Anja Rose Fernand
Anja works in the agriculture and animal care sector as the Founder and President of Food Harmony Incorporated. For health-conscious female professionals aged between thirty and sixty-five, farmers that want to purchase planting material for commercial cultivation, and young people aged between eight and thirty seeking farm-based mentoring and employability education, Food Harmony Incorporated is a food production company that grows nutritious fruits on its organic/regenerative farms and sells them fresh or preserved as frozen fruits, dried fruits, and healthy vegan baked goods to busy professionals, providing them with consistent, healthy, and delicious ingredients and snacks throughout the year, even during off-seasons. Anja’s short-term goal is to create a strong composting system that can efficiently handle the company's green waste from farming and agro-processing. Anja's long-term goal is to transform and rejuvenate the agriculture industry, particularly for female farmers, by promoting regenerative agriculture practices, improving crop productivity and soil health, and increasing the availability of local raw materials. Coming into the YLAI Fellowship, Anja’s top business challenge is Operations, more specifically, gaining hands-on experience and access to experts in regenerative agriculture and composting to improve their understanding of established operations, troubleshoot better, and receive guidance on environmentally friendly equipment before scaling. During the Fellowship Placement, Anja hopes to gain knowledge to improve their operations and enhance their ability to train others in their community. They also hope to become more resilient and successful as they expand their operations.