Even though she studied agroindustry at a technical high school, Adriana Escobedo (Class of 2007, Costa Rica) never thought she would be an agronomist. As part of her high school coursework, she completed an internship in EARTH’s Food Processing Lab. Because she comes from the region where the University’s Guácimo Campus is located, Adriana was familiar with EARTH. But it wasn’t until she came for the internship that she understood how EARTH’s approach to Agricultural Sciences was truly distinct– it went beyond production and focused on community development and entrepreneurship. Thanks to a full scholarship from the Dole company, Adriana began her journey at EARTH in 2004. She would come to describe this as a life-changing opportunity.
EARTH’s unique approach shaped Adriana’s experience in ways that continue to influence her in her work today. The cultural and international diversity of EARTH was key: coming from a rural area, at EARTH she was exposed for the first time to having peers from different countries. The strong business focus was equally formative. Beginning in her first year, Adriana developed a business plan through the Business Project course, an experience that grounded her understanding of real-world work. By her fourth year, the Professional Experience component of leading projects in different farms helped her recognize the value of the leadership skills she had developed.
But the most impactful part of Adriana’s EARTH education was her Professional Internship in Huatusco, Mexico under an EARTH-led project called PORFIN. There, she led workshops on financial management for members of a coffee production cooperative. Adriana recalls a challenging moment in which one of the participants of the workshop asked her, “Why should we listen to you if you look like you’ve never harvested coffee?” This question struck her and still guides her in how she approaches her work. “We’re agronomists, we cannot forget there are a lot of things that need to happen before a product reaches the consumer, and that there are many barriers we need to break down to transmit that to others.” Adriana feels EARTH was able to equip her with the skills and experiences necessary to understand some of these barriers and how to approach them in a holistic manner, putting community development at the center.
After EARTH, Adriana completed a Master of Environmental Socioeconomics at the Center for Tropical Agricultural Research and Education (CATIE) in Costa Rica. For her thesis, Adriana worked with cacao-producing families in the Talamanca region of Costa Rica and later throughout Central America to improve their competitiveness in harmony with the environment. She also approached that project with EARTH’s lessons in mind: How can we improve the competencies of producer families to empower them to make decisions that improve their quality of life?
Currently, Adriana coordinates a master’s program at CATIE on Agribusiness and Sustainable Markets, while also designing and teaching courses. She views agribusiness as key for development, and the master’s program seeks to connect producers with global markets. Given the master’s alignment with EARTH’s principles and values, nearly 60 EARTH graduates have graduated from the program since she’s been there.
Adriana wears many other hats in the world of sustainable development and education. She is a researcher who has written and collaborated on several publications. She leads a team that has conducted projects on value chains and sustainable agribusiness in over 18 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, working with nearly 1,000 businesses, primarily rural cooperatives and associations. The projects support and empower community members and small organizations in understanding how to manage their production like a business and adapt to changing realities of markets.
“My journey through EARTH impacted me in terms of development—with a strong base in production—and has enabled me to work with any type of organization or entrepreneur,” said Adriana.
Adriana also promotes and leads a Latin American platform called Agromira that allows users to share knowledge and connect on experiences and opportunities. Looking towards the future, Adriana plans to grow and refine this platform to allow agronomists to connect and share knowledge in the most effective ways possible.
Adriana is a leader that recognizes the value of having had an education, and she understands that many people don’t have access to this kind of opportunity. She is motivated to share the lessons and knowledge she has gained with those who haven’t had the same opportunities, empowering and equipping them with the skills necessary to improve their quality of life. Just as EARTH once improved hers.