Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Innovation

IICA Canada’s Internships

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

When David Johnston-Monje visited Brazil in 2011 to conduct vital research he reported “The research trip was contingent on funding, and only IICA Canada came through”.

Dr. David Johnston-Monje

Ottawa, Canada. Geared at encouraging and supporting the internationalization of agri-food science, technology and innovation, IICA’s Research Internship and Assistance Program (RIAP) provides seed funds for researchers and producers in Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. 

David based at the time at the University of Guelph, received one such grant and has not looked back since!  He remembers that up to 3 hours before his departure flight, he was still extracting DNA in the world renowned grass-bacteria research laboratory at EMBRAPA. Designed to add to existing knowledge needed to inform agroecological strategies for optimizing maize productivity, it was important that the work be conducted in a tropical environment with locally adapted maize varieties and environmentally unique soils. The inability to ship live cultures due to the denial of an export permit served to direct the DNA focus of the research. Dr. Johnston-Monje now is pleased that his findings have resulted in a peer-reviewed article in Plant Soil Journal. Entitled: Bacterial populations in juvenile maize rhizospheres originate from both seed and soil. Dr. Johnston-Monje detailed his study to assess the impacts of soil microbes and plant genotype on the composition of maize associated bacterial communities. He concluded that scientists and farmers attempting to alter and optimize the maize rhizosphere to aid in disease and stress resistance, nutrient acquisition and root development, may be more successful if they focussed efforts to perturb the seed associated microbiome rather than the soil microbiome.

IICA Delegation in Canada extends congratulations to David for his publication and for providing practical information to farmers, demonstrating the impact that the RIAP program can make!

For full paper see: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-016-2826-0

Share

Related news​

Santa Fé, Darién, Panamá

September 4, 2025

Coordination between IICA and Panamanian and U.S. government authorities bolsters the fight against New World screwworm in Central America and Mexico

As part of the efforts to curb the spread of the New World screwworm (NWS), a current health threat in Central America and Mexico, the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) of Panama, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Panama-United States Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Screwworm (COPEG) organized a meeting with livestock farmers in the city of Santa Fé de Darién to strengthen health surveillance and better protect local livestock production.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

El Director General del IICA, Manuel Otero, reafirmó en la inauguración de Biohélice 2025 el compromiso del Instituto con la bioeconomía como eje estratégico para transformar el agro y revitalizar los territorios rurales. En el acto lo acompañaron la Directora General de CINDE, Marianela Urgellés; el Rector de la UNA, Jorge Herrera; y el presidente de CRBiomed, Álvaro Peralta.

San Jose, Costa Rica

September 3, 2025

Specialists and partners at a meeting spearheaded by IICA view the bioeconomy as essential in positioning Costa Rica and the Americas as leaders in sustainability and production transformation

The bioeconomy specialists were participating in Biohélice 2025, an event organized by Costa Rica’s Universidad Nacional, the CRBiomed association and IICA, which brought together more than 130 participants with an interest in innovation and bioeconomy.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Alagoas, Brasil

September 1, 2025

Eliane Faria de Souza, a fisherwoman from Northeastern Brazil combining old traditions with innovative ideas to protect the environment, is named an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Eliane works with other women in the region to transform polluting waste substances into organic fertilizer.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins