Internships in Netherlands by Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the European Union (EU)

Internships in Netherlands; The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU).

Its mission is to advance food and nutritional security, increase prosperity and encourage sound natural resource management in ACP countries.

It facilitates access to information and knowledge; supports evidence-based, multi-stakeholder development of agricultural policies and strategies; promotes inclusive value chain development and use of ICTs and strengthens the capacities of agricultural and rural development institutions and communities.

CTA has several openings for interns within the Policies, Markets and ICTs Programme.

Background and Main Purpose of the Internships

In recent years, governments and donors around the world have shown growing commitment to increasing investment in agriculture and improving the well-being of smallholder farmers.

Additionally, there is increasing recognition of the importance of agriculture in providing employment for youth and in combating the challenges of climate change.

However, agriculture must become a growth sector, a source of prosperity and a global business if the aspirations of the Post-2015 Development Agenda are to be reached.

The image of farming as a low-paying, tedious, low-status occupation must be transformed into one that is profitable, modern and respectable.

Based on regions' agricultural-sector priorities and its own comparative advantages, CTA has formulated Regional Business Plans (RBPs) for each ACP region, identifying pathways for the transformation of agriculture and CTA's possible contributions to this process.

Each RBP identifies a set of actions that addresses challenges and realizes opportunities specific to that region.

Broadly speaking, the proposed actions fall in the following areas: