Since graduating from EARTH, Fazeena Persaud (Class of 2023) has been focusing her efforts on improving conditions for livestock farmers in her home country of Saint Kitts & Nevis. Her interest in the field was solidified during her third-year professional Internship, when she served with the government’s livestock division. Now, two years after graduating, she is working as Senior Livestock Extension Officer and Supervisor of the government owned Maddens Estate Livestock Farm. She is eagerly using what she learned at EARTH to try and make changes and innovations in the way her country is operating the industry.
Keen on addressing farmers’ challenges, Fazeena is working on implementing projects and initiatives that draw from her EARTH Graduation Project research on forages, comparing which are better species based on nutritional and productive traits. In the dry season, her island faces many challenges. Farmers struggle to maintain forage for their livestock, needing to depend on supplemented feed. Based on findings from her research, she is hoping to introduce forage more resistant to dry weather, in particular a variety found in Brazil that has been recently introduced in Costa Rica.
In addition, she explains, as housing and tourism construction dominates the country’s priorities, there is steep competition for space to farm and maintain livestock on the island. Common practice is to allow animals to roam to fee, but this is presenting a nuisance to neighbor’s properties as land availability gets tighter. She is eager to assist in changing practices and policies to better support farmers, and she observes, “We are really behind when it comes to technology. But I do feel like I am applying a lot of what I learned at EARTH here, in my work. There is so much potential on this island for a strong agricultural sector. I do want to see better for my home, I want to make it a better place.”
At the end of May 2025, Fazeena was thrilled to return to Costa Rica (she calls it her “happy place”) to participate in the Study Tour for Ministers, Women and Youth in Agriculture, sponsored by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The goal of the Study Tour was to promote greater participation of youth and women in the agriculture sector and facilitate the transfer of knowledge, skills, and technological innovations to assist in building resilience in the agriculture sector.
For Fazeena, the event, held at the Headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), was a chance to not only learn new innovations and connect with cohorts in her industry, but to reconnect with people from her time at EARTH. She was thrilled to see former EARTH faculty member Luis Pocasangre, her first-year Tropical Crops professor, who is now serving as the Director of CATIE. “From sitting in his class as a student to now meeting again as professionals, this moment reminded me how far I’ve come. I’m proud to hold a degree in Agricultural Sciences from EARTH University and to now serve as a Senior Livestock Extension Officer with the Ministry of Agriculture in Nevis. It’s a privilege to represent youth and women in agriculture and continue working toward a more resilient and innovative agricultural future
Fazeena’s message to the next generation of EARTHians is clear: “To whomever is there right now: I wish you the best of luck. Be the future leaders – be what your country needs. Go out there and make a difference.”
We can’t wait to see what else Fazeena achieves in the professional path that lies ahead of her.