IA E3 program winners 2022: Koudahe, Shrestha

In this series, learn more about the 25 recipients of the Irrigation Association’s 2022 E3 Program, sponsored by The Toro Company and the Carolinas Irrigation Association, awarded to college students studying and pursuing careers in the irrigation field.

The Irrigation Association created the program to focus on providing irrigation students (E3 learners) and faculty members (E3 leaders) with exposure, experience and education that revolves around the irrigation industry. The program shows that the “three e’s” are the best way to actively engage the next generation of irrigators.

The sponsorships include an education and travel award to attend the 2022 Irrigation Show and Education Week Dec. 5-9 in Las Vegas.

E3 Program Winner – Komlan Koudahe

Graduate student at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
Graduation date: December 10, 2022

How and why did you get involved in agriculture?

My parents are into agriculture. I study agricultural engineering to learn new best practices to improve my parent’s and all farmers’ endeavors.

What experience do you have in agriculture?

I can design, implement and monitor irrigation systems. Also, I publish research papers to help crop growers, crop management institutions, policymakers, universities, and crop consultants for sustainable agricultural production.

What is a personal accomplishment within the agriculture industry that you’re proud of?

I have many designs of irrigation systems for different crops and have published more than 50 peer reviews journal articles with 500 citations.

What kind of career in agriculture are you working toward?

I am working on irrigation water management for sustainable agriculture production.

What does smart irrigation mean to you?

Smart irrigation means providing the exact amount of water at the exact time in a precise location in the field. It will lead to efficient use of water resources and increase crop yield.

What advancements in the agriculture industry are most exciting to you and why?

The development of sensors to hourly monitor the dynamics of soil water content and models to accurately estimate the water requirement of plants in different locations is exciting to me, because they are the pathways to implementing smart irrigation systems and saving water resources.

E3 Program Winner – Bhimsen Shrestha

Graduate student at New Mexico State University: Las Cruces, New Mexico
Graduation date: December 12, 2023

How and why did you get involved in agriculture?

I am from the Himalayan country Nepal, where agriculture is the main occupation. My parents grow various cereal crops like rice, maize, and wheat, along with rearing some livestock animals. I learned how to grow crops and also became familiar with the hardships involved in irrigating agricultural fields since my childhood. However, the agricultural practices being followed in the hilly regions of our country are still traditional and non-commercial. With my commitment to helping solve the agricultural problems of those farmers growing crops in the hilly region, I did my undergrad with an agriculture major and recently joined New Mexico State University to complete my master’s degree in agronomy and crop science.

What experience do you have in agriculture?

I used to help my parents in various farming activities like land preparation, irrigation management, fertilizer application, sowing seeds, weeding and harvesting. After completing my undergrad, I worked as an agriculture instructor and taught courses such as principles of crop production, crop management practices and horticulture, to high school agriculture students. I did my undergraduate thesis on weed management of corn. Currently, I’m doing my master’s thesis research on irrigation water management and nitrogen management on chipping potatoes.

What is a personal accomplishment within the agriculture industry that you’re proud of?

I received a lot of positive responses from local farmers for my undergrad research project that I carried out to address the weed management problem in a corn field. Later, the research work was also published in a peer-reviewed national journal.

What kind of career in agriculture are you working toward?

I aspire to be a successful agriculture researcher and scientist in the field of irrigation water management.

What does smart irrigation mean to you?

Smart irrigation is the technology that aims at enhancing irrigation efficiency and crop water use efficiency by providing actual crop water requirements and reducing irrigation water loss. The technologies should be used in a way that promotes efficient uptake of water by crops and conserves water resources.

What advancements in the agriculture industry are most exciting to you and why?

The recent advancements like digital agriculture and precision agriculture are most exciting because I believe these technologies are very useful for the efficient use of farm inputs and resources while improving crop yield and quality.

Read more about the E3 program.

Luke Reynolds is the content editor for Irrigation Today and can be reached via email.