Wayne Digby holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Degree in addition to a Masters in Adult Education. 

 

Since May 2003 Wayne has played a key role in the Canada-Ukraine FARM (Facility for Agricultural Reform and Modernization Program) in Ukraine. As the FARM Extension Program Manager he has been responsible for providing the overall direction in establishing extension services in four Oblasts and 15 Districts of Ukraine. This has included working closely with National, Oblast and Rayon partners in creating an awareness of extension and in the develpment of agreements in each Oblast for the establishment of extension services along with securing office space, establishinhg initial program priorities and recruiting & hiring staff. 

Wayne has also provided overall management and direction for the FARM extension training program. This has included a training needs assessment of staff, establishing training priorities, development of training curriculum and assisting with the delivery of extension training programs. Residing in Ukraine from May 2003 to December 2005, Wayne provided on-going mentoring and coaching to extension staff in the development of program plans and implementation of extension initiatives. Since December 2005 he has continued to provide extension program advice through periodic visits to the Oblasts and Districts.

 

From January 2002 until the present Wayne has managed his own company, Digby Consulting, providing consulting assistance in community facilitation, industry development, ethanol development, co-products and wind power development. During this time he also assisted the Canada Ukraine Beef and Forage Development project in the development of the extension and marketing curriculum for training Ukrainian agricultural specialists.

 

Previous to January 2002 for 17 years Wayne worked as Regional Director in the Southwest Region with Manitoba Agriculture and Food. Prior to that he was Agricultural Representative in the Killarney area, Senior Livestock Officer in Botswana, Africa, as well as Rural Development Counselor in the Swan River and Russell areas of Manitoba.

 

In his capacity as Regional Director, Wayne was responsible for the management, on-going development, implementation and evaluation of agricultural extension programs for the Region. This included the management of approximately 40 staff in addition to the overall management of 11 Agricultural Extension offices. He has a very deep understanding of agriculture and the role of agricultural extension.

 

From 1992 to 2002 Wayne chaired the Value Added and Diversification Umbrella Committee for Manitoba Agriculture and Food. Under his leadership Manitoba Agriculture and Food developed major initiatives to foster community development through enhanced rural leadership, alliance building and agri-ventures programming.

 

Throughout his career Wayne has provided extension program development leadership and training for staff in Manitoba. He has been a member of the Canadian Society of Extension and served on the national board of Directors for a number of years.

 

Coupled with this long-standing commitment towards rural community development in Manitoba, Wayne continues to be very involved in international development programming. He is a firm believer in helping people help themselves. A recent example includes being Chair of the Manitoba Tanzania Entrepreneurship Training Association; a program designed to help rural young people in both Manitoba and Tanzania learn entrepreneurial skills. For his work in international development, Wayne was awarded the 2001 Global Citizen of the Year Award.

Wayne is currently involved in the following areas of practice:

1. Agricultural Extension
2. Program Planning and Development