I am Santosh Khatiwada, a Nepali citizen with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the Agriculture and Forestry University, which I completed in 2020. My permanent address is Hetauda-8, Makwanpur, Bagmati Province, Nepal. I am proficient in both Nepali and English languages, with good speaking, reading, and writing skills in both.
Earlier, from January to June 2020, I completed an agriculture internship at the Vegetable Seed Production Centre in Rukum (West), where I monitored crop cultivation, implemented solutions for pest and disease management, conducted training for farmers, and supervised I.Sc. Agriculture students during their on-job training.
In terms of professional experience, I have worked as an Agriculture Instructor at Shree Kiran Amarjung Gurung Secondary School in Bharatpur Metropolitan-19, Chitwan, from Magh to Chaitra 2079 (January to April 2023). My responsibilities included conducting theoretical and practical classes for the I.Sc. Agriculture (Plant Science) program, assessing student performance, and evaluating their projects and practical work.
From August to September 2022, I worked as a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) Facilitator and Data Collector for a UF/IDRC-funded project titled "Advancing Women's Participation in the Livestock Vaccine Value Chain in Nepal, Senegal and Uganda." My tasks involved organizing and facilitating FGDs with goat farmers and livestock technicians in six districts of Nepal, conducting Key Informant Interviews, transcribing and translating the conversations, and collecting survey data from farmers.
I have been the Principal Investigator (PI) for a research project titled "Economic Analysis of Carp Production and Marketing in Makwanpur of Nepal" from April 2020 to June 2021. I have also co-authored a booklet titled "Seed Production Techniques of Major Vegetable Crops" published by the Vegetable Seed Production Centre, Rukum (West).
Throughout my academic journey, I have participated in various short courses and trainings, including Student IPM Training, Qualitative Data Analysis using R-studio, Optimizing Farm Resources, Proposal Writing Training, and Scientific Writing: Journey from Inception to Publication.
I have visited various agriculture research stations and extension offices in different parts of Nepal, including the Temperate Horticulture Research station in Daman and stations in the eastern and western regions of the country.
My special capabilities include operating statistical software like R, RStudio, and SPSS for data analysis and report preparation. I am also proficient in using Office 365 packages, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.