What is ARDYIS?

This booklet takes a look at the life stories of 12 remarkable African agricultural scientists who are making a difference on the continent and internationally. Ten of them are the women and young researchers who were winners of the 3rd Africa wide science competitions. They are motivated to be part of the solution, and not the problem. Indeed, as researchers they are helping to transform agriculture by developing science-based solutions to some of the complex issues facing African farmers. Their journeys to becoming agricultural scientists are strikingly similar: most of them come from smallholder farms, and their flair for science was spotted and nurtured by their secondary school teachers.

To download the publication: check here knowledge.cta.int - Version française disponible

Articles on the ARDYIS project's activities

• Love at first “site”: My journey as an agri-blogger and enthusiast since I met the ARDYIS Project
• Moi, Internet & l’Agriculture africaine
• Enhancing knowledge sharing through Laikipia Rural Voices
• Agrihack initiative grooms ICT4Ag young entrepreneurs
• Several articles on the AgriHack Talent initiative

70% of our global food requirement comes from the 500 million family farms around the world (FAO, 2014). And yet, family farming is often associated with poverty as these farms usually operate on small scales (mainly for subsistence) and generate low revenues. Thus, it is not a surprise that youth are not attracted to family farming.

Laikipia Rural Voices (LRV) emerged as the winner of the best blog for East Africa in the institutional category of the Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloCo Awards) in 2014. With over 400 articles, the blog has been instrumental in sharing knowledge from the field to the youth, and as a result, many young people have developed an interest in agriculture and are now actively engaged into farming.

Read more on the YoBloCo Website: http://bit.ly/1ENaNRo