Dr. Manuel Otero holds a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Development from the University of London’s Wye College; a Master of Science degree in Animal Production from the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica; and a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). He began his career at IICA in 1988, at the Headquarters of the specialized agency for agricultural and rural development. He has served as Advisor to the Director General, Director of Programming and Evaluation, Director of the Andean Regional Center, Representative in Uruguay, and Representative in Brazil, a position he held twice. He is the author of numerous technical documents on international trade, sectoral policies, and agricultural modernization. Before embarking on a career with IICA, he was an Agricultural Counselor of Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture, based in Washington, DC, and also served as Vice President of Argentina’s National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA).
Elected in 2017 as Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) for the period 2018-2022, and re-elected in 2021 for the period 2022-2026, Dr. Otero oversaw the implementation of a comprehensive process aimed at modernizing the agency of the Inter-American System and enabling it to fully accomplish its mission of promoting agricultural and rural development in its 34 Member States by providing technical cooperation of excellence. To that end, he implemented an innovative policy of partnerships, leading to the establishment of multilateral, bilateral, national, and local work programs involving both the public and private sectors aimed at strengthening the agriculture sector, achieving a balance between productivity and sustainability, generating new development opportunities, and promoting rural well-being across the Americas.
Dr. Otero was also instrumental in the ministries of Agriculture of the Americas and farmer organizations in the region becoming heavily involved in major global forums, in order to defend and position the agriculture sector as an efficient provider of solutions and generator of prosperity.
Taking advantage of IICA’s continent-wide platform, Dr. Otero created innovative spaces for dialogue with other regions of the world, including a relationship and interchange of ideas with Africa. This led to the construction of a roadmap and the development of a shared agenda with organizations such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the African Union Development Agency–New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD). With these organizations, IICA held the first Africa-Americas Ministerial Summit on Agri-Food Systems. Under his leadership, IICA played an important galvanizing role in ensuring that the countries of the Americas participated in the Food Systems Summit with a consensus position that was reflected in a document containing 16 key messages on agriculture, highlighting its unique role and the key efforts of farmers. Dr. Otero also promoted the active participation of the public and private agriculture sectors of the Americas in the COPs, through the Home of Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas pavilion.
In recognition of his contributions, he was invited to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Food and Water Security.
In 2022, he was made a member of the “Don José Falcón” National Order of Merit by Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and received an Honorary Doctorate from CATIE, in recognition of his work on behalf of sustainable agriculture and rural development in the Americas.
During his tenure, he has received numerous decorations and recognitions, including the Dominican Republic’s Grand Cross with Silver Breast Star of the
Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella, the Caribbean country’s highest decoration.
For his contributions to food security and the promotion of science, technology, and innovation in the agriculture sector throughout his career, he has also been recognized by numerous other entities and organizations, including FONTAGRO, AAPRESID, CIARA-CEC, and the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange.
