Nevis Youth Department praises Hydeia Tyson for her contribution to agriculture

Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis: The Youth Department of Nevis has recently congratulated the new agri-preneur, Hydeia Tyson. The social media post praising the youngster read that “Believing in yourself is the first secret to success” is the personal motto of Hydeia Tyson. Everyone may have asked how a pageant girl suddenly wanted to venture into agriculture, but it was always in her blood.

It further shared the life story of the agri-preneur and stated that she was raised by her great-grandmother; harvesting cotton and green beans and raising animals were activities she partook in as a child. Hydeia always had a love for sciences and wanted to become a gynaecologist after graduating from Nevis Sixth Form College. She worked for one year, and during that time, her diet changed to a more plant-based one.

However, during that journey, she found it difficult to obtain fresh organic fruits and vegetables, which made her realise we lacked the basic needs for healthy food consumption on the island. After realising the need for sustainable agriculture production and having a science-based background, she changed her career choice and decided to further her studies to learn about agriculture, as she had never studied agriculture at the secondary level.

Hydeia graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Agronomic Engineering at EARTH University, Costa Rica, in 2021. She speaks fluent Spanish due to a 4-year program and a six-month intense Spanish course at the said university. As a leader of change, EARTH University’s mission is to prepare leaders with ethical values to contribute to sustainable development and construct a prosperous society. She has learned many skills and knows the importance of sustainable development, not only for the present moment but for our future generations and the planet.

Tyson has earned herself well since returning home from university. She currently works at the Department of Agriculture as a Senior Agricultural Officer. She was also awarded in 2022 by the Ministry of Gender Affairs on Women International Women’s Day for Women in Sustainable Agriculture. Hydeia was also a presenter at the Agri-Preneur Workshop 2022 hosted by the Ministry of Health and Gender Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture.

In addition to this, the post mentioned that she presented the importance and benefits of youths and women in agriculture. After graduating one year ago, Hydeia has completed other agricultural-related training about sustainability and climate change hosted by IICA- Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture and FAO- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Nevis and overseas. She has shown the public the importance and benefits of agriculture by having her very own organic backyard garden and creating educational videos, projects, plans and speeches for members around the island. Hydeia was nominated out of 90 applicants to participate in a seed-funded grant by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). She completed a 12-week course with 20 other Caribbean members to compete for US $10,000 in seed funding to initiate her own sustainable business and will be graduating from the course on May 3, 2023. The business goal is to have her very own vermicompost (organic fertiliser). Thereby farmers can have accessibility to quality and cheap organic fertiliser for crop production on the island of Nevis.

In the end, it concluded and asserted that she is ready to share her knowledge and skills with many to help us continue the path of sustainable development through agriculture and to also learn from the experience farmers on the island.