Alanna Koch, a long-time leader in Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector — and the Chair of the Global Institute for Food Security’s (GIFS) Board of Directors — has received a prestigious award recognizing her contributions to the province.
Koch was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (Saskatchewan) on Dec. 14.
The award was created to celebrate the 70th anniversary year of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Accession to the Throne.
Koch has been involved in the agriculture industry, both professionally and personally, for most of her life.
As a senior government executive, she served as Deputy Minister to the Premier, Cabinet Secretary and Deputy Minister of Agriculture. In the latter role, she worked closely with farmers and industry and prioritized building and maintaining public trust in agriculture by focusing on science-based decision-making and communicating the benefits of modern tools and technology.
Before joining government, she was President of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance and was a Director with Agricore United (a predecessor of Viterra) and Executive Director of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
In addition to her role on GIFS’ Board of Directors, Koch currently chairs the CN Agricultural Advisory Council and is a director on the board of SeedMaster Manufacturing, as well as the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame.
- MORE: Alanna Koch bio
A total of 7,000 Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals will be awarded to Saskatchewan residents in 2022.
They include Dr. Curtis Pozniak of the Crop Development Centre, who has collaborated with GIFS several times, including on a landmark project sequencing the genomes for 15 wheat varieties, as well as Kristjan Hebert, a member of GIFS’ Grower Advisory Panel, and Dr. Bob Tyler, Emeritus Professor at the USask College of Agriculture and Bioresources and former interim executive director at GIFS.
GIFS congratulates Ms. Koch, Dr. Pozniak, Mr. Hebert, Dr. Tyler and other recipients of this distinguished award.