My name is Suman Gajurel and I am from Nepal. From my childhood days, I was fascinated with plants and seeds. I used to muse on how small inputs of seed, fertilizer and water plays an important role for better production and productivity, and to sustain their livelihood. With the traditional knowledge and practices, my grandparents and parents used to make small harvests from local crops. While the harvests were not sufficient and relied on the local market, however, I was lucky enough to closely observe the hardship and the challenges they went through for subsistence farming. Perhaps, the use of technology and scientific approaches could alleviate the conventional farming challenges.
Over time, I was deeply motivated to pursue the science behind these agricultural phenomena. More specifically, I would like to discover more on plant and crop species, disease management and tolerance, and agronomy in relation to the environment for better yield and agriculture practices. These are the potential areas of interest I would like to focus on in my graduate program.
In recent years, intense human activities such as rapid industrialization and overexploitation of natural resources have been causing severe global environmental problems. These problems include environmental pollution, global climate change, acid rainfall, and desertification, degradation of tropical forests, soil erosion, water pollution and environmental hormones. In addition, the exponential growth coupled with global food shortages is the most pressing issue that demands utmost attention.
The M.Sc. Program in Dryland Agricultural Systems at Curtin University will be Instrumental to gain much better knowledge and experience in pertaining to my dream. I hope that the program will play a crucial role in developing my understanding crop in dryland and so forth at cutting-edge. For a country like Nepal, there has been lacking the manpower in this sector who is expert in Dryland agriculture systems. I believe that our whole agriculture system is entirely based on traditional knowledge and practices so in this perspective, I would like to be graduated and become expert in the management of Dryland for agriculture after my return to Nepal.
The M.S program in Dryland Agricultural Systems at Curtin University will be a great opportunity to sharpen my knowledge in the field of Dryland Agriculture system. It will play a vital role in my own personal and professional development. I am grateful to see the advancement of the science and engineering department, which has shown extensive works with scientists receiving national and international recognition. I am hopeful the graduate studies at Curtin University would be a major breakthrough to get a rewarding experience in my academic endeavour. In the long run, I believe that I would be able to make a difference by solving the agriculture challenges that are still inherited in my native country.