German multinational pharmaceutical firm Bayer AG is now inviting the youth to apply for the virtual 2021 Youth Ag Summit (YAS), an agriculture entrepreneurship and leadership skills training.
A statement showed that applications are now open for YAS, a global forum and biennially organized conference where young leaders collaborate to develop sustainable solutions for food security and global agriculture as they work toward becoming global instruments of change.
While this is the fifth biennial Youth Ag Summit, it will be the first virtual YAS event.
For this year, Bayer partnered with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and technology company Babele.
Delegates will also continue to learn entrepreneurship and leadership skills, receive coaching from mentors, and improve their own “Thrive for Change” project concepts in a 10-week period following the November summit.
The summit’s overall theme, “Feeding a Hungry Planet,” is based on the United Nations’ prediction that the planet’s population will reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, facing food security challenges.
The 100 delegates selected to participate in this year’s YAS will develop to challenges on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Christine Jodloman, Filipino delegate in the 2019 YAS held in Brazil, said “she was able to meet, connect, and get inspired by my fellow youth agriculture changemakers around the world” because of her participation in the summit.

Her work is on grassroots agripreneurship for rural farming communities. Delegates from around the world were able to provide suggestions on her projects which she has integrated into her youth and women programs at AGREA Foundation.
Jodloman also helps in the Move Food Initiative as a facilitator to farmer groups, wherein they were able to provide 190,000 kilos of agriculture produce and help 30,000 farmers in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic.
“Agriculture is not just about growing food, but it also means growing the future,” added Jodloman. “We need a future with a thriving agricultural sector, where people and the planet are prioritized.”
Iiinas Ivan Lao, country commercial lead of Bayer Crop Science, said YAS is a great opportunity for the youth to be empowered and take the lead in sustaining Philippine agriculture.
Application for the 2021 Youth Ag Summit is open to young people of any background aged 18 to 25.
Potential delegates will be asked to share their motivation to join the summit, their previous advocacy experience, and a 3-minute video pitch explaining their project idea on “How to feed a hungry planet.”
Applicants should be personally, professionally, and academically interested in agriculture, international development, environmental stewardship, food security, biotechnology, and/or farming.