The future of the agriculture industry lies in sustainable practices to move forward and adapt to a changing world. Two agriculture alumni, Dr Dini Ganesalingam and Sam Lloyd, reflect on their industry careers and how their work aligns with a more conscious future.
Dr Ganesalingam was drawn to study agriculture, and specifically plant breeding, during a high school work placement scholarship run by Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).
“It was an amazing experience working with UWA researchers on blackleg and chickpeas, and resulted in me signing up for a double degree in Agricultural Science and Economics at the end of it,” Dr Ganesalingam said.
Dr Ganesalingam is now a research and business development manager at InterGrain Pty Ltd and says that plant breeding has provided a varied career where no two days are the same.
“Our occupation spans germplasm development, physiology, statistics, genetics, high throughput phenotyping (i.e. drones) through to end-products quality testing,” Dr Ganesalingam said.
“It’s an exciting challenge to constantly strive to produce the best variety package comprising yield.” Ms Lloyd is a laboratory technician at CSIRO with a generational connection to agriculture. “The connection I feel to the land runs very deep and it informs a different life that I can’t compare to anything else,” Ms Lloyd said.
Ms Lloyd’s graduate position came about after a UWA Agricultural Science tour of CSIRO laboratory facilities.
“A large part of the CSIRO laboratory research I'm now involved in investigates reducing sheep methane emissions through a number of investigative practices,” Ms Lloyd said.
Ms Lloyd’s graduate position came about after a UWA Agricultural Science tour of CSIRO laboratory facilities.
“A large part of the CSIRO laboratory research I’m now involved in investigates reducing sheep methane emissions through a number of investigative practices,” Ms Lloyd said.
“Less methane from sheep farming equals less of an environmental impact and a better and more sustainable way to farm.”
In both Dr Ganesalingam and Ms Lloyd’s work, they can envision a sustainable future for agriculture.
“The methane emissions from livestock farming play a large part in the changes I’m seeing take place in the industry,” Ms Lloyd said.
“While it’s not an overnight fix, investigating alternative food sources for livestock that still meet
the nutritional requirements and are financially sound, while also opening the door for an alternative food source that lowers methane emissions, is a great step towards sustainable farming.
“This is because methane is a greenhouse gas and traps heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and environment, and also the energy lost through sheep emissions is wasted production and energy.
“Sheep that emit less methane use their food source more effectively and require less food. Less food needed for the same output is better for every step of the process.
“Alternative food sources such as seaweed and native plant-based sources aren’t being used in the industry mainstream yet, but hopefully soon.”
From Dr Ganesalingam’s expertise and perspective, sustainability practices can also be addressed through plant genetics.
“Many people consider sustainability in a limiting sense and forget that genetics can help solve some of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) problems,” Dr Ganesalingam said.
“While we don’t have complete clarity in specific traits, we work with national and international partners to develop this.
“We’re also in talks with UWA’s Professor David Edwards to develop and expand our crop portfolio from predominantly cereals such as wheat, barley and oats, into pulses and oilseeds.
“This strategy can identify traits to contribute to ESG principles and also increase whole farm sustainability, via competitive options in crop diversity for farmers.”
UWA’s industry partnerships allow current students to bring their energy, passion and fresh perspectives into day-today operations at various Perth organisations.
Can your organisation benefit from hosting a UWA student for an internship? Find out more about UWA’s Work Integrated Learning Partnerships here.
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