Congratulations to AIC Board member Dr. Lianne Dwyer who was announced as the 2011 Distinguished Agronomist Award recipient by the Canadian Society of Agronomy at the recently held Plant Canada meetings in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The award recognizes members who have made a significant lifetime contribution to agronomy in Canada and to the Society.

The Canadian Society of Agronomy was established in 1954, and the Distinguished Agronomist Award was established in 1993. The first female to receive this award, Dr. Dwyer joins a group of 11 male scientists who received this award in previous years.

After completing her M.Sc. and Ph.D. Degrees in Environmental Sciences from Carlton University, Lianne worked as a Post-doctoral Fellow in Agrometeorology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)). Her 30 year career in agricultural research with AAFC includes 20 years as a crop physiologist and agronomist with a focus on crop environmental interactions, particularly in grain and silage corn. Her research is reported in more than 100 refereed scientific publications, 6 book chapters, and more than 175 technical publications and presentations.

She served as adjunct professor at the University of Guelph and McGill University from 1990 to 2002. From 2001 to 2009, Dr. Dwyer was the science director responsible for the Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre of AAFC at Ottawa and was responsible for several national research programs in Soil Quality, Biodiversity, and Genomics and Biotechnology.

Lianne has been an elected member of AIC's Board of Directors since 2010. She has been a volunteer coordinator with the VIETCANSOL International Twinning Partnership Project between the Canadian Society of Soil Science and the National Institute of Soils and Fertilizers branch of the Vietnamese Soil Science Society since 2006. She is also a volunteer member of AIC's Climate Change Task Team (ACT2).

Lianne has been active within the Canadian scientific societies, serving as President of the Canadian Society of Agrometeorology from 2000-2001 and as President of the Canadian Society of Agronomy from 2000-2002. She has been a volunteer agriculture consultant in Brazil, and in Henan and Inner Mongolia provinces of China. She is an Honorary Professor at Henan Agricultural University in China. She has received several awards, including Fellow of CSA (1999), Fellow of CSSA (2004), and the Gold Harvest Award for her management work on Cultivating an Innovative Advantage in AAFC (2009). Dr. Dwyer has also been active with the Crop Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy.

Lianne is currently working as a real estate agent in Ontario.

Dinah Ceplis, International Program Gender Equality Officer

References:

History of the Canadian Society of Agronomy

CSA Newsletter, July 2011

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

AAFC Cultivating an Innovative Advantage  

Comment on this article

Back to top

Vietnam Project

On July 31 AIC's International Twinning Partnership Project (ITPP) completes five very active and successful years of a unique and effective partnership. Working with members of Canadian scientific societies and members of scientific societies in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Vietnam, AIC built local capacity for using environmentally responsible practices and promoting gender equality to increase food security and alleviate poverty.

The partners sought input and direct knowledge of the local context - cultural, political, economic, geographic and climatic - from farmers, and used the expertise and knowledge of scientific society volunteers.

The results are impressive. Improved crop yields, better animal production practices, marketing and value added processing have moved farming from subsistence to a source of income and diversification of agricultural production minimized risks.  

• A two fold increase in vegetable production, greater diversity in crops produced and reduced post-harvest losses (Ghana)
• Average yield increases of:
  • 60% paddy rice, 55% tomato, 70% maize and 41% cassava. (Tanzania)
  • 15% to 30% general and 40% to 60% rice (Sri Lanka)
  • 19% to 24% rice, 23% to 42% corn, 34% to 42% winter vegetables, 34% to 46% soybean and 31% peanut (Vietnam)
• Average annual incomes increased 28-66%. (Ghana, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam).
• 100% of participants secured incomes above the international poverty line (US$1.25 per day) (Tanzania)
• Average income per capita rose 28-36% and households living in poverty reduced by 47-52% (Vietnam). 

More sustainable and secure sources of income have reduced the number of households living in poverty and given all beneficiaries a greater capacity to pay school fees and medical costs, to improve their housing and to provide better nutrition for their families.

There is a decrease in, and safer use of agricultural chemicals, improvement in soil properties and a greater protection of indigenous forage species. Younger people are farming, there is strong, skilled local leadership, and strong supportive community groups actively involved in community wellbeing. Women have an improved status due to their increased income, more opportunity for involvement in activities and decision making and a more equitable share of community and household benefits.

Community run organizations now have skills, knowledge and confidence to provide support, encouragement, information and skills to a greater number of their community members. Networks in project countries are stronger and now support project delivery which extends the knowledge and skills to a wider reach of beneficiaries.

Partners and beneficiaries are celebrating the success of the ITPP. It has increased people's opportunities and confidence and it has changed lives and communities.

Partners have skills, experience and networks to continue to make positive changes and are eager to begin implementing a new project which will use the results from this program as baseline data for future endeavours.

The driving force of the ITPP was the volunteers who gave their skills and knowledge through in kind contributions which totalled 1.4 million dollars from Canadian scientists and 3.5 million dollars from southern scientists. AIC is indebted to the many volunteers who participated in the program, giving it direction, momentum and results.

AIC is grateful to CIDA which provided the funding and to the CIDA Program Officers who provided guidance and encouragement.

The Executive Summary and and End of Program Final Report to CIDA can be read on the AIC website.

Tom Beach, International Program Coordinator