in developing countries and promoting youth employment and entrepreneurship are important recommendations of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) play an important role. Young entrepreneurs using ICT innovations are particularly suited to contribute to increased agricultural productivity and sustainability given their inventiveness, energy and capacity to take risks.

An increasing number of young innovative entrepreneurs in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are developing ICTs for agriculture solutions to support agricultural value chains, providing employment and livelihood opportunities.

To highlight ACP entrepreneurs’ important contribution and to emphasise the need for strengthening their endeavours, CTA, in collaboration with Ashoka's Youth Venture, has produced the publication Innovate for Agriculture.

Within the framework of the 2015 Africa Agriculture Status Report developed by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in collaboration with partners including CTA, which focused on Youth in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, CTA contributed a chapter on: "ICT and Youth in Agriculture" and "Innovative and Inclusive Finance for Youth in Agriculture" to the report. The objective of the chapter on “ICT and Youth in Agriculture” was to examine the role ICTs are playing in supporting youth engagement in agriculture in Africa, and to explore the current status, usages and emerging trends.

The global population is expected to increase to 9 billion by 2050, of which, 14% are youth aged between 15 – 24 years. While the world’s youth population is will grow significantly, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth, especially those living in developing countries’ economically stagnant rural areas – remain limited, poorly remunerated and of poor quality. Few young people see a future for themselves in agriculture or rural areas. Some of the major challenges faced are: limited access to land; inadequate access to financial services; insufficient access to knowledge; information and education; difficulties in accessing green jobs; limited access to markets; and limited involvement in policy dialogue.

The new booklet published by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA ACP-EU) features 20 young people and three organizations, that have been involved in the CTA youth project called ARDYIS (Agriculture Rural Development and Youth in the Information Society).

In addition to portraying authors and highlighting their perspectives on youth involvement in agriculture using ICTs, the document presents summaries of best essays submitted for the contest «Youth finding solutions to challenges in agriculture and rural development using ICTs!», organised in 2010; it also presents the results of the Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloCo Awards) completed in 2012.

Involving youth in agricultural development and decision making processes is key to ensuring sustainable development in Africa, and framing this within the context of ICTs and entrepreneurship provides a valuable dimension to the discourse of agricultural modernization and prosperity. Her Excellency Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of African Union Commission, said this while officiating at a workshop held in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, 29 March 2012, on youth, ICT and entrepreneurship in agriculture, organised by Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Co-operation (CTA) and NEPAD E-Africa Programme.

“Innovation works well for large companies, but it’s not so easy for a sole trader to gain recognition,” says Eric Mutta, a software designer whose latest app won him recognition in the Apps4Africa Climate Challenge. But it’s through youthful innovation that Africa will find long-term solutions to long-standing problems.

We are pleased to announce the names of the 15 finalists for the YoBloCo Awards – individual category, resulting from the voting process that took place from 5 to 31 December 2011. During this period, for the individual category, we received a total of 2214 votes, from 2080 people (voting for two blogs was possible) and more than 600 comments for the institutional category. This is a great outcome, and we would like to thank voters and everyone again for your support and your interest in this initiative.

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), in collaboration with FARA, Yam-Pukri, CAFAN, AYF, ANAFE, SPC/PAFPNET is organizing the Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloCo Awards). This contest is launched in the framework of the ARDYIS initiative which aims to raise youth awareness and improve their capacity on agricultural and rural development issues in ACP countries using  Information Technology.

In societies where people have to travel several miles to get access to bank services and information, relatively inexpensive Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are being increasingly exploited by rural youths in Kenya to fill these gaps and support their economic and social life. Using these ICTs, the youths are able to access real time price information, find help from farm professionals and connect to other young farmers in the region.