Scholarship: Australia Awards Scholarship — funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia.

Research Thesis: Improving Dual Purpose Wheat Cropping in Tasmania by Evaluating Defoliation Strategies and New Genotypes.

Research Thesis: Effect of different zinc application methods on yield and yield component of maize.

Research and review documents on water use efficiency, water budgets, and consumption in summer forage crops. Focused on sole and mixed summer forage cropping systems.

Client-facing agronomic advisory role servicing broadacre and horticultural growers across the Atherton Tablelands region of Far North Queensland. Primary crops include avocado, sugarcane, citrus, banana, and tropical pastures (Rhodes grass, Brachiaria), with rotation crops of corn, lupins, and peanuts.

• Deliver tailored agronomic advice to growers on crop nutrition, pest and disease management, irrigation scheduling, sowing times, growth stage monitoring, and harvest planning across a diverse range of broadacre and horticultural crops.
• Conduct regular soil and tissue sampling; interpret laboratory results and develop detailed monthly and annual nutrient management plans aligned with agronomic best practices, environmental regulations, and sustainability principles.
• Perform systematic broadacre crop inspections, pest scouting, and disease screening; recommend appropriate chemical interventions and prepare customised spray programs with timing and product selection guidance.
• Provide irrigation management advice including scheduling, water budgeting, and soil moisture monitoring to optimise crop water use efficiency across multiple farming enterprises.
• Engage with key agricultural stakeholders including the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), fertilizer and chemical company representatives, fellow agronomists, and research scientists to stay current with regional agronomy developments.
• Plan and deliver farmer meetings, field days, and training sessions to build grower capacity and communicate best-practice agronomy across the Tablelands farming community.
• Manage retail operations at the CRT franchise including customer consultation on fertilizer and chemical product selection, stock management, procurement, and demand forecasting based on seasonal crop calendars and weather outlook.
• Monitor crop growth stages from sowing through to harvest across broadacre enterprises; prepare yield estimates and provide post-harvest management recommendations to support grower planning and profitability.
• Liaise with research organisations and provide on-ground varietal performance data to support applied research and variety evaluation programs relevant to the Tablelands region.
• Coordinate with major agricultural production companies including Rock Ridge, Costa, and other large-scale farming enterprises in the region to deliver integrated agronomic support aligned with commercial production targets.
• Operate in the wet tropics agro-climatic zone of Far North Queensland where broadacre cropping is a unique blend of dryland, irrigated, and trial-based production systems — requiring adaptive management strategies suited to high-rainfall, high-humidity tropical conditions distinct from temperate broadacre environments.
• Support and contribute to on-farm agronomic trials and research experiments, collecting field data on crop performance, varietal response, and nutrient management outcomes to inform evidence-based recommendations across the Tablelands farming community.

Operations and client management role with Planet Green Australia, operating under the umbrella of the Victorian Government's Upgrading Victoria Energy Project — a clean energy initiative focused on delivering energy efficiency upgrades across residential and commercial properties in Victoria.

• Served as the primary point of contact for business clients; managed client relationships from initial enquiry through to deal finalisation, ensuring clear communication of project scope, timelines, and deliverables.
• Coordinated project initiation — reviewed and confirmed client agreements, onboarded technical field staff, and briefed installation teams on project-specific requirements and compliance standards.
• Managed day-to-day office operations including scheduling, documentation, reporting, and correspondence with project stakeholders and energy program administrators.
• Oversaw stock and warehouse management — monitored inventory levels of materials and equipment, coordinated procurement and supply logistics, and ensured timely availability of resources for field operations.
• Liaised with Victoria Energy Project program coordinators to ensure all works met government scheme requirements, quality standards, and audit compliance obligations.

Senior technical role in the provincial government agricultural research department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Reported to Director, Agriculture Research Station, Baffa, Mansehra, and indirectly to the Director General, Agriculture Research System, KPK. Held concurrent responsibilities as Farm Manager of the Temperate Fruit Germplasm Unit and Research Officer at the Cereal Section, Agriculture Institute D.I. Khan.

• Led multidisciplinary research trials on wheat, maize, apple, potato, French bean and sweet orange — evaluating physiological, morphological, yield and disease resistance parameters — registering 10 crop varieties as breeder or co-breeder for the benefit of KPK farming communities.
• Evaluated 36 wheat cultivars and germplasm lines in collaboration with CIMMYT (Mexico) and NARC (Pakistan); recorded growth type, growth habit, Zadoks scale growth stages and yield parameters; recommended Wadan and Faisalabad 2008 to farmers for cultivation across KPK.
• Produced certified wheat seed (Variety: Pirsabak 2004) on 10-acre government research farm in collaboration with Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department from 2010 to 2015; seed distributed to farmers as per government policy.
• Designed and executed experiments on potato seed production through Tissue Culture Technology — tested different growth hormones and agar media formulations across varieties; produced disease-free pre-basic seed, further multiplied to basic seed for off-season cultivation in District Mansehra foothills (2011–2013).
• Conducted varietal evaluation and on-farm trials on pea — screened cultivars against powdery mildew and recorded growth, yield and disease parameters; published recommendations in Asian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (2013).
• Conducted research on sweet orange varieties under Haripur Hazara agro-climatic conditions; performance evaluation published in Asian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (2015).
• Conducted genetic diversity research on Himalayan common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) germplasm — study published in ACS Omega (2023, Vol. 8(51), pp. 48787–48797).
• Researched climate change mediated water stress effects on tomato growth and yield — published in Central Asian Journal of Environmental Science and Technology Innovation (2020).

• Managed the Temperate Fruit Germplasm Unit (GPU Jabba, Mansehra — 10 acres) for 5 years — planted, managed and evaluated over 120 varieties of peach, plum, apricot, almond, cherry, apple and other temperate fruits; germplasm sourced from Pakistan, Italy and Afghanistan. Germplasm used to estimate climate change effects on fruit production timelines.
• Multiplication block at GPU Jabba produced 5,000–6,000 vegetative propagules annually for fruit nursery growers across KPK for budding and grafting operations.
• Managed a team of technical field assistants, budders and labourers at the Germplasm Unit from 2010 to 2015.
• Managed annual and seasonal agriculture farm activities including land preparation, irrigation scheduling, fertiliser application, pest and disease management, harvest and post-harvest operations.

• Organised and delivered more than 20 capacity building sessions and on-farm training programs to farmers covering seed rate, plantation techniques, nutrient management, crop growth and development, irrigation requirements and spray calibration — tailored to local agro-climatic conditions.
• Results of government research trials shared directly with farming communities through field days, demonstration plots and farmer meetings; recommendations developed for each agro-climatic zone in KPK.
• Supervised and mentored 15+ Honours and 2 Master's students in agricultural research design, experimental layout, data collection, analysis and thesis writing.

• Served as focal person and technical team member on more than 5 provincially-funded research and development projects with combined budgets exceeding PKR 500 million — covering wheat productivity, vegetable off-season production, fruit germplasm conservation, nursery strengthening and block plantation programs.
• Composed, submitted and tracked grant proposals for agriculture development; prepared and submitted quarterly and annual technical and financial reports to head office.
• Coordinated with provincial and federal government line agencies, research institutes and international organisations (CIMMYT, NARC) for joint research and technology dissemination.
• Served as focal person for developmental projects; ensured timely implementation, monitoring and reporting of project deliverables.

Philip Morris International (PMI) is an American multinational tobacco manufacturing company with products sold in over 180 countries. Reported to Area Manager, Mansehra and indirectly to Regional Manager Sales and Leaf Manager Research.

• Provided comprehensive advisory services to Virginia tobacco growers covering nursery management, transplantation, fertilizer and pesticide application, land preparation, irrigation, leaf picking and curing, barn management and construction, grading, balling and marketing.
• Delivered training and facilitation to 100+ tobacco growers in Mansehra District on Virginia tobacco cultivation, processing techniques and post-harvest handling.
• Introduced new innovative and scientifically proven tobacco growing techniques that reduced cost of production and improved leaf quality.
• Conducted tobacco varietal trials at grower fields — managed trial layout, data recording and analysis of varietal response to local agro-climatic conditions.
• Maintained new tobacco varieties through nursery raising and managed seedling transplantation programs across the district.
• Planned and conducted tobacco buying operations at company buying points; ensured tobacco leaf quality standards during purchase, storage and dispatch.
• Strengthened liaisons with tobacco growing communities and market stakeholders; coordinated with finance and head office for reporting on new and ongoing interventions.
• Successfully completed the full PMI tobacco training module: crop husbandry, leaf picking, curing, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, grading and blending.

Livelihoods project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and partnered by the Canadian Hunger Foundation, working in Konsh Valley, District Mansehra — targeting sustainable improvement of livelihoods for 6,000 ultra-poor households. Reported to Project Manager, SLRK Project.

• Mapped four union councils of Konsh Valley (Battle, Chattar, Ichrian and Sathangali) to evaluate cereal, fruit and vegetable production potential, agro-climatic conditions and farmer skill levels.
• Designed and laid out adaptive trials of wheat, maize, potato, tomato, squash and cauliflower at multiple locations — recorded plant growth, pest infestation, disease susceptibility and yield parameters; analysed data and recommended optimal crops and varieties for each locality.
• Introduced short-duration maize variety "Khyber-87" — achieved the first-ever grain yield in the project area, transforming the mono-cropping system into bi-cropping and significantly increasing household food security and farm income.
• Conducted soil and water analysis of farmer fields for targeted nutrient management recommendations.
• Designed and delivered off-season vegetable production plots at farmer level; agro-climatic conditions proved ideal for off-season production and farmers achieved substantially higher returns by marketing vegetables in the plains.
• Organised farmers into interest groups for wheat, maize, vegetables and fruit crops; equipped each group with field tool kits including pesticide spray pumps, hand hoes, spades, measuring tapes and irrigation kits.
• Delivered capacity building sessions and Farmer Field Schools (FFS) on wheat, maize and potato crop husbandry, sowing time, seeding rate, irrigation intervals and fertilizer management.
• Surveyed and identified potential for apple, pear, apricot and plum production; recommended low-chill-hour varieties and laid out orchards at 20×20 ft plant spacing; trained farmers in standard plantation, pruning and pest and disease management.
• Coordinated with government line agencies and other NGOs for community development and agricultural sector improvement.
• Developed extension messages and crop production manuals; compiled quarterly and annual reports for submission to donors and management.

Unilever Pakistan's Tea Research and Extension Project in Mansehra — responsible for managing tea crop research, farmer extension, nursery operations and processing unit supply across 300 acres of tea orchards in the Mansehra region of KPK, Pakistan.

• Conducted observational and evaluation experiments on viability and germination of tea clones Camellia Sinensis and Camellia Asamica in plastic tube and raised bed nurseries in walk-in tunnels.
• Designed and executed 2 experimental trials on tea plantation method and spacing — evaluated different row-to-row and plant-to-plant spacing at farmer fields and research facilities, recording growth rate and light interception during seedling and early growth stages.
• Conducted experiments to manipulate soil chemical properties including pH and soil texture — tested different doses of sulphur and zinc to evaluate response of loamy and silt loam soils to pH adjustment for optimal tea growth.
• Designed and conducted nutrient uptake efficiency studies for tea crop — compared soil application vs foliar spray nutrient delivery methods.
• Conducted time-of-harvest study to assess effects on beverage quality after processing; results were used to standardise harvest scheduling across farmer gardens.
• Shared research findings with farmers during monthly meetings; designed crop management strategies to enhance profitability and quality output.
• Managed planning and logistics for continuous green tea leaf supply to the processing unit — developed harvest plans for farmer tea gardens to ensure uninterrupted production.
• Maintained the tea processing unit to operational standards; conducted monthly risk and hazard assessments at both farm and processing facility to ensure worker and factory safety compliance.
• Provided capacity building to farmers through targeted training sessions and corner meetings on area-specific crop management issues.