SUNDAY 5 MAY 2019 – UWI TODAY
7
Passion fruit, cassava,
pineapples and chive, on
Thursdays
the campus
community enjoys a
bounty of fresh produce
at the Faculty of Food and
Agriculture’s (FFA’s) Farm Sale.
“I want everyone at UWI St
Augustine to see the benefits
of the healthy foods that
we produce on our farms. I
want them to benefit from
more nutritious foods,” says
Dr Wayne Ganpat, Dean
of the FFA. The fruits and
vegetables come from UWI’s
200-acre farm in Orange
Grove, headquarters of their
Agricultural Innovation
Park. The Park uses intensive
technologies and methods
that reduce the need for
labour and land, minimise
the use of pesticides and
increase yields. Apart from
producing and selling meats,
milk and produce, UWI farms
are teaching farms, educating
the next generation of
food and food production
professionals.
“I was on a visit to Guyana in 2015 with Dr (Lynda)
Wickham (Senior Lecturer, Crop Science/Post-Production
Technology at FFA),” said Dr Wayne Ganpat, Dean of the
UWI St Augustine FFA, recounting how he first met and
recruited Dr Persaud to do his PhD in Trinidad and Tobago.
At the time, Persaud was working for the GRDB at their
Rice Research Station in the village of Burma inMahaicony.
“He was doing amazing work,” says Ganpat. “We saw
the potential in him, and the zeal. We recruited him right
there on the spot.”
Because Dr Persaud is a committed family man (he
is married and has three children) the FFA designed a
special programme for him where he would come to the
St Augustine Campus for his courses and then go back
to Guyana to do his research. Through this process he
completed his PhD, an experience he looks back on happily.
“My experience was wonderful,” he says, describing the
“professional, dedicated and experienced” staff he met with
at The UWI and the FFA’s Department of Food Production
in particular. Persaud speaks highly of Dr Ganpat “who was
always there to help” and Dr Sara, his supervisor, who gave
him “support and expert guidance.”
“Studying at UWI was a life-changing experience,” he
says.
NATIONAL IMPACT
Through his groundbreaking work in Caribbean
rice pathology, Dr Persaud has changed lives himself,
particularly those of Guyanese rice farmers. It’s important
to remember that his work was not about scientific inquiry
removed from the general concerns of society. He had a very
specific problem to solve - how to protect the country’s rice
crops from blast and sheath blight.
He came up with a two-pronged “sustainable disease
management strategy”.The first was a screening programme
to find varieties of rice genotypes that are more resistant to
the diseases.
Dr Sara says, “he screened 103 genotypes and identified
the resistant types. He also didmolecular work on genotypes
specifically for blast to determine what proteins are
responsible for resistance.”
This allowed Dr Persaud and the GRDB to recommend
these more resistant varieties to farmers. “These varieties
were widely cultivated and have resulted in higher yields and
profits to the rice farmers and the country itself,” Persaud say.
The second part of the strategy was the development
of disease-fightings extracts of plants such as thyme leaf,
marigold and clove; bio-pesticides; and new generation
fungicides. Persaud says, “these new products not only aid
in the effective management of rice diseases in Guyana
but also resulted in better quality paddy grains, leading to
higher yields.”
The successful disease management strategy and the
benefit it has brought to Guyanese society has not gone
unnoticed. On February 23, 2019, Persaud was among 77
nationals honoured by the Government of Guyana at its 49th
anniversary as a republic. He received the “Golden Arrow
of Achievement”, the fourth highest honour in the Order
of Service of Guyana.
The Golden Arrow can be awarded to “any citizen of
Guyana who has performed an outstanding and specific
act of service or achievement of an exceptional nature”, a
statement on Guyana’s orders and medals states.
It’s an enormous accomplishment, especially for such
a young man.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to see the Government and
people of Guyana recognise your contribution to service,
science, research and development,” he says. “It gives you
the motivation to continue and do better.”
And he’s not planning on slowing down anytime soon.
Dr Persaud is intent on continuing his research and doing a
post-doctoral fellowship. He even has his eyes on returning
to UWI. “Afterwards I may come join the FFA team and
share some of my knowledge and experience.”
Whatever path he follows, Rajendra Persaud will
remain guided by the same commitment to community and
passion for the science of agriculture that took him out of
the rice farm and brought him right back.
Dr Persaud and his wife Rajmattie at his graduation
ceremony at UWI St Augustine.
